Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

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KSTAT124
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Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by KSTAT124 »

There was an interesting thread ( http://www.the13thround.com/phpBB2/view ... hp?t=49237 ) in the main forum regarding the first four of these five greats with mention of the fifth, Benitez.

I thought I'd post a breakdown of each member of that amazing quintet's record showing how they did against fellow champions- former, reigning, or future, IBHOF inductees, and WBHF inductees.

The order in which the fighters are listed is not significant. It is random.


Sugar Ray Leonard (36-3-1, 25 KOs)

vs. champions..... 7-3-1
Wilfred Benitez..... W
Roberto Duran..... L, W, W
Ayub Kalule..... W
Thomas Hearns..... W, D
Marvelous Marvin Hagler..... W
Donny Lalonde..... W
Terry Norris..... L
Hector Camacho..... L

vs. IBHOF inductees..... 5-3-1
Benitez..... W
Duran..... L, W, W
Hearns.....W, D
Hagler..... W
Norris..... L
Camacho.....L

vs. WBHF inductees..... 5-1
Armando Muniz..... W
Benitez..... W
Duran..... L, W, W
Hagler..... W

(note: The WBHF has been dormant. If the WBHF resumes inducting, Leonard's record vs. WBHFers will change once Hearns is inducted and if Norris and/or Camacho are inducted; Leonard was 36-1-1 after his second fight with Duran. In his next bout, 14 months later, he lost to Norris. He didn't fight again until he lost to Camacho more than 6 years later.)


Thomas Hearns (61-5-1, 48 KOs)

vs. champions..... 13-5-1
Bruce Curry..... W
Saensak Muangsurin..... W
Angel Espada..... W
Eddie Gazo..... W
Pipino Cuevas..... W
Leonard..... L, D
Benitez..... W
Murray Sutherland..... W
Duran..... W
Hagler..... L
Mark Medal..... W
Doug DeWitt..... W
Dennis Andries..... W
Iran Barkley..... L, L
Virgil Hill..... W
Nate Miller..... W
Uriah Grant..... L

vs. IBHOF inductees..... 4-2-1
Cuevas..... W
Leonard..... L, D
Benitez..... W
Duran..... W
Hagler..... L
Hill.....W

vs. WBHF inductees..... 3-2-1
Cuevas..... W
Leonard..... L, D
Benitez..... W
Duran..... W
Hagler..... L

(Note: Hearns' record against World Boxing Hall of Famers will change if and when Virgil Hill is inducted.)


Roberto Duran (103-16, 70 KOs)

vs. champions..... 13-12
Ernesto Marcel..... W
Hiroshi Kobayashi..... W
Ken Buchanan..... W
Esteban De Jesus..... L, W, W
Guts Ishimatsu..... W
Saoul Mamby..... W
Carlos Palomino..... W
Leonard..... W, L, L
Benitez..... L
Cuevas..... W
Davey Moore..... W
Hagler..... L
Hearns.....L
Barkley..... W
Vinny Pazienza..... L, L
Camacho..... L, L
Jorge Fernando Castro..... L, W
William Joppy..... L

vs. IBHOF inductees..... 4-7
Buchanan..... W
Palomino..... W
Leonard..... W, L, L
Benitez..... L
Cuevas..... W
Hagler..... L
Hearns.....L
Camacho.....L, L

vs. WBHF inductees..... 6-5
Buchanan..... W
De Jesus..... L, W, W
Palomino..... W
Leonard..... W, L, L
Benitez..... L
Cuevas..... W
Hagler..... L

(note: Duran came into his second fight with Leonard with a 72-1 record. He was 85-8 after his third bout with Leonard. In his last 26 bouts, Duran went 18-8 with a 1-6 record against fellow champions. He was 50 years old when he lost to Camacho for the second time. His records versus Hall of Famers will change when Hearns is inducted into the WBHF, if and when De Jesus is inducted into the IBHOF, and if and when Camacho is inducted into the WBHF.)


Marvelous Marvin Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs)

vs. champions..... 7-1-1
Vito Antuofermo..... D, W
Alan Minter..... W
Fulgencio Obelmejias..... W, W
Duran..... W
Hearns..... W
John "The Beast" Mugabi..... W
Leonard..... L

vs. IBHOF inductees..... 2-1
Duran..... W
Hearns.....W
Leonard..... L

vs. WBHF inductees..... 3-1-1
Bennie Briscoe..... W
Antuofermo..... D, W
Duran..... W
Leonard..... L

(note: The loss to Leonard was the only blemish on Hagler's record he did not avenge. Hagler's records versus WBHF enshrinees will improve when Hearns is inducted. His record versus IBHOF enshrinees will improve if and when Antuofermo and/or Briscoe are inducted.)


Wilfred Benitez (53-8-1, 31 KOs)

vs. champions..... 7-4
Antonio "Kid Pambele" Cervantes..... W
B. Curry..... W, W
Palomino..... W
Leonard..... L
Maurice Hope..... W
Carlos Santos..... W
Duran..... W
Hearns..... L
Moore..... L
Matthew Hilton..... L

vs. IBHOF inductees..... 3-2
Cervantes..... W
Palomino..... W
Leonard.... L
Duran..... W
Hearns.....L

vs. WBHF inductees..... 3-1
Cervantes..... W
Palomino..... W
Leonard.... L
Duran..... W

(note: Benitez became the youngest man in the history of boxing to win a world title when, at 17, he dethroned reigning world junior welterweight champion Cervantes; his two wins over Curry, especially the first one, were controversial; his records versus WBHFers will dip a bit when Hearns is inducted.)
Last edited by KSTAT124 on Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:52 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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Post by jskhosa »

K, how would you rank these five fighters? Hearns beat SRL in their 2nd meeting IMO, but should have never lost to Barkley twice.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

jskhosa wrote:K, how would you rank these five fighters? Hearns beat SRL in their 2nd meeting IMO, but should have never lost to Barkley twice.
There's two ways of looking at this, that is two ways of rating them.

