Marvelous Marvin Hagler: Marvelous memories

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was one of the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted. He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparalleled determination. He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly” – Bob Arum

Anybody who knows me knows what a huge Hagler fan I was. He was the guy that really turned me onto boxing. Oh, I loved the sport before his (really popular) era, but he signed me on for life. Growing up in the pre-internet days, boxing was a much harder sport to follow unless you actually lived on one of the U.S. coasts, or maybe Texas, or Mexico or some other 70’s boxing hotbed. But, other than that, it was local and regional fighters you could follow. Or, you could follow world class fighters on TV, or in magazines, that due to the reality of publishing timelines posted news 3 months after it had actually taken place. But, as a teen in the 70’s, I really fell in love with the sport and by the time Marvin won the world middleweight title in 1980, this was my sport, and he was my fighter.

I loved the fact that he didn’t have an easy run to the title. He fought the toughest iron out there, in their backyards, and had 50+ wins (he went 62-3-2 over his 14-year career) before he won the world title. He dispatched a rugged and rough group of challengers, a dozen of them, and only lost 1 title fight, in a controversial SD loss to crafty and slick “Sugar” Ray Leonard.

He fled the 60’s New Jersey race riots with his mom and landed in Brockton, Massachusetts. As a teen, he signed on with the Petronelli brothers as a training/managing team in the amateurs and would stick with them throughout his entire career, never even considering moving to another. He had an iron chin, and he was never off his feet in 67 pro fights, save for a slip, when he was off balance, against Argentinian tough guy Juan Roldan. Yup, in my world he was the goods.

On Saturday night there was some good boxing to watch. Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman Gonzalez waged war in a great fight that saw Estrada get the nod in a close one that should produce a 3rd outing. And, undefeated David Benavidez kept his record clean turning back the challenge of a talented Ronald Ellis who raised his profile in a game and gutsy effort. However, most people were distracted with the shocking news of the passing of Marvin Hagler, their beloved middleweight champion, who had thrilled them on so many nights in the ring.

Marvin was a different man, from a different era, never more apparent than in the divided, cancel culture we live in today. He was loyal, a fighter to the core, and he didn’t pick his spots to be tough. He didn’t think twice about travelling down the freeway into a packed Philadelphia Spectrum to face off against beasts like “Bad” Bennie Briscoe (‘The Battle of the Bad Baldies’). The phone rang for a fight and he went – every time. Marvin was loyal to the core. He worked his whole career for promoter Bob Arum, appreciative of the opportunities and money afforded him by Arum and Top Rank. And, when he picked up a loss, (a rare event in his almost 70 fights), he didn’t look to make changes and lay blame at someone else’s feet. Marvin fought tough guys, in their hometown, and sometimes you don’t get a break on the scorecards – he was an adult who understood that, and he handled it like an adult. Marvin Hagler looked no further than the mirror to see who was responsible for his station in life. He didn’t ask for an easy road, he didn’t feel it was owed to him and he didn’t travel one on his way to the top.

But, this was a different man from a different time. Marvin would turn pro and, for years, worked full days in construction before heading to the gym at night. There wasn’t a lot of money on the way up and he had a family to take care of. So, he did what he had to do.

Hagler would go 46-2-1 in his first 49 outings only coming up short against slicksters Willie Monroe and Bobby Watts in their hometown of Philadelphia, and in a draw with former Olympian Ray Seales. In later rematches Hagler would TKO all three of those fighters. He didn’t worry about saving his record or look to build himself against the easiest competition he could. Instead, he brawled with rugged, solid warriors like Bennie Briscoe and Willie Warren. That was his way and that was his era. You never heard Hagler spouting off about ‘demanding his respect’ as a fighter, like it was a birthright. No, he did the old way; he earned it.

He earned his first title shot in his 50th bout against rock solid champion Vito Antuofermo but had to settle for a draw in a fight most people thought he won. So, in Hager-esque fashion, he didn’t whine, he just strung 3 more wins together over the next 5 months to earn a second crack at the belt. When he got his next title shot, he would not leave it in the judge’s hands stopping champion Alan Minter in his home of London, England. The reward? Fans pelted beer and garbage into the ring on the new champion. No matter – he was heading back home as the new king of the middleweights.

After that he would go on to make 12 title defences that would include outpointing legend Roberto Duran, stopping a string of rugged contenders and scoring a KO over Detroit legend Tommy Hearns in what are considered 3 of the greatest rounds in middleweight history. The back-and-forth war with Hearns, on a promotion simply dubbed “The Fight”, was a non-stop slugfest that saw Hagler’s iron chin save him from an early Hearns assault before turning the tide and KO-ing “The Hitman” later in the bout. While the Hearns fight truly made him a mainstream star, it was only because, previously, he had made the other fights look easy and as a result he wasn’t truly getting the respect he deserved. He turned back the challenges of hard men like Juan Roldan, Mustafa Hamsho and Wilford Scypion. It wasn’t that they weren’t that good, it was that Hagler, a mixture of slick boxing and vicious brutality, made them look that ordinary.

At this point, Hagler was doing Pizza Hut and deodorant commercials, was in ads with Whitney Houston for Diet Coke, was a regular on the Tonight Show with national star and TV legend Johnny Carson, was on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and was really thinking about retirement. However, a huge financial offer, and a great challenge, came along; all that was left was a bout with (come backing) super star “Sugar” Ray Leonard.

The spring of 1987 would see Hagler-Leonard receive incredible media coverage in a fight that captured world-wide attention and a huge, closed circuit television audience. Hagler would come up short in a split decision to Leonard in a fight that many boxing purists felt he won. He left the ring never to fight again but his reputation was intact as one of boxing’s truly great middleweight champions. Hagler had given Leonard a time frame for a rematch but When Leonard didn’t meet it, he walked away. He left an 8-figure payday on the table but he retired wealthy and healthy, walking away on his terms.

The news of Hagler’s passing hurt me deeply as he really led the charge for me into a sport that has been a huge part of my life. My father, who passed years back, was a huge Hagler fan. Marvin was his kind of fighter – no nonsense, fearless and relentless. My dad and I spent many afternoons and nights enjoying Marvin at work and when I think of Marvin, I think of my dad, and the marvelous nights we spent enjoying our favorite fighter.

For me, this is the end of an era and I am deeply saddened. But, I am thrilled I got to enjoy the time that Marvin was indeed the king of the boxing world. He was simply marvelous!

Thanks for the memories - Rest in peace, champion.