Showtime Trailer Out For Leonard Hearns Hagler Duran Docu-Series

On Friday, Showtime Networks released the first video trailer for their upcoming June debut of a four part documentary series “The Kings” chronicling the epic Hall of Fame careers of Sugar Ray Leonard, “The Hands of Stone” Roberto Duran, Thomas “Hitman” Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.  Careers that all intersected by them fighting some of boxing’s most memorable bouts with each other, repeatedly.

And, to say the least, if you are fight fan of any kind, you are going to be captivated by the story-telling, the drama and obviously, the vintage footage to re-live the glorious late 70s through then end of the 1980s with these men. See the trailer here:

As we wrote in April when the four part series was announced by the Premium Cable network, Showtime had this to say by way of promotion,

“THE KINGS spotlights boxing’s evolution from the end of Muhammad Ali’s era to the era of the Four Kings, set against the seismic political and socio-economic shifts taking place in the United States. The Four Kings rose to fame as the presidency of Jimmy Carter and economic recession gave way to the boon of 1980s capitalism and excess harnessed by the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Through in-depth interviews and archival footage, the series also examines the very personal battles that each man waged on his unique journey to the center of the sports world.

“These four men defined an era in boxing,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, SHOWTIME Sports. “Their individual stories, forever linked by the spectacular battles they waged, reflect a tumultuous period in American culture and history.

THE KINGS takes the viewer beyond the glorious action of some of history’s most memorable prizefights to illuminate each man’s dramatic journey and the societal context that made them stars of sports and popular culture.” 

The timing of the June release comes on the heels of recent anniversaries in April of the EPIC 1985 Hagler-Hearns three round battle, which is still regarded 35 years later as the greatest “short fight” in championship boxing history. And, also the April anniversary of the 1987 Leonard dethroning the seemingly unbeatable Hagler in an amazing comeback for Sugar Ray off a three year layoff.

Again from the Showtime press release,

Fittingly, THE KINGS premieres in the 45th anniversary year of Leonard winning an Olympic gold medal, and the 40th anniversary year of the welterweight world title unification battle between Leonard and Hearns, widely considered their greatest fight and a symbol of the era. 

THE KINGS is produced by Box To Box Film in association with Ingenious Media. The series is executive produced by James Gay-Rees (Amy, Senna, Drive To Survive) and Paul Martin (Diego Maradona, Drive To Survive), produced by Fiona Neilson (Oasis: Supersonic, Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams) and directed by Mat Whitecross (Oasis: Supersonic, Road To Guantanamo).

The series will debut Sunday night June 6th, and new episodes will follow the next three Sunday nights on the network and be available subsequently on Showtime’s On Demand features through cable providers, etc. and through their app/service.