Boxing

Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler

A genuinely legendary middleweight and one of boxing's greatest fighters, Marvelous Marvin Hagler reigned as undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987.

He was perhaps most famous for his fights with fellow "Fab Four" members; Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran.

Thought by many to be one of the sports greatest ever middleweights, and an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Hagler was named Fighter of the Decade in the 1980s by Boxing Illustrated magazine.

He was also twice awarded Fighter of the Year by The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Also considered one of the toughest fighters in the history of the sport, Hagler possessed outstanding boxing skills coupled with an iron chin that resulted in him being knocked down just once in his entire career, a knockdown that was, and is still considered contentious today.

Following his infamous bout with Leonard in 1987, Hagler would retire from the sport at the age of 34 with an outstanding career record of 62-3-2 before heading to the sunnier climes of Italy, where he would become an action film star.

On March 13, Hagler passed away aged 66.

The Fab Four rivalry

While undoubtedly a great champion in his own right, Marvin "Marvelous" Hagler will always be best remembered for being part of the so-called Fab Four - an elite group of fighters in the shape of Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

However, Hagler would cement his boxing legacy by competing against all three between 1983 and 1987, with his first such bout coming against the legendary "Hands of Stone "Duran on November 10, 1983.

Boasting an impressive 77-4 record heading into the fight, Duran had already been involved in two epic bouts with Sugar Ray, the second of which would result in the now-infamous "no mas" declaration from the frustrated Duran as he succumbed to an eighth-round technical KO.

In what would prove an epic battle of iron-willed warriors, Duran would be the first challenger to go the distance with Hagler in a world title bout.
Still, Hagler would emerge with a narrow but unanimous 15-round decision, with Marvelous coming on strong in the championship rounds to earn a close decision.
Two years on from his gruelling victory over Duran, Hagler would take part in the fight that would surely define his legacy like no other. Indeed, it's almost impossible to say the name Hagler without following it with Hearns.
This legendary three-round war would go down as one of the most explosive and extraordinary fights in boxing history.
From the very first bell, both men would launch vicious attacks, seemingly unfettered by either's highly respected power and while the bout would last just eight minutes and one second, it would rightfully go down as a pugilistic classic, earning Ring's fight of the year in 1985.
As fight commentator Al Michaels noted at the time, "It didn't go very far, but it was a beauty!"
Having defended his WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring middleweight titles for over six years, Hagler seemed an unmovable force in the division before a showdown with former welterweight star Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987 would provide boxing with one of it's most controversial fights.
In what would be Hagler's last contest, he would face a Sugar Ray who had stepped out of three-year retirement (and having just one fight in five years) and was considered a heavy underdog on the night.
However, having taken part in a series of closed-door bouts with 10 oz gloves, rounds, a referee, judges and no headgear to help him shake off his ring rust, Leonard would display little sign of inactivity in this memorable title bout.
Following 12 evenly contested rounds, Leonard would claim a split decision (118-110, 115-113, 113-115) victory, one that remains one of the most hotly disputed decisions in the sport's history.

The Greatest Hits: Mugabi, Minter and Seales

While Hagler would reign supreme as middleweight champion for over six years, his route to the title was hard-fought, with the New Jersey-based fighter taking part in over 50 contests before he would finally win his first world title by defeating British fighter Alan Minter in 1980.

Prior to winning the title, Hagler had claimed the impressive first-round knockout of 1976 Olympic gold-medallist Sugar Seales as he established himself as a major force to be reckoned within the middleweight ranks.

However, a first title shot against Italian champion Vito Antuofermo at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, would result in disappointment for Hagler, who, despite having largely outboxed his opponent, would be given only a draw, resulting in the Italian keeping hold of his title.
Fortunately for Hagler, another shot at the title would come less than one year later, with Brit, Minter, now holding the belts following his pair of victories over Antuofermo.

Minter, like many a British fighter, (Henry Cooper and Ricky Hatton for example) was particularly vulnerable to cuts and, having received four deep and wide gashes in the early rounds, was stopped by referee Carlos Berrocat and a third round TKO was declared at Wembley Arena, leading to some unruly scenes amongst a hugely disgruntled home crowd.

A crowd-pleasing and come-forward fighter, Hagler would be involved in some tremendous fights in his illustrious career, none more so than his penultimate bout against John "The Beast" Mugabi.
At the age of 33 and with over 60 fights on the clock, Hagler was perhaps past his fighting prime when he took on the hard-hitting Ugandan. Known as a slick and rapid boxer/puncher, Hagler would become a walk em down slugger in this outstanding clash of warriors.
In a fight that will likely never be forgotten, Hagler would emerge with a stunning 11th round knockout victory, following a back and forth contest that would take much of the best of both men.
An outstanding, iron-chinned, heart of a lion champion, Hagler will always be remembered for the fights he was in, rather than the fights he won.

Hagler's net worth

Despite having retired from the sport over 30 years ago, Marvin Hagler has certainly made good use of his career earnings and is now said to have a net worth estimated to be around $45million.

In the final bout of his career against Ray Leonard, Hagler would enjoy his biggest payday, collecting $20million, having earned over $5million for his win over Duran in 1983.

Personal life

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Hagler has five children with his first wife, Bertha: Charelle, Celeste, James, Marvin Jr., and Gentry. He is also the brother of former middleweight southpaw boxer Robbie Sims.
While the former champion owns a home in Bartlett, New Hampshire, Hagler now resides in Milan, having married his second wife, Kay, an Italian, in 2000.

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