On Sunday, Showtime will premier the first episode of a four-part documentary series titled The Kings that explores the golden era of welterweight champions from 1980–89. These are household names: Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns. These are glorious nicknames: Hands of Stone, Marvelous, Sugar and The Hitman.
The doc also gives Sports Illustrated the chance to look back at our coverage of a sport in its heyday, the characters involved, the motivations, the fights, the iconic covers. The lineup of writers who chronicled this era is as deep and legendary as the boxers themselves.