Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns II official on-site programme, billed "The War" 12th June 1989, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Condition excellent (also contains fabulous Leonard & Hearns individual fold-out colour posters)

The Judges could not split the two fighters the contest resulted in a draw.

Leonard was down in rounds three and eleven.
The result was controversial. Most felt that Hearns deserved the decision. Even Leonard has said that he feels Hearns deserved the verdict. Negotiations for a third fight fell apart because the two fighters couldn't agree on a weight limit. Leonard wanted the same weight limit as the second fight, but Hearns said he could no longer make that weight.

Price: £40

Equipped with speed, ability and charisma, Sugar Ray Leonard, filled the boxing void left when Muhammad Ali retired in 1981. With the American public in search of a new boxing superstar, Leonard came along at precisely the right time.
Leonard was named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s. And why not. He entered the decade a champion and left a champion. In between, he won an unprecedented five world titles in five weight classes and competed in some of the era's most memorable contests.

There were few things Leonard could not do once the bell rang. But what he did best was analyze his opponents and devise a strategy to overcome them. He found a way to beat stylists, sluggers and brawlers. And beneath that flashy surface was a competitor with the remorseless ability to put an opponent away when they were hurt. There were few better finishers in boxing.

Leonard surfaced in the public's imagination after winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. He won the WBC welterweight title in 1979 after stopping fellow Hall-of-Famer Wilfred Benitez in a violent chess match that pitted two of the game's master technicians.

After one successful defense, Leonard faced legendary lightweight champion Roberto Duran in what may be the most anticipated non-heavyweight fight in history. In a fast-paced battle, Duran dethroned Leonard with a unanimous 15-round decision. Leonard regained the title when Duran quit in the eighth-round of their rematch.

In 1981, Leonard climbed the scale and knocked out junior middleweight champion Ayube Kalule. He then returned to the welterweight division for a unification showdown with WBA champ Thomas Hearns. Leonard and Hearns waged a memorable war but Leonard, behind on all three scorecards, managed to knock Hearns out in the 14th round.

After one more fight, Leonard, suffering from a detatched retina in his left eye, retired. He returned to the ring in 1984 and knocked out Kevin Howard only to retire again.

After nearly three years of inactivity, Leonard returned again and pulled off the Upset of the Decade when he outpointed Marvin Hagler to win the middleweight title in 1987. Leonard added titles four and five in November 1988 when he recovered from an early knockdown to stop power-punching Canadian Donny Lalonde. At stake that night was Lalonde's WBC light heavyweight title and the vacant WBC super middleweight title.

Leonard made two successful title defenses of the super middleweight title, fighting to a controversial draw with Hearns and decisioning Duran in their third and final encounter.

Leonard retired again, but could not stay away. At age 34, he challenged WBC super welterweight champion Terry Norris in 1991. He was dropped twice and lost by unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden.

The former five-division champion announced his retirment in the ring immediately after the Norris fight. But in March 1997, he launched another unsuccessful comeback, which ended via a fifth-round TKO to Hector Camacho. It was the first time Leonard had ever been stopped.





Thomas Hearns was born in Memphis, Tennessee. 18th October 1958. Hearns captured the WBA world welterweight championship with a second round K.O of Pipino Cuevas on August 2nd 1980. On September 16th 1981, leading after 13 rounds, he was stopped in the 14th by Sugar Ray Leonard, losing his title. In 1982 he won the WBC super-welterweight crown from Wilfred Benitez, and defended it in 1984 with a devastating K.O of legendary Roberto Duran. On April 15th 1985 he was KO’d by Marvin Hagler in a bid for Hagler’s middleweight crown. In 1987, Hearns scored a TKO to win the WBC light heavyweight crown defeating Dennis Andries. He won the WBC world middleweight crown on October 29th 1987, with a K.O of Juan Domingo Roldan. He lost it the following June to Iran Barkley but later that year won the WBO super middleweight title. He defended it against Leonard, a fight ruled a draw although most thought Hearns won clearly. In 1991 he re-won the light heavyweight title from Virgil Hill.