Whenever boxing's matchmakers put together a bout that promises fireworks and destructive drama from the opening bell, pundits and fans alike spit out the same three syllables.
Hagler-Hearns.
Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns shared seven minutes and 52 seconds of unfathomable brutality in Las Vegas in April 1985, setting an impossible bar for every all-action fight ever since.
Hagler and Hearns met in their primes as two stars of a golden age in the sport's middle weights. The celebrated "Four Kings" were completed by fellow greats 'Sugar' Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.
There were nine fights in all between the quartet, spanning 1980 to 1989. Leonard and Duran met three times, with both men going the distance against Hagler. Hearns and Leonard shared 26 rounds over the course of two enthralling bouts separated by almost eight years.
And yet, the comparatively brief period Hearns and Hagler spent in one another's violent orbit stands as the high watermark of the era for many.
After Hagler died aged 66 on Saturday, we look back at three rounds that shook the world.
ROUND ONE
An elongated promotional tour taking in 21 cities whipped up severe animosity between the two fighters, with long-reigning unified middleweight king Hagler brooding over the perceived higher public standing afforded to fellow Americans Leonard and Hearns, along with the latter's withdrawal from their proposed 1982 meeting with a hand injury.
Hearns had showcased terrifying power at welterweight and light-middleweight. He demolished Duran inside two rounds in 1984, at the same Caesars Palace outdoor arena that staged his clash with Hagler.
Therefore, the expectations were of a measured start from the older man, who would draw the sting from a 26-year-old Hearns at a then-unfamiliar weight before taking him into deep waters.
Hagler was not reading from that script.
After eyeballing his foe throughout the introductions, he tore out of his corner at the opening bell and unleashed a wild and winging right hand that Hearns just managed to duck. The tone was set and there would be no let-up.
Hagler's gameplan – insofar as it could be deciphered from underneath the red mist – was to negate Hearns' three-inch reach advantage by attacking the younger man to the body.
Initially, that was a march straight into trouble as Hearns caught him with a left hand coming in and followed up with a right hook to shake Hagler.
The champion held for the briefest of respites before leather began to fly in centre ring – Hagler unleashing his chopping left hook and locating Hearns' chin to force a retreat to the neutral corner.
Hurt, Hearns shot back under heavy fire to escape the peril Hagler had planned on the ropes.
There was a minute gone.
The hunter and hunted patter was established. Hearns clipped Hagler with a left off the back foot to draw him on to a short right. Worryingly for the 'Motor City Cobra', 'Marvellous' was entirely unperturbed.
Hagler's booming straight right was working effectively, but Hearns' blurring fists continued to punctuate a fight in fast forward. A pair of rights found the jaw, still Hagler came. A flashing uppercut, still he came. But there was blood. A lot of it.
"There's blood all over Marvin Hagler's face, I can't tell where it's coming from," yelped commentator Al Bernstein
Seemingly spurred on by the change in circumstances, Hagler forced Hearns into the red corner and got to work, pounding the body. Hearns was sharp in the eye of the storm, soaking up two crunching left hooks and fighting his way out of trouble.
Well, until that unerring Hagler straight right sent him tottering backwards with nine seconds left in the round. By the time the bell sounded, they were trading once more.
Hearns landed 56 of 83 punches in the first round as Hagler connected with 50 of 82. It still beggars belief.
ROUND TWO
"Don't worry about the cut, Marvin," said his cornerman Goody Petronelli, unknowing that there were bigger problems afoot on the other stood.
At some point in the fury of the first three minutes, Hearns had broken his wrecking ball right. This perhaps explained his willingness to begin the second on the jab – that tool of relative conservatism largely lost in the maelstrom of round one.
Hagler met this adjustment with a change of his own. The switch-hitter turned to an orthodox stance for the first time in the fight and landed with a left-right combination.
Regardless, there would be no backwards step from Hagler. Back he went to southpaw, a right jab leaving Hearns disorganised and opening up more opportunities to the body.
A straight right was Hearns' retort along with crisp lefts to head and body, but Hagler shrugged them off and continued to bore forwards with blood all over the place.
His left hook was working like a dream and shuddering rights had Hearns in trouble on the ropes.
When the bell sounded, Hagler's bloody mask and Hearns' exhausted body gave both men the look of beaten fighters.
