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====The Super Fight ====
Hagler's next challenger was [[Sugar Ray Leonard]], who was returning to the ring after a three-year retirement (having just fought just once in the previous five years.) During the pre-fight negotiations, in return for granting Hagler a larger share of the purse Leonard obtained several conditions which would be crucial to his strategy; a
Hagler, a natural [[Southpaw stance|southpaw]], opened the fight boxing out of an orthodox stance. After the quick and slick Leonard won the first two rounds on all three scorecards, Hagler started the third round as a southpaw. Hagler did better, though Leonard's superior speed and boxing skill kept him in the fight. But by the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. As he tired Leonard began to clinch with more frequency (in total referee Richard Steele gave him over 30 warnings for holding, although never deducted a point). Hagler buckled Leonard's knees with a right uppercut near the end of the round, which finished with Leonard on the ropes. Hagler continued to score effectively in round six. Leonard, having slowed down, was obliged to fight more and run less.<ref name=collins>Sugar Ray...Still In Style, Nigel Collins, ''The Ring'' August 1987</ref>
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