Sugar Ray Leonard is the only man in the legendary fighting quartet known as The Four Kings to have scored a victory over each of his rivals.
The American co-starred in a thrilling trilogy with Roberto Duran. In their first bout in 1980, Duran outbrawled Leonard in a brutal fight to win via unanimous decision. Leonard snatched back his title in their rematch that same year when the Panamanian icon infamously quit in the eighth round, saying ‘No mas.’ Leonard made it 2-1 in 1989 with a points win.
In ’81, he stopped Thomas Hearns in the eighth round after rallying from behind in a dramatic welterweight unification fight. Their 1989 rematch ended in a controversial draw, with many believing Hearns deserved the win.
After a long layoff, Leonard upset the feared middleweight champion Marvin Hagler in 1987 with speed, movement, and flurries that swayed the judges. The split-decision victory remains one of the most debated outcomes in boxing history. Furious with the result and no rematch, Hagler would retire.
Looking back on those bouts in an interview with Fight Hub TV, Leonard had praise for all three of his fellow kings but focused in on the power of Duran.
“The fights that I had with Tommy Hearns, no question about that, especially the first one, I don’t know about the second one!
“Roberto Duran – I can’t even articulate how hard he hits.
“‘Marvellous’ Marvin Hagler, people thought that I was crazy at the time because I had suffered a partial-detached retina, but I was OK. My ophthalmologist said ‘Ray, if you want to come back, you can come back’. Hagler was an incredible guy, God bless him. Boxing was so powerful, so big.”
Duran was renowned for his ferocious punching power, especially in the lightweight division, where his relentless pressure and heavy hands overwhelmed opponents. His knockout strength, combined with ruthless aggression, earned him the nickname ‘Manos de Piedra’ – translation, ‘Hands of Stone.’ In all of his 103 wins, 70 came by stoppage.
