[Ian Lord]

26th - Las Vegas, NV

Caesar's Palace, on the Vegas strip, again played host to world title action following last weekends tear-up which saw world lightweight champ Roberto Duran stop Edwin Rosario in eight rounds. This time around it was a world middleweight title fight between two-time champ Marvin Hagler and mandatory contender and Commonwealth titlist Mike McCallum. It was slated for fifteen.

It was the second time these two had met, with Hagler winning first time round [ko5], back in August 2005 to win the inaugral middleweight crown. That bout was also held at Caesar's Palace. McCallum vowed the result would be different this time, and that he would walk away with the middleweight championship. Hagler stated he would take him out earlier this time. And so the stage was set.

It was an absorbing, if not thrilling contest, with Hagler taking the opening stanza, boxing out of his southpaw stance. McCallum came alive in the second, throwing in long lefts and rights to the face of Hagler.Hagler's left eye began to puff up badly. Not a good sign this early in the fight. His corner immediatley went to work on it. The third again saw McCallum getting the better of it, with Haglers eye puffing up at an alarming rate.
Hagler took the fourth in what was now becoming a back and forth contest, with McCallum taking the fifth, Hagler the sixth, McCallum the seventh in what was a bit of a tear-up round. McCallum had his nose bloodied following a sharp left.
The pendulum swung back in Haglers favour in the eight, with McCallum taking the ninth, but also having to be inspected by the ringside doctor. The blood was still gushing from his nose, and the referee was worried that he was swallowing it. The fight was allowed to continue.The tenth was a pedestrian affair, with McCallum edging it.
Hagler, for the first time in his career, seemed to be at a loss with what to do with the man in front of him. The eleventh saw McCallum dropping bombs on the champ, seemingly at will, and his right eye now began to puff up as well.
However, eighteen seconds into the twelfth, and it was over. The referee, concerned about the flow of blood into the mouth of McCallum, waved it all over. Hagler looked relieved. An inspection of the scorecards showed that McCallum was leading on two of the three cards at the time of the stoppage, [106, 103], with the third giving it to Hagler 105-104.
"I was so close," said a dejected McCallum, now 8-3 [3], after the fight. "I feel I could have carried on. I should have been allowed to carry on. The nose wasn't bothering me none. Hats off to Marvin though, he's a great champ. I'll have a little rest now, then I'll be back."
Hagler was in a defiant mood. "He was weakening, I was coming on strong. I'd have won anyway." When asked what his immediate plans are, the champ, now 9-1 [6], said he's going to take a vacation to do some sea-fishing, then decide on his next fight.
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The two top bouts on the undercard were both part of the world welterweight elimination tournament, with both the winners to meet for the vacant title. The Sugar Ray Leonard - Tommy Hearns match-up was a barn burner. Leonard, with a 2-0-1 [2] record entering the bout, had Angelo Dundee in his corner, whereas Hearns, 2-0 [1], had Emmanuel Steward in his. Dundee and Steward are arguably the two best trainers in the GBA.

The flashy Leonard absolutely befuddled Hearns in the opener, with 'Hit Man' failing to land a meaningful punch. Going back to his corner he looked annoyed with himself. However, it was Hearns who picked off Leonard at will in the second stanza, standing at a distance and using his abnormally long reach. The third was a tear-up, with both men going for it. There was nothing in it.
The pace these guys were fighting at couldn't last, and it slowed down drastically in the fourth. Again neither man got the upper hand. Leonard took the fifth, firing in quick, hard combinations to the body and head of Hearns, who also finished the round with a slight swelling under his left eye. Hearns took the sixth, Leonard the seventh round. The eighth was dead even, with Tommy getting the better of the ninth. Hearns also took a lackluster tenth, but sustained a cut in doing so above his right eyebrow. It looked nasty.
Leonard came tearing out for the tenth, and sent Hearns crashing to the canvas with a hook to the temple. He only beat the count, and looked unsteady. His cut was inspected, he was allowed to carry on. However, he was soon felled again, this time from a big right. He was up at five, but his legs looked shot. Leonard seized the opportunity and began loading. The referee had seen enough and mercifully halted the bout at the 2.22 mark. At the time of the stoppage two judges had it 96-96, while the third had it 97-95 to Hearns.
Sugar Ray Leonard will now meet the winner of...

...Antonio Cervantes and Don Curry, who must do it all again after boxing to a twelve round majority draw. Scores were 113-113 [x2], and 114-112 Curry. While the Leonard-Hearns match-up was thrilling, this one never got going. Cervantes, 2-0-1, suffered a flash knockdown in the fifth. Curry, 2-0-2, was dropped by a bodyshot for a four count right near the final bell, which earned Cervantes a draw.
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Heavyweight James 'Buster' Douglas won a ten round unanimous decision over Pinklon Thomas. Scores were 96-93 [x2], and 95-94. Thomas was dropped right at the beginning of the fight by a shot to the liver. He only just beat the count and fought back well, dropping Douglas in the tenth with a cross right on the button. Douglas improves to 10-7-1 [3], while Thomas dips to 11-11 [8].

Former North American middleweight title challenger Mark Medal won a unanimous ten round decision over Keith Holmes to improve to 9-7-1 [3]. Scores were 96-92 on all three cards. It was a close fought affair until the sixth when Holmes, now 7-10 [2], was sent crashing to the canvas twice. He was down again in the next round. However, Medal briefly touched down just before the final bell.

The opener between heavyweight journeymen saw Michael Dokes win an eight round unanimous decision over perennial loser Jody Ballard. Scores were 79-73 twice and 80-72. Dokes is now 8-13-2 [3], while Ballard is 2-16 [1].