One would be how they did against each, sort of a round robin tournament:

1. Leonard
2. Hagler
3. Hearns
4. Benitez
5. Duran

The other way is looking at their entire bodies of work, especially what they accomplished in their primes. That's much harder because Leonard, Hearns, Benitez, and Duran were won titles in multiple divisions while Hagler fought exclusively as a middleweight. Benitez was the youngest man to win a world title and dethroned a future Hall of Famer to do so. Hearns fought in 2006 so he's not eligible for the Halls of Fame until 2011. Therefore Leonard's and Hagler's records against Hall of Famers will improve when "The Hitman" is elected while Benitez' and Duran's slates vs. HOFers will have another "L" added.

Taking all of that into account, ranking the 5 P4P, I come up with:

1. Leonard
2. Duran
3. Hagler
3. Hearns
5. Benitez
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Post by jskhosa »

Interesting take, Thanks K.
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KSTAT124
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Post by KSTAT124 »

With Bad Bennie Briscoe being voted into the WBHOF (he'll be inducted in October), Marvelous Marvin Hagler's record against fighters in the WBHOF improves by one win.
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Post by WarBoxing »

I'd have to go with the second method and agree with Kstat's ranking there:

1. Leonard
2. Duran
3. Hagler
3. Hearns
5. Benitez


Head-to-head is unfair to Duran considering he was smaller and up in years when he fought some in this discussion.
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Post by KSTAT124 »

With "The Motor City Cobra" Thomas "Hitman" Hearns voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame (he'll be inducted in June), the records of Leonard, Hagler, Duran and Benitez vs. fighters in the IBHOF had to be (and have been) updated.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by KSTAT124 »

With Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill to be inducted into the IBHOF as a member of the Class of 2013, the record of Thomas Hearns vs. IBHOF inductees has been adjusted.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by 23sharks »

Thanks K-Stat....this was my favorite era in boxing, and you listed 3 of my all time favorites in Hearns-Leonard-Hagler. Brings back good memories!!!!
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by Peat56 »

These guys created an era which was, in my view, the greatest and most exciting era of all time for non-Heavyweight boxing action.

I am not necessarily saying that each man was the best of all time in any of the divisions he fought in. I am saying that the chemistry, the events, the rivalry, was without equal in boxing history. I lived through that era and was a boxing fan through that era. It was totally magical.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by classicboxfan »

Peat56 wrote:These guys created an era which was, in my view, the greatest and most exciting era of all time for non-Heavyweight boxing action.

I am not necessarily saying that each man was the best of all time in any of the divisions he fought in. I am saying that the chemistry, the events, the rivalry, was without equal in boxing history. I lived through that era and was a boxing fan through that era. It was totally magical.

Peat I could not agree more. While I would be hard pressed to say with authority in what order these men would be ranked , I consider myself uniquely privileged to have seen these men fight in real time in the talent rich era in which they fought. In my younger less appreciative days I took all that for granted. You assume since this is what you are getting that that type of talent saturation is the norm. You just enjoy the moment. Now that I am a wee bit older I realize just how special a time that was.

They were all great. To try and rank them is like trying to rank Raphael, Titian , Tintoretto, Durer, Rembrandt et al. Namely, at a certain level of mastery it becomes more a matter of personal preference of style or technique than it is a qualitative distinction between them.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by KSTAT124 »

classicboxfan wrote:
Peat56 wrote:These guys created an era which was, in my view, the greatest and most exciting era of all time for non-Heavyweight boxing action.

I am not necessarily saying that each man was the best of all time in any of the divisions he fought in. I am saying that the chemistry, the events, the rivalry, was without equal in boxing history. I lived through that era and was a boxing fan through that era. It was totally magical.

Peat I could not agree more. While I would be hard pressed to say with authority in what order these men would be ranked , I consider myself uniquely privileged to have seen these men fight in real time in the talent rich era in which they fought. In my younger less appreciative days I took all that for granted. You assume since this is what you are getting that that type of talent saturation is the norm. You just enjoy the moment. Now that I am a wee bit older I realize just how special a time that was.

They were all great. To try and rank them is like trying to rank Raphael, Titian , Tintoretto, Durer, Rembrandt et al. Namely, at a certain level of mastery it becomes more a matter of personal preference of style or technique than it is a qualitative distinction between them.
Of course all five were great. That's the point of this thread.

It seems you're implying that the rankings in this thread are based on a personal preference rather than an honest attempt to be as objective as possible. Maybe you should re-examine the contents of this thread.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by Peat56 »

I think its really hard to rank these guys. One can use simple math and statistics, but I think there are factors that get lost when e go that route.

But if I did have to rank order them I would probably agree with an earlier poster who had it like this:
1. Leonard
2. Duran
3. Hagler
3. Hearns
5. Benitez
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by BIGBrandon2785 »

Benitez is the forgotten fighter out of this group,the youngest champion of all time.
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Re: Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler, and Benitez

Post by KSTAT124 »

With Hector "Macho" Camacho voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame (he'll be inducted posthumously in June 2016), the records of Leonard and Duran vs. fighters in the IBHOF have been adjusted.

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