Even the most hardened ringside observers could not believe what they were seeing as the overwhelmingly intense first round unfolded. There would be no feeling out round, or even minute, as undisputed middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns, a junior middleweight champion moving up in weight for the mega fight at the famed outdoor arena at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, tore into each other from the opening bell on April 15, 1985. The fight was billed as “The War” and it delivered well beyond the hype and high expectations. That opening round was sheer pulsating violence of the highest order as they battered each other for three minutes in the greatest opening round in boxing history and perhaps the greatest round period. Hagler, typically a slow starter but not on this night, wound up with a bloody cut on his forehead. Hearns broke his vaunted right hand. The action rarely relented as the fight went on. Hagler had a sense of urgency due to the blood pouring from his cut, and especially after referee Richard Steele called a timeout in the third round to have the ringside doctor examine it. And who knew how much longer Hearns would last with such a badly damaged right hand? So they rumbled and rumbled. Later in the third round, the southpaw Hagler nailed Hearns with a right hook that sent him into the ropes. Hagler sensed the end was near and went after him full bore, eventually landing a right hand on Hearns’ chin that dropped him to the canvas. Hearns beat the count but his legs were gone and he was clearly in no shape to continue, forcing Steele to call off the epic shootout at 1 minute, 52 seconds. It was Hagler’s crowning moment in the ring and cemented his legacy as an all-time great while Hearns was valiant in defeat. Many have called it the greatest eight minutes in boxing history and nearly 40 years later the glorious battle between these two legends and Hall of Famers remains one of the most memorable and electrifying fights of all time.