The Legacy of Marvelous Marvin Hagler

A couple of weeks ago the sports world mourned the loss of former undisputed middleweight champion Marvin Hagler. It was a sobering reminder of how great boxing once was and how far it's fallen since Hagler's heyday.

Throughout his career, Hagler was often recognized as one of the greatest fighters of his generation, but that probably falls short of where he truly stands in boxing history. He wasn't just one of the greatest of his generation, or even just one of the greatest all-time middleweights. Marvin Hagler was one of the greatest boxers that ever lived. Here's why.

Skill and Will

Successful boxers usually succeed by doing one of two things. They can master the "sweet science" of boxing and outsmart their opponent with evasive movement, strategic counterpunching, and an elegance to their style that wins over fans and judges. On the other hand, some great fighters can get by with an iron chin and the ability to slug it out with powerful hooks and uppercuts designed to end a fight quickly. Then there are boxers who are able to bounce between these two styles depending on who their opponent was and what the fight called for in the moment. Few fighters - if any - did this better than Marvin Hagler.

Standing at just over 5-foot-9, Hagler had unusually broad shoulders that contributed to his 75-inch reach, a value more commonly seen with heavyweights than middleweights. With those long arms and impeccable footwork, he was able to operate smoothly around the ring and pepper his opponent with jabs. Yet his fights rarely went in that direction.

One of Marvin Hagler's superpowers was his relentless pursuit of bringing the fight to the man in the opposite corner. Rather than leveraging the reach advantage he had in most fights, Hagler would look to swarm his opponent inside with power punches. Often times that can lead to constant clinching and make a boxing match look like a hug-fest. Luckily, Hagler's combination of savvy, speed and stamina made clinching a rarity. His punch rate was always high and the action was always moving.

Further confounding his opponents was the fact that Hagler could seamlessly switch between his natural southpaw stance and an orthodox stance mid-fight. It was hard enough to keep up with Hagler's speed-power combination without having to worry about getting crossed up by his stance. This made him a matchup nightmare and early on in his career he had trouble finding willing participants to get in the ring with him. As Joe Frazier - a fellow agitator and all-time great heavyweight - once told Hagler, "You have three strikes against you. You're black, you're a southpaw, and you're good."

Marvin Hagler was a dangerous fighter, and with a menacing bald head looked the part.

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When he was able to find a willing adversary, Hagler proved to be nearly indestructible even in cases where his opponent was able to stick their punches. He lost just three times in his professional career, and all three by decision. In fact, Hagler was officially knocked down only one time, and even that was clearly a slip, not a knockdown. He often gets credit for having one of the best chins in boxing history. But more than an iron chin, he truly had an iron will. When he needed to, he could get by on simply wanting to win more than the other guy.

As a boxer, Marvin Hagler could best be described as dangerous. While that made him a near flawless fighter, it probably also contributed to a number of unfair breaks he experienced throughout his career. Rather than being deterred by that adversity, it fueled him to the heights that make him an all-time great.

The Fights That Made Him Marvelous

Over a relatively brief 14-year professional career, Hagler stayed busy fighting 67 times. Amazingly, 52 of those fights ended in a knockout and he was victorious in all of them. Whenever he fought it was a must-watch, but here are the bouts that defined his career.

Vito Antuofermo - 1979

By 1979 Hagler was disposing of most opponents he faced with ease and the owner of two regional middleweight titles. That November he fought at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas for his first title shot. Just five months prior, Vito Antuofermo had earned the undisputed middleweight championship and he was to defend his title for the first time against Hagler.

Both marvelous AND wonderful, Hagler trained near his hometown.

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Antuofermo was as aggressive and tough as they come, but he lacked any of the skill and fluidity that Hagler possessed. That made for an entertaining matchup and Hagler controlled the fight from the outset. He was clearly winning in the early rounds, but was never able to finish the champ off. As the rounds piled up, Antuofermo kept bulling ahead and was able to land enough power shots from short range to keep Hagler honest. In a fight where the action never stopped, both fighters impressed by going the full 15 rounds and never hitting the canvas.

In Hagler's mind - and in the court of public opinion both then and now - he had won a close fight, but on the judges' scorecards it was called a draw. Antuofermo retained his title with his face a bloody mess while Hagler left with nothing but a fraction of the purse that the champion took home.

Given Joe Frazier's wise words from early in his career, nothing was ever going to come easy for Hagler and his first title shot taught him a hard lesson. For too much of the fight, he tried to outfox the much slower champion rather than out-brawl him - something he was certainly capable of doing. A lack of aggression may have cost him the world title, but it was a mistake that Hagler would never make again.

Alan Minter - 1980

Wasting no time, Hagler got right back to work with three decisive victories before getting another crack at the undisputed middleweight title. This time it was against Englishman Alan Minter, a southpaw who took the title from Antuofermo in a split decision just a few months after he had faced Hagler.

The fight was to take place in Minter's backyard at London's Wembley Arena. The possibility of a hometown bias among the judges may have been a concern for the Hagler camp, but Hagler himself was determined to not leave the fight in the judges' hands. Whether it was the bad taste he had in his mouth from the Antuofermo fight or Minter saying, "I am not letting any black man take the title from me" before this one, he was hell bent on ending the fight early.

Hagler established complete control in the first round and in the middle of the second scored a massive hook combination that rung Minter's bell and opened him up to a subsequent barrage of punches. The round ended with multiple cuts around Minter's eyes and Hagler establishing a stranglehold on the fight.

In the third round Hagler picked up right where he left off. Within the first minute he had opened up Minter's face again and with blood pouring out of his left eye Minter had a tough time fending off Hagler's relentless pursuit. Shortly after Hagler jettisoned his mouthpiece as he was teeing off on him, Minter was utterly defenseless and the referee called for his corner to close up his eye and suggested the fight be stopped. Minter's manager immediately agreed and with that, Marvin Hagler was the new undisputed middleweight champ.

Reigning champ Alan Minter was no match for Hagler.

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The home crowd was none too pleased with the result and gave Hagler about five seconds to celebrate his victory in the ring before pelting him with debris, including full beers. It had been a long way to the top for Hagler, and it was clear that many in the boxing world didn't want to see him there. However, that wasn't going to stop him from proving he was worthy of it and then some.

Roberto Duran - 1983

Refusing to rest on his laurels, Marvin Hagler successfully defended his title seven times in the first three years of his reign. Each victory was in convincing fashion as none lasted longer than the 11th round. Then in November of 1983 an intriguing new challenger was lined up for the champion.

Roberto Duran had amassed over 80 professional fights before facing Hagler, even though he was only 32 years old. His career included a seven-year run as a lightweight champion and he had spent the early 1980's moving up in weight class to take on higher profile fighters. The bout with Hagler would be the first middleweight fight of his career.

In Roberto Duran, Hagler would encounter more speed than he was used to.

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Duran's fighting style was quite similar to Hagler's. Both were fearsome punchers, but what Duran lacked in size and the ability to switch from his orthodox stance, he made up for with speed and evasiveness. Hagler couldn't rely on ending the fight early as he had done in recent years. Stamina was the key to victory this time around.

In a matchup between two world class fighters whose smarts rivaled their unparalleled toughness, it took a few rounds for the action to pick up while they strategized on the fly. Things were neck and neck through the early rounds - Duran connected more frequently, but Hagler more effectively - and it wasn't until round 10 that both men started to consistently land clean power punches.

By the 12th round Hagler was cut under his left eye and Duran threatened to take control of the fight. Round 13 was his best as evidenced by the fact that he led Hagler by a point on two of three judges' scorecards after that round. The champion needed to win both of the final two rounds in order to retain his belts.

With thoughts of the Antuofermo fight no doubt lingering in the back of his mind, Hagler came out swinging in the 14th round and didn't let up. He pounded Duran inside, beating the man at his own game. The final round was more of the same as he continued to unload on Duran who could do nothing more than take it and survive. To Duran's credit, he never looked in danger of being knocked down despite the punishment. In fact, both fighters astonishingly looked like they could go another 15 rounds after the final bell if their corners would let them.

Hagler did enough in those final two rounds to secure a unanimous decision from the judges, albeit narrowly. One could make the case that a defending champion in Hagler's position would normally earn a more convincing victory on the judges' scorecards given how well he fought, but none of that mattered on this night. Hagler stepped out of his comfort zone to fight an all-time great whose style required him to go the distance. It was his most impressive title defense to date.

Thomas Hearns - 1985

While Hagler defended his title twice more in 1984, scoring knockouts in each, there was another fighter at the top of his game looking to jump up in weight class to challenge him. Thomas Hearns - the reigning light middleweight champ - was chewing through his competition with three successful defenses that year, including a second round knockout of Roberto Duran.

As dangerous as Hagler was in the ring, Hearns may have been even more so. Standing at 6-foot-1 with a ridiculous 78-inch reach he towered over his competition and could strike from distance without fear of being counterpunched. Making things worse, his nicknames of "Motor City Cobra" and "The Hitman" were well deserved. In a peculiar stance, he let his left hand hang low, ready to snap jabs that were actually faster and more powerful than a cobra strike. While the left hand punished his opponent with ease, he kept his right hand cocked and ready to deliver hooks that discharged like howitzers on his opponent.

"The War" was a fight for the ages.

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The run of success both fighters were enjoying set the stage for this 1985 match-up. While nobody knew exactly what to expect when these two titans clashed, it was no doubt going to be entertaining. From the opening bell it became very clear what Hagler's strategy was: suffocate Hearns by eliminating his reach advantage and punching his lungs out. In response, Hearns decided to abandon any kind of defensive tactic and simply swung his massive arms like his life depended on it.

The fight that was eventually dubbed "The War" lasted only three rounds, yet still lived up to the hype. Any further words of mine won't do it any justice, so here in it's entirety is Marvin Hagler's masterpiece.