ROUND THREE
"Just box him, stay away and box him," Emanuel Steward implored Hearns, although the great tactician had reason to sense the bout was slipping away.
Aghast, Steward found one of Hearns' entourage giving him a leg massage before the fight. Combined with the concussive head shots Hagler had landed at will, the result was rubbery limbs that did not convince as the Kronk Gym favourite looked to get on the balls of his feet and skip away at the start of round three.
Hagler's eyes never deviated from a moving target, but his problems were also stacking up.
Referee Richard Steele was increasingly zealous when it came to breaking the fighters up, preventing Hagler from doing the work he wanted to on the inside. After one of the official's interventions, he called the ringside doctor to have a look at the champion's increasingly gruesome cut.
Given Hearns opened the cut with a punch, a TKO defeat was on the cards for Hagler if he was deemed unfit to continue.
But no referee or no doctor was stopping this fight. Hagler decided it was time to take care of adjudication himself.
He had started to measure Hearns' increasingly predictable retreats, and a right to the side of the head saw his opponent stagger sidewards across the right, almost turning his back. Hagler knew the time was now.
A follow-up right to the temple robbed Hearns of any remaining equilibrium and another to the jaw saw him sag back before collapsing downwards, the breeze of Hagler's superfluous follow-up shots doing nothing to rouse him.
Flat on his back, Hearns tried valiantly to beat Steele's count, but a valedictory triumph belonged to Hagler after a cacophony of violent mayhem and savagery that remains celebrated to this day.
The Numbers Game: Man City need a win as Tottenham come to town
Manchester City are in uncharted territory ahead of Tottenham visiting the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's all-conquering side, who have won four successive Premier League titles, have lost their last four matches in all competitions.
It is the first time in Guardiola's managerial career that he has lost four straight games in all competitions, while it is the first time City have lost that many in a row since 2006, when they lost six on the bounce under Stuart Pearce.
A 2-1 EFL Cup defeat to Tottenham at the end of October started City's poor form, and defeats to Bournemouth, Sporting CP and Brighton followed.
With Liverpool continuing their fine form under Arne Slot, City head into the weekend five points behind the Reds.
Though with Liverpool not in action until Sunday, City can put the pressure back on by seeing off a Spurs team that lost 2-1 to Ipswich Town at home before the international break.
Here, we preview the clash using the best Opta data.
What's expected?
City have won just three of their last 10 Premier League games against Tottenham (D2 L5) and are looking to win consecutive league meetings with them for the first time since April 2019.
Yet despite that indifferent form against Spurs, City are still made the big favourites by Opta's supercomputer, which ranks their chances of victory at 59.5%.
Spurs' win probability comes in at 20.2%, while the draw is at 20.3%.
City's form has seen them drop off when it comes to the Opta supercomputer's forecast for the season, with Liverpool now the favourites to win the title (60.2%).
This match should promise goals, though.
Tottenham have scored at least twice in each of their last three Premier League away games against City, winning 3-2 in 2021-22, losing 4-2 in 2022-23 and drawing 3-3 last season. No team has ever scored multiple goals in four consecutive Premier League visits to the Etihad.
Under Guardiola (since 2016-17), City have lost more Premier League games (six) and conceded more Premier League goals (22) against Tottenham than they have against any other opponent.
Saturday's clash also sees two of the league's top three scoring teams this season go head-to-head. Spurs (23) have netted the most goals in the top tier, with City (22) joint-second alongside Brentford.
City have registered the highest xG (22.3), with Ange Postecoglou's team recording the second highest (21.7). These teams have had 401 shots between them across 22 matches this season, so expect entertainment.
Classic City, or is there something wrong?
There has been a tendency for City to take a while to get going in recent years, but they have never looked so short of form as they do now at this stage of a season.
Guardiola is on the longest losing run of his entire managerial career. Though they are the only team to have scored in every Premier League game so far this season, City have lost their last two (1-2 vs Bournemouth and Brighton). They last lost three in a row in the competition in February/March 2016, a run which included a home defeat to Tottenham.
City have already dropped seven points from winning positions this term, while they only dropped 10 from such positions across the entirety of last season.
They have gained a league-leading 13 points from losing positions, though that shows they are falling behind much more often than Guardiola would like.
