HONG KONG (AFP) – Boxing legend Marvin Hagler’s fabled clash with Sugar Ray Leonard was the superfight of its day – but the massively anticipated showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather will eclipse it, he says.
Speaking with AFP during a visit to Hong Kong, the 60-year-old said the fight between the world famous welterweights in Las Vegas on May 2 would be the “biggest fight in history’’, regardless of who wins.
The fight has echoes of Hagler’s 1987 showdown with Leonard, also staged in Las Vegas, which saw him lose on points in a decision which remains controversial to this day.
Pacquiao and Mayweather are considered to be the best “pound-for-pound’’ boxers of their generation and their $200 million clash will finally happen after years of failed negotiations.
“Whether Pacquiao loses in the first round, whether he knocks out Mayweather in the first round, it’s still going to be the biggest fight in history,’’ said Hagler.
Mayweather, 38, has previously recalled watching the Hagler-Leonard clash.