Duran-Hagler
FROM “TONIGHT’S BOXING PROGRAM & WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
November 10, 1983– Las Vegas, NV– Besides the Cornelius Boza Edwards-Bobby Chacon match last May, tonight’s World middleweight championship 15-rounder was the “Fight of the Year” for 1983, and it was summed up by HBO’s Larry Merchant who said, “Marvelous Marvin Hagler proved to be the better middleweight, but Roberto Duran was the greater fighter.”
Indeed the 157 ½ pound titleholder from Brockton, Massachusetts, at peak from, age 29 (Hagler’s age was debatable), trim, strong, confident, clearly defeated the former World’s lightweight and welterweight and current WBA junior middleweight champ Roberto Duran (156 ½) of Panama, yet it was the aging 32-year old that left the ring standing up to Hagler’s steady bombardment over 45 minutes as a “winner,” surprising many of the critics (yours truly) who felt the hard punches from Hagler would be too much to take. Duran showed what greatness is all about.
The match was no different from any other fine battle—a breakdown of styles as well as an ebb and flow, really a bunch of little fights inside a whole fight. The Bob Arum packaged 8th successful defense by Hagler had question marks to answer such as: How was Duran going to fight Marvin, inside or out? Did he possess the stamina to survive? Could he hurt Hagler? The answers were interesting—as Duran’s always under estimated brilliant defense carried him through the first five rounds in close fashion, making Hagler, a noted sharp shooter, miss more punches than I’ve ever seen him, as Duran slipped, bobbed, weaved, stepped to the side, with hands up, gave Marvin few clean angles to hit.
Then came Hagler’s domination when he found the range, timing, and began to chop Roberto apart with jolting short punches inside and out. The onslaught carried into the 10th, giving Marvin an 8-2 lead in rounds on my card. That was little fight two. Then came another different set of happenings.
Hagler took a break in the 11th and suddenly, tearing years off the calendar, that old vicious Duran magic—a lion sensing weakness in the prey—was once more on display. He slowly came back into the battle, backing up Marvelous in the 12th as well as puffing and cutting Hagler’s left eye and carrying the rally into the 13th. But it was a last gasp from the Panamanian as father time and Hagler’s own championship greatness by today’s standards caught up.
In the 14th and especially 15th and last round, Duran was under considerable pressure, even being hurt noticeably in the 15th by a two-handed Hagler assault, under and over with powerful jolting punches. Yet nowhere was a hint of the gutless Duran’s betting coup dive against Ray Leonard (No Mas) three years earlier displayed, as Roberto dug down deep inside and survived the final three minutes, taking more punishment than I’ve ever witnessed him absorb over the long years against the best of half a dozen different weight divisions.
Hagler (58-2-2, 48 KOs) was ahead 10-5 (145-140) on the “Flash Gordon” card, not bad at all for Duran (76-5, 57 KOs). Then came the frightening decision, judge Ove Oveson had it 7-6-2 in rounds for a 144-143 score. Yasaku Yoshida had it 5-4-6 in rounds for Hagler at 146-145. Lastly Guy Jutras’s card read 144-142 (7-6-2 in rounds) giving Hagler a unanimous decision.
“Flash” Gordon
Note from Pedro Fernandez: Malcolm “Flash” Gordon was at one point one of the top writers in boxing. He exposed the fraudulent (fixed) United States Boxing Tournament to then ABC TV executive Alex Wallau in which Don King’s henchmen, led by Al Braverman and Paddy Flood were rigging, this with the assistance of now disgraced Ring Magazine editor Johnny Ort, among other things. The frustration of exposing corruption in boxing and not seeing any real results from such, rendered Gordon somewhat boxing impotent, a feeling I feel all to often myself.
Rumors had Gordon in Florida, but as of a few years ago, both Johnny Bos and Jack Obermayer, both “Flash” disciples, told me that “Flash” was still living in his Queens, NY apartment. Although he was a bit erratic, (some say crazed) towards the end of his run as publisher of “Tonight’s Boxing Program and Weekly Newsletter,” the pressure put on Gordon by nefarious types/gangsters in boxing was overwhelming.
Sadly, I can identify with his pain, as we both wanted nothing more than to make boxing straight. That being said, I’ll defer to the late-great Howard Cosell. “You can’t clean dirt.”