Ranking all nine of the fights in the legendary 'Four Kings' series
On the anniversary of Leonard-Hearns II, here's my order of best to worst of the '80s-defining bouts that also included Hagler and Duran
A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.
Monday was the 34th anniversary of the outstanding rematch between legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, eight years after Leonard stopped Hearns in the 14th round in their undisputed welterweight championship fight, which was one of the biggest fights in boxing history.
This week is also the media tour to promote the showdown between Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, who meet July 29 to crown the undisputed welterweight champion and the pound-for-pound king in a match with many similarities to Leonard-Hearns.
The rematch was an excellent fight that most thought Hearns won but was officially ruled a dubious split draw, which allowed Leonard to retain the WBC super middleweight title in a fight contracted at a catch weight of 164 pounds.
The 1980s were dominated by the glorious round robin of mega fights between Hall of Famers Leonard, Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran. The “Four Kings” combined for nine bouts between 1980 and 1989 in a decade-defining series that binds them together forever. It is a series of fights I have long been obsessed with.
So, as we hit the anniversary of Leonard-Hearns II and Spence-Crawford is also on my mine, here is my ranking of the nine “Four Kings” fights from best to worst and my take on each: