Marvin Hagler RIP

Morrison J

Confirmed by his wife on his facebook. So sad, one of the true greats of the sport.

normanoffside

Morrison J wrote: »

Confirmed by his wife on his facebook. So sad, one of the true greats of the sport.

Terrible, only 66

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL2a2-8OHdg

squinn2912

This is terrible news far too young. One of my favourites

Tomaldo

My favourite ever fight was Marvin v Sugar Ray. Does anyone know why there wasn't a re-match? Rest in peace.

carltonleon

An Icon , plain and simple. Well past legend status.
What a foursome - Hagler, Leonard, Hearns and my fav Duran. Unbelievable ....
Proper champions who all fought each other , all true icons in one of the golden eras and all contributed to it by fighting each other and and not avoiding each other

Your Face

R.I.P. Marvelous.

Icon.

Hamsterchops

Yes indeed a true champion, fearsome, powerful, relentless and lethal, are some of the words that come to mind when I think of Marvelous Marvin.

Will never forget his encounter with Alan Minter whome Hagler destroyed, I always marveled at his physique, bit like a middleweight version of Ken Norton.

Far too young @ only 66
R.I.P. Marvin Hagler.

Larsso30

Far to young. Rip champ. One of the greatest if not the greatest middleweight of all time.

olestoepoke

Undefeated for 11 years and 38 days in one of the toughest divisions in one of the toughest era's. Didn't shy away from a fight, didn't claim to be the best in the world without leaving the UK like a certain modern day fighter we know. Hagler fought them all and beat them all he was a true legend of the sport and 66 is too young.

Bobby Baccala

One of the best to do it and the best switch hitter I’ve ever watched. RIP!

walshb

Tomaldo wrote: »

My favourite ever fight was Marvin v Sugar Ray. Does anyone know why there wasn't a re-match? Rest in peace.

Hagler wanted out of boxing..

Had a serious disdain for Vegas..

walshb

I have watched Hagler-Leonard at least 5 times in completion

7-5 Hagler every time..

No way Ray took that belt..

Littlehorny

My favourite fighter of all time, fearsome, always in great shape, granite chin, could scrap and box. His was like a rock that other fighters just broke themselves off.

RIP Champ

megadodge

Genuinely gutted.

Tuned in to DAZN this morning and started it just at the point where Michael Buffer started speaking very somberly... and I just knew. Don't know how, but there was just something there telling me, yet still when he said his name I let out a long "NOOOOOOOO"!!

I don't have heroes but he was the closest I ever came to one. When I was in Leaving Cert, in order to prepare for speaking in public, our English teacher got everyone to stand up in front of the class to give a 5 minute speech - my speech was on Hagler.

I can guarantee you that there is not a hard-core boxing fan in the world who isn't grieving today. He is quite possibly the most respected fighter of all-time. You never heard anybody put him down, which is saying something given the polarising opinions boxing fans are known for.

He was as complete a fighter as there ever was, yet strangely the Hearns epic has kind of done him an injustice, as it portrays him as a hyper-aggressive slugger prepared to walk through anything to win. In fact he was a beautifully skilled switch-hitter who was equally at home boxing from the outside behind a brilliant jab or throwing multiple uppercuts on the inside. He had very good speed, incredible engine, great timing and of course, pound-for-pound the greatest chin I've seen outside of Oliver McCall. His consistency was awesome.

He even looked the part. In a time when 'big hair' was very common, his shaved dome gave him that incredibly menacing look that perfectly complimented his famous 'destruct and destroy' mentality.

This is going to take a while to sink in.

Rest In Peace Champ.

walshb

Brian Doogan’s The SuperFight was released last year about Ray and Marvin

Great read. Easy read as well. Be done in 5-6 days..

Gives a great insight into both fighters..

walshb

They are mentioning chest pains he was experiencing..

Joe_ Public

One thing i liked about those guys was that while there was obviously great bitterness and rivalry between them when they fought, you could tell there was huge respect for each other too that eventually led to them being able to form strong bonds of friendship later, at least that's the impression i get from watching various documentaries anyway. I think thats the way it should be, though not always the case.

megadodge

You often hear of great sports people's work ethic and I remember hearing a story about Hagler's remarkable attitude many moons ago.

