Four Kings: The intoxicating and captivating tale of four men who changed the face of boxing from award-winning sports writer George Kimball

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They were all special fighters and athletes. They had distinct personalities, and they were real personalities. And most striking compared to the modern boxing world, these guys all fought each other.

Boxing history: The Four Kings – Edgar Gonzalez Anaheim Boxing history: The Four Kings – Edgar Gonzalez Anaheim

The scores are given with impartiality and we have used evidence and research with every point we award to each: I’m not going to bore you with running down all their career achievements for you to compare, because most likely you know their achievements, you’ve probably had this exact conversation before, either online or in real, actual life. Sugar Ray Leonard: Charming and one skilled fighter, Ray Leonard was thought to be the new Muhammad Ali, after all, they shared the same coach in Angelo Dundee. Leonard had fast hands and excellent footwork. He also had the most wins against the Four Kings. A four-part documentary series based on George Kimball’s best-selling book Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing. Following a brief fallow period in the wake of Ali’s retirement, boxing was revitalized when Leonard became a world champion in 1979 and waged his first battle with Durán in 1980. From that point, the Four Kings engaged in a decade-long run of riveting fights that far outperformed any other sport in attention and revenue. They were the most popular stars of sports and American culture.Kimball obviously knows his stuff and if there's any slight criticism from me it's that the book is very (obviously) American-centric: I felt that Duran was made to seem difficult to understand or know simply because he spoke another language or came from somewhere outside the USA. Pretty sure a guy who spoke his mind as freely as Duran did (always quoted in broken English, too) must have articulated his thoughts in easily-translatable Spanish somewhere. How was Hearns, Leonard and Hagler's Spanish? But anyway - it's a small whinge. And the tiny bit of Duran's autobiography which was quoted in the book didn't leave me salivating for more! Many believe Hearns to have a glass chin which is a common misconception. The reality is the fighters he fought who handed him losses via KO/TKO were downright ferocious, powerful punchers. Hagler’s granite chin is renowned and historic, evident in his career-defining fight with the ‘Motor City Cobra’ where he ate right hands as if they were sweet treats. The last factor is one most use to separate the four, however, it deserves more detail than looking at the records and realising Leonard beat everyone. Indeed he did thus earns 3/5 points and not top marks due to his first fight against one ‘fab four’ member resulting in a loss at the hands of Duran as well as an unconvincing win against Hagler that people still dispute the result of to this day. Thanks to being a game champion and carving out one of the closest fights in boxing, Hagler scores 2 points here as the fight, and win against Hearns is the best out of the nine fights the group had and arguably the best in boxing. The other two greats dismally score 1 point apiece as they only had 1 yet emphatic win during this competitive time.

Who are the Four Kings of boxing? – Michael T. Eckhardt Who are the Four Kings of boxing? – Michael T. Eckhardt

Offering a straight up rake on the kings, it provides a historic account of what took place and how this era enfolded. In a way it is a neat thing that this book was written now. I read it close to my computer and watched some of the fights again on Youtube. The early 1980s marked the beginning of an uncertain era in the boxing world. One of the legends of the sports, Muhammed Ali, retired, and it was time for someones else to step up. Four young men – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns embrace the opportunity and begin climbing the ladder of success in the boxing world to be crowned as the new king. Their dream comes true, and the boxing world finds not one but “The Four Kings.” He gave me a better fight than all the boxers did in the last 10 years’: Fury reflects on win over Ngannou Excellent book. Quite possibly the best boxing book around, certainly in the top 5. It certainly helps that the topic is so interesting - the best era in boxing bar none.By James Slater: It was a golden era of boxing the likes of which may never be seen again. From 1980 – beginning with Roberto Duran’s sensational points win over “Sugar” Ray Leonard and, perhaps fittingly, ending with Leonard’s rubber-match of a points win over “Hands of Stone” in 1989 – to the very end of the decade, four men fought from welterweight up to super-middleweight, giving their all and giving the entire world a thrill. Pete Hamill, American journalist and novelist, writes in his Foreword to George Kimball's book "This book is about the last Golden Age of boxing. That is, it is about a time when the matches themselves transcended the squalor of the business side of the sport, and focused only on the men who fought." Leaving the points tally for each boxer here would still be a poor reflection into the illustrious career each of them had, therefore we have added further decisive factors that warrant extra points.

Who was the best of the four kings? : r/Boxing - Reddit Who was the best of the four kings? : r/Boxing - Reddit

world titles among them in about 4 to 5 different weight classes. These rivals fought each other 9 times. Despite comparing them, all 4 fighters’ conditioning should be appreciated as they were the top athletes of their time. Two-thirds of their combined fights with one another went the distance proving they can still perform at a top-level and put on a show in deep waters. Despite knowing it will not settle the debate, I don’t think it ever could be, BoxingGuru has decided to put together a scoring system that ranks Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard, and against attributes any boxer needs to become as legendary as them. The 1986 recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism, George Kimball spent a quarter-century as a sports columnist for the Boston Herald before retiring in 2005. A veteran of nearly title bouts, Kimball has covered boxing all over the world since the eras of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and was the only journalist to cover every fight of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's middleweight reign from start to finish. For the past decade he has written a weekly 'America at Large' column for The Irish Times. Kimball has received numerous awards for his Boxing, Golf, Baseball, and Olympic coverage, and in retirement, in addition to his Irish Times column, he keeps his hand in the game as a featured columnist for ESPN.com and for the monthly publication Boxing Digest.Factor in Duran’s achievements at his natural poundage of 135, and the fact that he later managed to win a major belt at middleweight, and Roberto deserves to be placed in the ALL-TIME Top-10 – as he is in fact placed my many historians. Do Leonard, Hagler or Hearns deserve to be placed so high in terms of all-time? Maybe Leonard. I was hoping for a lot more detail on the fighters and their lives in and out of the ring. Unfortunately, there were equal amounts of boring minutiae and actual writing about the fighters. Outstanding' - ***** Reader review ***************************************************************************** Roberto Duran is the toughest of the Four Kings, and arguably the fighter with the most heart. He was as macho as they come and could hit like an ox. He was called the Hands of Stone – and rightfully so.

The Four Kings – How they match up… - Boxing Guru

Fast forward three decades, the show delves deep into the enduring rivalries of Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn, as well as Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno. Through a compelling blend of archival footage showcasing their electrifying clashes that mesmerized global audiences, and exclusive interviews offering poignant insights into their personal struggles with mental health beyond the spotlight, Four Kingsrevisits a pivotal era in British sports history. My journey, from a modest beginning to becoming a legend in the boxing world, serves as an inspiration to many. But what truly sets me apart is my unwavering dedication to protecting and serving as a Reserve Deputy Marshal during my retirement. You see, being a king isn’t about personal glory; it’s about using your influence and power to make a positive impact on the world. Readers, who may not know about the "Queensberry rules for the sport of boxing", (written in the 19th century these are the rules, on which the rules of modern boxing are based), as well as other facts might have a harder time with this book; boxing fans however will be mesmerized by the riveting content Kimball manages to tie together to complete a beautiful picture of the boxers, the sport and the times.Hands of Stone’ had proven himself to be the best lightweight to ever do it, but in the summer of 1980 he was considered a huge underdog. Sugar Ray had been flawless since turning pro, going unbeaten in 27 fights. Duran tore up the form-book, entering the performance of his career. One of the greatest pressure-fighting displays of all-time, Leonard had no answer for the Panamanian.