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By TIM DAHLBERG
The wonderful Marvin Hagler stopped Thomas Hearns in a fight that lasted less than eight minutes but was so epic it still lives on in boxing lore. Two years later, he was so disgusted after losing a decision to Sugar Ray Leonard – stolen, he claimed, by the judges – that he never fought again.
One of the great middleweights in boxing history, Hagler died at the age of 66 on Saturday. His wife, Kay, announced his death on the Hagler fan Facebook page.
“I’m sorry to make a very sad announcement,” she wrote. “Today, sadly, my beloved husband, Marvelous Marvin, passed away suddenly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family asks you to respect our privacy during this difficult time. ”
Hagler fought on boxing’s biggest stages against his biggest names, as he, Leonard, Hearns and Roberto Duran dominated the middleweight classes during a heyday for boxing in the 1980s. Calm with a character Grumpy audience, Hagler fought 67 times in 14 years as a pro in Brockton, Massachusetts, finishing 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts.
“If they open my bald head, they’ll find a big boxing glove,” Hagler once said. “That’s all I am. I live it.”
Hagler was unmistakable in the ring, fighting out of a awkward position with his bald head glowing in the lights. He was relentless and vicious, stopping opponent after opponent in an eight-year run that began with a contested draw against Vito Antuofermo in 1979 which he later avenged.
He fought with a proverbial chip on his shoulder, convinced boxing fans and promoters didn’t give him his due. He was so upset that he wasn’t introduced until a 1982 fight by his Marvelous nickname that he went to court to legally change his name.
“He was definitely one of the greatest middleweights of all time, but one of the greatest people I have ever known and promoted,” said promoter Bob Arum. “He was a real man, loyal and just fantastic.”
Any doubts that Hagler wasn’t truly wonderful were erased on a spring night in 1985. He and Hearns met in one of the great outdoor middleweight clashes of the time at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. and when the opening bell rang, they traded punches for three minutes in an opening round that many consider the best in boxing history.
Hagler would stop Hearns in round three, crumpling him to the canvas with a barrage of punches even as blood flowed from a large gash on his forehead that nearly forced the referee to stop the fight earlier in the round.
“When they stopped the fight to watch the cup, I realized they could play games and I wasn’t going to let them take the title,” Hagler said later. “It was a scary feeling. I thought, “Why are they stopping this fight? I didn’t realize I was bleeding. It wasn’t in my eyes. Then I knew I had to destroy this guy.
Arum said Hagler just wanted the win over Hearns, whose big right hand was feared in the division but couldn’t keep Hagler at bay.
“It was an incredible fight,” Arum said. “Probably the greatest fight of all time.”
Hearns said on Saturday he was thinking of Hagler and their historic fight. Hagler wore a baseball cap with the word “war” on it while promoting it on a 23-city tour with Hearns which Arum said had made fighters look down on themselves even before entering the ring.
“I can’t take anything away from him,” Hearns told The Associated Press. “His clumsiness spoiled me, but I can’t take anything away from him.” He fought his heart and we put on a great show for all time.
Hagler would only fight twice more, arresting John Mugabi a year later and then meeting Leonard, who was coming out of a three-year layoff from a detached retina, in his last fight in 1987. Hagler was favored to enter the fight and many thought he would destroy Leonard – but Leonard had other plans.
As Hagler chased him into the ring, Leonard fought back, throwing his left jab and throwing combinations that didn’t hurt Hagler but earned him points on the ring scorecards. Still, when the bell rang at the end of the 12th round, many believed Hagler had pulled out of the fight – only to lose a controversial split decision.
Hagler, who was paid $ 19 million, left the ring in disgust and never fought again. He moved to Italy to play and never really looked back.
“I feel lucky to come out of the ring with my faculties and my health,” he said a year later.
Hagler took the long road to greatness, fighting mostly in the Boston area before finally getting his 160-pound title shot in 1979 against Antuofermo as a main co-event with Leonard fighter Wilfredo Benitez on the same card. Hagler bloodied Antuofermo and appeared to win the fight, but when the scorecards were counted he was denied the belt with a draw.
Hagler would travel to London the following year to prevent Alan Minter from winning the title, and he held onto it for the next seven years before his contested loss to Leonard.
Arum recalled participating in a black tie event honoring top fighters a year later, which included Hagler and Leonard, among others. He said Leonard came up to him and pointed Hagler across the room and suggested he go talk to him about a rematch that would have earned both fighters incredible scholarships.
“I went to see Marvin and said Ray was talking about a rematch,” Arum said. “He looked at me like only Marvin could and said, ‘Tell Ray to have a life.'”
Hagler was born in Newark, New Jersey, and moved with his family to Brockton in the late 1960s. He was discovered as an amateur by the Petronelli brothers, Goody and Pat, who ran a gymnasium in Brockton and would continue to train Hagler for his entire professional career.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
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