Sugar Ray Leonard believes one of his fellow Four Kings was more intimidating than even Mike Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division in his early 20s.
The most physically imposing king was surely Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns, who somehow squeezed his 6ft 1in frame down to 147lbs when he collided with Leonard in 1981.
Back then, Sugar Ray claimed a hard-fought 14th-round stoppage before boxing to a controversial draw in their super-middleweight rematch in 1989.
Just over two years earlier, the American had arrived at another contentious result against Marvin Hagler, this time edging their middleweight encounter by split decision.
But while Hearns and Hagler posed enormous threats, Leonard was ultimately most intimidated when he faced Roberto Duran in 1980.
The Panamanian joined the welterweight scene after becoming a world champion at 135lbs, where he dethroned Ken Buchanan with a controversial 13th-round stoppage in 1972.
Even as an undersized contender at 147lbs, Duran was considered a dangerous puncher but was made a sizable underdog against Leonard, who had just scored back-to-back stoppages over Wilfred Benitez and Dave ‘Boy’ Green.
It then came as a major upset when the skilled technician lost a unanimous decision to ‘Hands of Stone’, whose tenacity proved a decisive factor.
Reflecting on their rivalry, Leonard admitted in a resurfaced interview that there was an element of fear attached to his WBC title defence.
“Roberto Duran – he was more intimidating than Mike Tyson. I hate that motherf**ker.”
Despite the manner in which their first encounter unfolded, Leonard ultimately made the necessary adjustments and won their immediate rematch via an eighth-round stoppage.