The loss of Rodri to a season-ending knee injury has not helped, and City may have to dip into the market in January in search of a replacement.
Since the start of last season, City have played 13 league games without Rodri, and they have lost five of them. Their win rate without the Spaniard in the side in that time is 53.8%, while with him in the team it rises to 77.8%.
With Liverpool facing Southampton, City know they need to get back on track quickly, or they might simply have too big of a gap to bridge.
Road rage
Spurs have won just two of their last 11 Premier League away games (D2 L7), winning just once in five on the road this term. Since the start of this spell in March, no side have lost more Premier League away games than Tottenham (seven).
Postecoglou will not be changing his approach for this game, though. Spurs look to get forward at any opportunity, and the statistics back this up.
As a team, Tottenham have made more off-the-ball runs into the box than any other side in the Premier League this season (612), with Dominic Solanke having the most among players (138).
Spurs have also had the most shots inside the box of any Premier League side this term (134).
Tottenham have played more passes/crosses into the opposition box than any other side in the Premier League this season (429). There are 10 players in the division to have made 70+, with Spurs having three of those (Pedro Porro 96, James Maddison 77, Dejan Kulusevski 72).
Postecoglou promised Spurs fans a trophy this season, and their defeat of City in the EFL Cup was a big scalp, but in the league they have lost three of their last six games and are in 10th, though they are only three points off the top six.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City - Erling Haaland
Haaland netted a hat-trick for Norway this week, taking his tally for the season to 22 for club and country.
He returned to scoring form in the Premier League against Brighton, though City could not hold on for the win. While he may not have always shown his best level, Haaland is still betting at a remarkable rate of 1.1 goals per 90 minutes in the top flight this season.
Tottenham - Dejan Kulusevski
No player has created more chances either overall (30) or from open play (25) in the Premier League this season than Kulusevski.
His pace and skill on the counter could be a real asset against City's high line.
Eight titles, two grand slams and 70 match wins: Sinner's spectacular 2024
As far as seasons go, you won't find many better than Jannik Sinner's 2024 campaign.
The 23-year-old had long been assured of his place at the top of the ATP rankings heading into 2025, but to further cement his dominance of the men's circuit, Sinner dominated the ATP Finals in Turin last week.
Sinner's 6-4 6-4 defeat of Taylor Fritz ensured he became the first ATP Finals champion since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the tournament without dropping a single set.
He became the seventh player to win the event on home soil, and the first Italian champion, as he made it eight titles for the year, including the Australian Open and US Open.
Here, we recap Sinner's brilliant year using Opta's treasure trove of data.
Breakout major success
It almost seems strange to think Sinner began 2024 without a grand slam title to his name. That soon changed at the Australian Open, though, as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a classic, five-set final.
Sinner did things the hard way at Melbourne Park, also overcoming Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and Novak Djokovic in the last four.
At the age of 22 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to ever achieve successive wins over ATP top-five opponents in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a grand slam, surpassing Michael Stich, who did so at the age of 22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon 1991.
That triumph also made him only the third Italian man to win a grand slam, after French Open champions Nicola Pietrangeli (1959 and 1960) and Adriano Panatta (1976).
By beating Djokovic, Sinner became the first Italian to defeat the ATP's top-ranked player at a major, with Italians previously going 0-23 in such matches since the ATP Rankings were first published in 1973.
Sinner would also record a final victory over Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters later in the year, becoming the first player on record to not face a single break point in back-to-back tour-level meetings with the Serbian.
Slam consistency
Of course, Sinner later followed up his Australian Open triumph by clinching the US Open crown, downing home favourite Fritz in the Flushing Meadows final.
Those major wins were two of seven triumphs for Sinner at hard-court events this year, making him just the fifth player to win seven or more finals on the surface in a year, after Andre Agassi (1995), Pete Sampras (1996), Roger Federer (2004-06) and Djokovic (2015).
But perhaps his remarkable consistency across all four grand slams is what stands out most.
Sinner reached at least the quarter-finals at each of 2024's majors, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals and Medvedev in the last eight at Wimbledon.
At 23 years and 17 days, he became the third-youngest man in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at all four slams in a single season, after Sampras in 1993 (22 years and 18 days) and Rafael Nadal in 2008 (22 years and 83 days).
