FILE – In this November 1983 file photo, Marvin Hagler sweats as he beats challenger Roberto Duran in the ninth round of a boxing match in Las Vegas. Hagler made a unanimous decision on Duran. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo, File)
FILE – In this November 1983 file photo, Marvin Hagler celebrates his unanimous victory over Roberto Duran in a boxing match in Las Vegas. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo, File)
In this April 1987 file photo, « Marvelous » Marvin Hagler (left) joins « Sugar » Ray Leonard in the third round of their middleweight bout in Las Vegas. Leonard won a controversial split decision. Hagler, a Boxing Hall of Famer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo / Lennox McLendon, File)
FILE – In this April 1985 file photo, Marvin Hagler (right) and Thomas Hearns fight during the first round of a world championship boxing match in Las Vegas. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo, File)
FILE – In this April 1985 file photo, Middleweight Champion Marvin Hagler celebrates his title with manager Pat Petronelli and co-manager Goody Petronelli in Las Vegas. Hagler knocked out Thomas « Hitman » Hearns in the third round of the boxing match. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo)
The great boxer Marvin Hagler, right, landed in his TKO win in the seventh round against Willis Warren on November 11, 1978 in Boston Garden and died on Saturday, March 13, 2021, at the age of 66. (AP Photo / Paul Benoit)
FILE In this file photo from August 1974, Marvin Hagler is in the ring after his boxing match against Sugar Ray Seales in Boston. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo / Peter Bregg, File)
FILE – In this November 1974 file photo, Marvin Hagler (right) casts a right to Sugar Ray Seales during a draw in Seattle. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo / Barry Sweet, File)
FILE – Boxer Marvin Hagler poses for a picture in this 1982 file photo. Hagler, the great middleweight boxer whose title reign and career ended in 1987 with a loss to « Sugar » Ray Leonard, died on Saturday, March 13, 2021. He was 66 years old. (AP Photo, File)
He brought every real light and thousands of perceptions into every ring. Usually he went out and the other one was carried. The fight against Hagler wasn’t a career advancement. He had more problems than a telemarketer.
Joe Frazier once told Hagler that he had three obstacles: « You are black, you are a south paw and you can hit. » Hagler also came up in his own shoes and did not ride any coattails.
There were pretty faces everywhere: Ray Leonard, Ray Mancini, Gerry Cooney. The commercials went elsewhere because Hagler had never believed in shtick-and-move.
He had the naive impression that if his body size continued to increase, he would reverse the neutrality of the fans, which is far more offensive than hatred. His greatest achievement is that he did just that. When he died on Saturday at the age of 66, Hagler was recognized as an all-time great and Hall of Famer for perhaps the greatest injustice he had ever suffered. Like most boxers, he was a living script.
Hagler won the middleweight title against Alan Minter in 1980 and beat the next 12 guys who challenged him for it. He won 62 times with 52 KOs. He lost three times, but only once after 1976, and that was Leonard’s split decision that will cause sparks if you rub two boxing writers together. He was never knocked out and he was only knocked down once.
But his first chance to win a title came in his 50th fight, and that was a draw with Vito Antuofermo. Hagler beat Vito in the fourth round of his second leg, his fourth defense of the title, dwarfing his middleweight division, just as another bitter champion, Larry Holmes, questioned all heavyweights.
Pat and his brother Goody ran a gym in Brockton, Massachusetts. A young, pent-up hailer came in. He was from Newark, where rioting broke out, killing 26 people and forcing his mother to take the seven children to Brockton. The Petronellis took him in, and as long as he fought Hagler had them both in his corner.
He usually trained in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the tip of Cape Cod. He was there in 1983, hoping to fight Thomas Hearns, who had just broken his pinky finger. Hagler was in tune with the sun and the wind. « My senses are so strong that I can tell you have a pack of cigarettes in your pocket, » he told a visiting author. He was right.
Hagler-Hearns finally took place in 1985. Hearns brought a 7½ inch range advantage through the ropes. In the first round he also cut open Hagler’s head. Hagler went on to whaling, and together they created a piece of uninterrupted malice that became his own standard. Was Pacquiao-Marquez IV a great fight? For sure. But it wasn’t Hagler-Hearns.
A ring doctor checked Hagler’s eye and asked if he wanted to continue. « I don’t miss him, do I? » Hagler answered. It wasn’t and Hearns finished late in the third round. It took Hagler less than nine minutes to touch the hearts he had haunted for 12 years.
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In 1987, Hagler decided to cash out and become legendary. He agreed to fight Leonard, who had fought once every five years and never paid more than £ 150. Now he was in Hagler’s 160 pound quarter and the champion couldn’t imagine losing. During the negotiations, Hagler’s camp insisted on a 15 round bout but required an additional $ 3 million to accept at the urging of Leonard’s brilliant manager Mike Trainer, 12.
Leonard then conjured up pictures of Ali vs. Foreman and largely outwitted Hagler. It was also heavily gassed in the end and would certainly not have lasted until the 15th. Instead, he could just answer Hagler forcefully enough to win. Did he really win? The argument is nearly 34 years old and is still thriving.
Neither man cared about the consequences. Leonard had five more pathetic fights and was withdrawn by Hector Camacho. Hagler turned to alcohol and he and his wife Bertha got divorced. Then, on an instant instinct, Hagler moved to Italy where he made films, met his new wife Kay, and was widely admired as Hagler. He and Kay were on their retreat in New Hampshire at the time of his death.
Hagler made a concession to the show. He legally changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. It was almost as redundant as his training t-shirt: « Destruction And Destroy ». Fortunately, he had a day when he didn’t have to repeat himself.
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