It was around the time he turned pro and he also had to work a manual labouring job on a building site in order to pay the bills. It seems he was such an animal to work that when the boss was hiring somebody new, he put them working with Marvin for 15 minutes and if they could last the pace they were hired. But 15 minutes was the max because nobody could keep up to him for longer than that... and Hagler worked at that pace all day, every day!

No wonder he was always regarded as champ of the blue collar workers.

selectamatic

Teak tough, yet very talented and that mad streak running through him whereby the grind was well and truly embraced.

An opponents worst nightmare.

Rip.

Tomaldo

walshb wrote: »

I have watched Hagler-Leonard at least 5 times in completion

7-5 Hagler every time..

No way Ray took that belt..

I'm no expert on scoring fights. I've watched it 3 times, I thought a draw was a fair result, 'cos Leonard was also very good. Anyway I'm gonna watch it later, what should I look out for in terms of point-scoring, below the belt punches etc

walshb

Tomaldo wrote: »

I'm no expert on scoring fights. I've watched it 3 times, I thought a draw was a fair result, 'cos Leonard was also very good. Anyway I'm gonna watch it later, what should I look out for in terms of point-scoring, below the belt punches etc

Clean effective landed shots is most important.

Other criteria as well

Overall I felt Leonard was trying to steal rds here and there.

Marvin worked harder throughout for me, and was the aggressor..

No problem with a draw, or Leonard winning. For me I felt Marvin took the fight..

I also felt Marvin looked “old” in the fight..

At the Mugabi fight the year before, Ray decided he could beat Marvin.

Coneygree

Did his road work in army boots because he felt running shoes were for sissies. He was a different breed.

I loved the Mugabi fight.

Littlehorny

walshb wrote: »

Clean effective landed shots is most important.

Other criteria as well

Overall I felt Leonard was trying to steal rds here and there.

Marvin worked harder throughout for me, and was the aggressor..

No problem with a draw, or Leonard winning. For me I felt Marvin took the fight..

I also felt Marvin looked “old” in the fight..

At the Mugabi fight the year before, Ray decided he could beat Marvin.

Yes, Duran was the only one up to the Leonard fight who had gone the distance with Hagler when Hagler was champ and Leonard has said that Duran told him he could beat Hagler. The Mugabi fight was a particularly brutal battle.

megadodge

I think this fantastic picture says is all about Hagler - even a snowstorm ain't stopping him going out on his run.

walshb

I’d argue that Marvin’s greatest trait was his conditioning...

He seemed to never tire. This is both natural and hard graft combined..

Serious trainer..

Good solid power.
Excellent chin and body sturdiness
Good speed, not great
Good feet in the sense balance. Bit slow in sense of movement/adapting
Good array of punching..

My dream fantasy fights are

Hagler-Toney at 160-168
Hagler-Canelo 160
Hagler-GGG 160
Hagler-McClellan 160-168

Morrison J

megadodge wrote: »

He was as complete a fighter as there ever was, yet strangely the Hearns epic has kind of done him an injustice, as it portrays him as a hyper-aggressive slugger prepared to walk through anything to win. In fact he was a beautifully skilled switch-hitter who was equally at home boxing from the outside behind a brilliant jab or throwing multiple uppercuts on the inside. He had very good speed, incredible engine, great timing and of course, pound-for-pound the greatest chin I've seen outside of Oliver McCall. His consistency was awesome.

Yes, this doesn't get said near as often enough. I always think the first Mustafa Hamsho fight is a great one to gauge how incredibly skilled Hagler was as a boxer. Systematically picking him apart behind the jab. Was a joy watching him on the outside using feints and picking his combinations behind the jab.

