Fans of a certain age will recall, perhaps with some vividness, how special, how gifted Michael Nunn was. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Nunn was not only the best middleweight on the planet, he was also right up there, either at the top or near the top of the Pound-for-pound rankings. This weekend, Nunn will get his overdue place in the Hall of Fame.
Known as “Second To,” Nunn was trained for a time by Angelo Dundee, and Nunn, a tall, athletic southpaw who had enjoyed a fine amateur career before going pro, wanted to fight one of Dundee’s former fighters in Sugar Ray Leonard. Nunn, who spoke with Thomas Gerbasi of The Ring, says he also wanted to fight Sugar Ray’s fellow ‘Four Kings,’ Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, but Nunn didn’t want to fight Marvelous Marvin Hagler at that time.
“When I was pound-for-pound back in ’88 and ’89, I just wanted to fight Sugar Ray, Tommy Hearns and Duran,” Nunn said. “I never wanted to fight Marvin Hagler because Marvin used to give me a lot of pointers and stuff, and I didn’t want to say, ‘Well, he got old and now I want to fight him.’ I ain’t no coward like that. I have love and admiration for Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He was a great man, and he showed me a lot of things and told me a lot of things. But Sugar Ray, Tommy, and Duran, that’s the only thing I miss about boxing, is not getting the opportunity to fight those guys.”
In 1988 and ’89, Hagler was retired, for good, even if we didn’t know it at the time; what with comeback offers continuing to come Hagler’s way until 1990. While Leonard and Hearns were past their best, they were still, of course, absolute legends. Duran, too, was still winning big in 1989, his upset over Iran Barkley (who Nunn won a close decision over in 1989) being a career highlight.
But none of the still active ‘Four Kings’ wanted any part of Nunn. That’s how it looked, certainly. Nunn was in his prime; he was unbeaten, he was tall, rangy, and he was a lefty. It looked for a time like Nunn might never lose. But in May of 1991, against a 20/1 underdog named James Toney, Nunn was sensationally stopped late in a fight he had been winning. Nunn had peaked, and he had never got the big chance, a big money chance, to fight a Sugar Ray, a “Hitman” or a “Hands of Stone.” We will never know how different Nunn’s career might have been had he managed to lure one of these three all-time greats into the ring with him.
As it is, Nunn, who would move up in weight and won a world title at super middleweight, did more than enough to qualify as a Hall of Famer. This weekend in Canastota, Nunn will be enshrined along with Manny Pacquiao and Vinny Paz.
Nunn’s final record reads 58-4(38). Only Toney managed to stop him.