Sugar Ray Leonard - 1987

After "The War", Hagler took on the undefeated John Mugabi, a lethal puncher whose 25 career victories were all via knockout. The champ handed Mugabi his first loss with an 11th round knockout, but he was showing some serious tread on his tires in his 12th title defense. The smooth operator who could brawl when he needed to was now becoming just a brawler. He beat Mugabi by absorbing his haymakers rather than evading them, and relying on his own brute force to score the knockout. A high-profile bystander at ringside noticed this and saw an opportunity.

Right around the time that Hagler rose to the top of the middleweight division, former Olympic gold medalist "Sugar" Ray Leonard was taking the welterweight division by storm with two classic fights against Roberto Duran. Like Duran, he moved up in weight class until a detached retina in his left eye put his career on hold. About six months after surgery to repair it, the Leonard and Hagler camps got heavy into talks about Leonard's return to the ring being a middleweight title bout.

Those talks coincided with a 1982 charity event in Baltimore hosted by Leonard where many boxing champions - including Hagler - were invited to speak. Hagler was the penultimate speaker before Leonard and seemed to set up the big announcement when he closed with, "...we've [Hagler and Leonard] got to be the Fight of the Century." Leonard then finished his speech by saying, "...[a bout with Hagler] would be the Fight of the Century." The crowd roared until Leonard finished his sentence, "Unfortunately, it will never happen." A clearly miffed Hagler was not amused, and Leonard stuck to his word.

That is, until Hagler finally showed that years of taking on and devouring top competition was taking its toll on him in 1986 and Leonard saw it firsthand. Confident that he could beat a compromised Hagler, he rekindled talks about a fight. After mulling over retirement, Hagler eventually agreed.

In perhaps the most highly anticipated fight of the 1980's, Ray Leonard - on extremely fresh legs after years of inactivity - looked to put on a show. He intended to toy with Hagler by dancing around the ring before finishing rounds with a flurry of punches to impress the judges in a pint-sized imitation of Muhammad Ali. Worn out by his extended title run and the much slower fighter at this point, Hagler looked to take out his frustrations on the man who had teased him years before. His sole intent was to beat the shit out of Sugar Ray Leonard.

Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard took five years to finally happen.

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Even if it wasn't what it could have been a few years prior, the fight was still a great one. Hagler spent most of the fight chasing Leonard and in the rounds that he was able to get his hooks into him, he was able to do some damage. To Leonard's credit, he was evasive enough to avoid getting pummeled and usually countered Hagler's power combinations with a flash of quick - if not terribly effective - punches of his own. With neither man backing down, the fight went the full twelve rounds and the stark contrast in styles made it difficult to determine a clear winner.

Naturally, the ringside judges were split in their decision. To this day, even the court of public opinion is split on who won the fight. In a case like this, the defending champion is almost always declared the winner, especially when they're more effectively aggressive, as Hagler certainly was in this fight. Alas, Leonard went home the undisputed middleweight champ and Hagler took the loss in a title bout for the first and only time in his career. Visions of the Antuofermo fight eight years prior no doubt haunted his dreams that night.

A Champion's Champion

For a brief period, Hagler sought a rematch but was denied. Leonard - supremely confident that he could beat the aging Hagler before the fight - was lucky to escape with a narrow victory and likely wanted no part of a fight that he had a decent chance at losing. By 1988, Hagler officially retired and moved to Italy where he enjoyed the rest of his life and even starred in a few action movies.

As a champion, Marvin Hagler took on any and all challengers.

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Unlike many all-time great fighters, Hagler was able to leave the ring at peace, despite the bitter defeat that his career ended on. He gave it everything he had and couldn't have possibly had a regret when he called it quits. As tenacious and relentless as he was when fighting, he was equally relentless in pushing himself to take on the best possible competitors, even well after he reached the top.

And that - more than his iron chin, more than his smooth footwork, more than his ability to switch stance, even more than his ability to keep the action constantly moving - is what makes him an inner circle Hall of Famer. There are no holes in his résumé. Likely due to the uphill battle he had to climb to get to the top, he approached every fight like he had something to prove. And prove it he did, unlike Ray Leonard who cherry picked his fights after reaching the top and clearly ducked Hagler until the conditions were favorable for him. Current great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. also comes to mind as he's made a habit of taking on the best fighters of his generation only after they're past their prime (Manny Pacquiao, among others), or ducking the most dangerous ones entirely (Paul Williams).

Hagler rose to prominence at a time where the heavyweight division was exiting its golden era and a healthy crop of welterweights and middleweights were on the cusp of carrying the sport. He - along with Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Leonard - was part of "The Fabulous Four" that would dominate headlines through the 1980's. Among many other dangerous top contenders, Hagler took on the other three as the undisputed champion and gave them each one of the toughest fights of their career. You can make the case that he was the most important fighter of one of boxing's most exciting eras.

There's a saying in combat sports that to be the best you have to beat the best. Marvelous Marvin Hagler did that as well as any boxer in the sport's history.

Bibliography

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