Title: Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing
Author: George Kimball
ISBN: 9781590132388
Publisher: Mcbooks Press
By Fakhry Asa’ad
Boxing is a sport that requires physical prowess, mental discipline, IQ and resilience. Whether you’re a seasoned fighter, a beginner, or just a fan of the sport, there’s always more to learn from the experiences and insights of others.
As an armchair fan of boxing, I often read about stories of the greatest boxers throughout history, and in my quest to find those who can be considered as GOATs (Greatest Of All Time), I stumbled upon a book by sports journalist George Kimball, called “Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing”.
I knew the names — Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvellous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran — but I had no idea of the legacy and the marks each of these four boxers left on the sport of boxing.
After the great heavyweight era in the likes of the legendary Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton in the early 70s, the late 70s saw boxing lapsed into a declined state and interest in it waned. In 1980, however, the sport was revived by a riveting series of bouts involving an improbably dissimilar quartet in Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran.
The foursome, in various combinations, took part in nine bouts against each other, and those provide the framework for this entertaining and colourful history.
While the description of the ring action in this book is truly excellent, what I enjoyed the most about Kimball’s book was the number of highly interesting revelations and corrected misinterpretations throughout.
For instance, the first epic bout between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard was almost called off at the eleventh hour due to Duran’s pre-fight ECG examination revealing an irregularity. Apparently, “Hands of Stone’s” heartbeat had an unexplained arrhythmia, and the doctors were very much concerned. Ray Arcel, Roberto’s sage corner-man, upon hearing this news, was heard to ask, “How can he have a heart problem? He doesn’t even have a heart.”
This was a great, entertaining and factual sports read. Kimball fruitfully conveys the story of “the last great era of boxing” as it could only be told by an eyewitness. He excellently captured the excitement of the bouts which attracted millions to follow the sport, and does a great job in telling the story of each boxer’s career, training and dealings with managers and promoters.
His vantage point as a reporter covering boxing was used to great effect, giving the reader a ringside seat to the fights that electrified the world. The only minus point for me was that the book is too American-centric, and Kimball made it seemed like Panamanian boxer Duran was difficult to understand.
For those fight fans who have not yet done so, reading “Four Kings” is something that I would strongly suggests.