I always think Leonard suffers from the same misconceptions that Hagler does in that most people’s notion of their styles are based on their most famous fights alone. Leonard wasn’t typically a slick back foot boxer in the same way Hagler wasn't some relentless seek-and-destroy type. They were actually both the opposite of what they were advertised as.

squinn2912

Was it last year that he was calling for one belt for each division? I remember thinking it strange the way he framed it saying that he’d like to see it before he died. I was wondering if it was an indicator that he was very unwell. I rubbished it in my mind thinking sure he’s only a young man. I feel hollow today.

Incidentally I think there’s not a boxing fan in the world who isn’t in agreement. Would love that campaign to gather momentum. What a tribute it would be. The Ali Trophy went some way to tightening things up in certain divisions with the belts on the line too. Hardly ever happen.

megadodge

Tomaldo wrote: »

My favourite ever fight was Marvin v Sugar Ray. Does anyone know why there wasn't a re-match? Rest in peace.

Marvin absolutely wanted the rematch, but Leonard 'retired' again, claiming it was just a once-off.

And that was it for Hagler. He stayed true to his word when he retired and never came back.

walshb

Littlehorny wrote: »

Yes, Duran was the only one up to the Leonard fight who had gone the distance with Hagler when Hagler was champ and Leonard has said that Duran told him he could beat Hagler. The Mugabi fight was a particularly brutal battle.

He kind of struggled to beat Duran, and if I am correct I think he needed to win the final 2 rds to secure the win..

Duran was two weights above where he belonged, and was not supposed to be any threat.

Hagler beat him, but Duran’s boxing skills, wily skills and experience showed Marvin’s vulnerabilities..

Duran also told Ray that Ray can beat him...as you say.

And really, style and size wise you would have had to have thought that Ray does better than Duran..

Mugabi fight was terrific. Rd 6 is an all time great round.

I remember as a young kid hearing about this Mugabi being 26-0 with 26 KOs I think it was, and being completely wowed by it.

That fight took another few miles off Marvin’s clock

Tomaldo

walshb wrote: »

Clean effective landed shots is most important.

Other criteria as well

Overall I felt Leonard was trying to steal rds here and there.

Marvin worked harder throughout for me, and was the aggressor..

No problem with a draw, or Leonard winning. For me I felt Marvin took the fight..

I also felt Marvin looked “old” in the fight..

At the Mugabi fight the year before, Ray decided he could beat Marvin.

Just watched the first 4 rounds, not much in it but Leonard definitely hits Hagler below the belt in the 4th round. Does anyone know what sort of penalty in terms of point scoring that should result in. The ref didn't warn him about it.

walshb

Tomaldo wrote: »

Just watched the first 4 rounds, not much in it but Leonard definitely hits Hagler below the belt in the 4th round. Does anyone know what sort of penalty in terms of point scoring that should result in. The ref didn't warn him about it.

If the ref doesn’t see/acknowledge it then “it didn’t happen.”

Usually a referee will issue a warning or warnings, then take points, and can DQ as well. It’s a journey!

Tomaldo

walshb wrote: »

If the ref doesn’t see/acknowledge it then “it didn’t happen.”

Usually a referee will issue a warning or warnings, then take points, and can DQ as well. It’s a journey!

yeah, I suppose it was like Maradona and Henry's handball. Anyway IMHO Leonard won it. One of the commentators said Sugar Ray insisted it was 12 rounds, is that the max or min for this division? I was amazed at the end of it neither fighter had a cut, bruise or blood on them.

Big Ears

Tomaldo wrote: »

yeah, I suppose it was like Maradona and Henry's handball. Anyway IMHO Leonard won it. One of the commentators said Sugar Ray insisted it was 12 rounds, is that the max or min for this division? I was amazed at the end of it neither fighter had a cut, bruise or blood on them.

World title fights used to be 15 rounds.
In the 80's this started to be changed to 12 rounds for safety reasons.

There was a period of time where title fights were taking place over both 12 and 15 rounds depending on the fight/organisation involved.

All World title fights now take place over 12 rounds, and have done for nearly 30 years at this stage I'd say.

walshb

Tomaldo wrote: »

yeah, I suppose it was like Maradona and Henry's handball. Anyway IMHO Leonard won it. One of the commentators said Sugar Ray insisted it was 12 rounds, is that the max or min for this division? I was amazed at the end of it neither fighter had a cut, bruise or blood on them.