Sinner won 23 matches overall at grand slams this year, with no other player on the ATP Tour bringing up 20 (Alcaraz managed 19).
Top of the world
Following his defeat to Djokovic in the showpiece match at the 2023 ATP Finals, Sinner sat fourth in the ATP Rankings 12 months ago.
He had already clinched top spot for 2024 as early as October 15, when he beat Djokovic in straight sets in the Shanghai Open final.
Since changes were made to the distribution of ranking points in 2009, only two players have ever sewn up top spot earlier – Djokovic in 2015 (September 14) and Nadal in 2010 (September 20).
No Italian had previously topped the ATP Rankings, and few could deny Sinner was a deserving recipient of the accolade. His 70 match wins were the most of any player on the ATP Tour in 2024, while his 92.1% win rate is the best by any player since 2015, when Djokovic won 93.2% of his contests.
Sinner did not let the pressure of being number one affect him, either, going 37-3 since first taking top spot. His 92.5% win rate is the best by any male world number one by some distance, dwarfing Bjorn Borg's 80.4%.
With Djokovic turning 38 next year, most would agree Sinner's breakout season has been good for men's tennis, teeing up what could be a long period of dominance by the Italian and his rival Alcaraz.
His star should continue to rise in 2025.
Julien 'The Black Dragon' Baptiste eyes bigger stage after defending Massachusetts middleweight title
Julien “Black Dragon” Baptiste, the reigning Massachusetts Middleweight boxing champion, successfully defended his title last Saturday, November 9, with a sixth-round TKO victory over Anthony Hines at Fall Reckoning in Dorchester. The main event saw Baptiste overwhelm his opponent with a flurry of punches, prompting the referee to stop the bout at 2:35 of the penultimate round.
With the victory, Baptiste improved his professional record to 8-4-1, cementing his place as a dominant force in the Massachusetts boxing scene. Reflecting on the win, he expressed gratitude and acknowledged the hard work that went into his preparation.
“And STILL!!!!” Baptiste exclaimed. “I would like to thank God ?? for another opportunity for me to showcase my skills and talents. Training camp was on point from beginning to end. Mark DeLuca made sure that I got 1% better each day. Was it easy? Hell no ?, but if you want to stay champion, you’re gonna have to be uncomfortable until you get comfortable to get the job done.”
The fight marked another milestone in Baptiste’s journey, one that began in his youth as the son of Jamaican and Grenadian parents. His mother, Donna Holder Willemsen, hails from Duncans in Trelawny, Jamaica, while his father, Egbert Baptiste, who is battling cancer, is from Grenada. Julien credits both of them for his drive and determination.
“Their strength and spirit, along with my mother’s, drive me to success,” he said.
Baptiste’s introduction to boxing came after his college football career as an All-American free safety. While pursuing his NFL dreams, he was invited to a boxing gym by a cousin from Jamaica, and from that moment, he found a new passion.
“I fell in love with it,” he recalled. “I was there every day. That was in New York. Then I left New York and came to Massachusetts, back to the town I went to school at, looking for work. The first gym I worked at just happened to have a boxing gym and a coach. And here I am now as Massachusetts champion.”
In 2023, Baptiste captured the vacant United States Boxing Federation (USBF) Middleweight title, which he has successfully defended three times. His Massachusetts title has also been defended on three occasions, adding to his growing legacy.
“I know what is at stake every time I fight because my belts are on the line every time I fight. Whenever I fight here in Massachusetts, both my belts are on the line,” he said.
Now 35, Baptiste acknowledges that time is not on his side in the sport, but he remains focused on his ultimate goals.
“I’m coming to the end of my athletic career. I just want to get on ESPN,” he said. “I fought on ESPN earlier this year at Madison Square Garden in February and lost by split decision. I want to get back on that stage, so hopefully by next year, I should be back on a bigger stage on television or something of that nature.”
Beyond boxing, Baptiste’s aspirations include securing a home and retiring from the sport with his health intact.
“I want to leave the game with my mind and my brains, my health. I want to be one of the ones leaving with my health. I want to help the youth and show that there are ways to get out of situations to better yourself,” he said.
With his dedication, resilience, and a drive rooted in his Caribbean heritage, Julien Baptiste continues to embody the spirit of a champion both inside and outside the ring.
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