There was well known changes and demands for the fight.

Marvin conceded to some, but it wasn't at all as impacting as some Hagler fans would want you to believe.

Large ring Ray wanted: Got it
12 rds distance: got it
Larger gloves: got it (not 100 percent here. Need to check) 10 oz Reyes

But really, the gloves and distance issue not all that important.

Ring size was the one that probably was most helpful for Ray, who did a fair bit of moving, or running in Marvin's eye.

Hagler should not have been losing over 12 rds to quite an inactive fighter.

Smaller man as well, albeit not much smaller. Marvin was not a big MW. He was average....

What won Ray the fight?

In one word.......his "feet"

And Marvin's clearly slower/plodding feet.

The big difference in them was the use of feet, and how Ray's feet allowed him to move and dart in and out and laterally move and keep Marvin plodding forward and forcing his shots. Ray had both fast feet and great footwork overall. Never allowing Marvin to really set any rhythm or set up his punches.

Ray knew standing toe to toe for too long would see him get hit and hurt.

walshb

Tomaldo wrote: »

was amazed at the end of it neither fighter had a cut, bruise or blood on them.

Interesting you mention this

I remember when watching it I noticed that their shots didn't seem to be up to much......Hagler's shots were almost pulled looking.....

He just was not near the same type fighter he had been in previous fights....

Leonard did really put a lot of effort into some his shots, but they barely tickled Marvin's skull.....

I really admired Hagler and loved his toughness and mentality and sturdiness and all that. He had weaknesses that I think others greats could have exposed. I think it boils down to a little bit of zip lacking/speed/explosiveness. Can't put my finger on it....kind of cumbersome at times.......

A good solid puncher with fitness, chin and variety would be a tough match for him.

Canelo-Hagler at 160 would be something truly special.

I know, many would be jumping to pick Hagler, but I reckon it is very close.....

Hagler probably a bit too fit and busy.....but, Hagler better be prepared to be hit clean all night, as well as see a lot of his shots miss....

squinn2912

walshb wrote: »

Interesting you mention this

I remember when watching it I noticed that their shots didn't seem to be up to much......Hagler's shots were almost pulled looking.....

He just was not near the same type fighter he had been in previous fights....

Leonard did really put a lot of effort into some his shots, but they barely tickled Marvin's skull.....

I really admired Hagler and loved his toughness and mentality and sturdiness and all that. He had weaknesses that I think others greats could have exposed. I think it boils down to a little bit of zip lacking/speed/explosiveness. Can't put my finger on it....kind of cumbersome at times.......


A good solid puncher with fitness, chin and variety would be a tough match for him.

Canelo-Hagler at 160 would be something truly special.

I know, many would be jumping to pick Hagler, but I reckon it is very close.....

Hagler probably a bit too fit and busy.....but, Hagler better be prepared to be hit clean all night, as well as see a lot of his shots miss....

What a treat that fight would be. I would be picking Hagler there. On his best night I think he has too much pressure for Canelo. It would go the distance though IMO and that might favour Canelo who might be a bit cleaner and faster.

Hagler reminds me a lot of Holyfield with such toughness and ability to take hits. Super fighter. Those greats are so great that one night couldn’t decide it. I think a lot of them turn into trilogies after a one all and likely both camps would be claiming all three fights.

It’s devastating to be writing about this guy like this. Poor fella.

SHOVELLER

walshb wrote: »

I have watched Hagler-Leonard at least 5 times in completion

7-5 Hagler every time..

No way Ray took that belt..

Well he did and I agree with the decision. Ray did steal rounds and had studied Hagler and knew what he had to do. Anyway Hagler got out with $19 million for that fight so deep down think he knew he was nearing the end. Wasn't he the one who gave the silk pajamas quote?!

Anyway very sad news and at such a young age too. Never ever imagined Hagler would be the first of the Four Kings to go. Must dig out Kimball's book again.


RIP Champ