Marvin Hagler, middleweight boxing great, dies at 66

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

Marvin Hagler, the middleweight boxing great whose title reign and career ended with a split-decision loss to “Sugar” Ray Leonard in 1987, died Saturday. He was 66.

Wife Kay G. Hagler confirmed the death on Facebook on the verified Marvelous Marvin Hagler Fan Club page.

“I am sorry to make a very sad announcement,” she wrote. “Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

Hagler was 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts from 1973 to 1987. He was the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to his loss to Leonard at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 6, 1987.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sports-las-vegas-boxing-roberto-duran-6072cba88b82681488d28e5757eb3638

[Midnight Writer]

1. One of the greats. I still maintain he won that Leonard fight.

Too bad that after all his amazing achievements, that Leonard fight is what makes the first sentence of his obituary.

[exboyfil]

2. Reminds me a lot of the Frazier-Ali dynamics

Except Hagler was better on a comparative basis than Frazier. My dad always loved the punchers over the show boaters (he loved both Hagler and Frazier). That isn't to say that Leonard and Ali weren't two of the best.

I personally don't care for boxing. I loved it when I watched it with my dad because he loved it.

RIP Mr. Hagler. He gave my dad and me some great enjoyment, and he was a great champion.

[H2O Man]

3. Marvin had wars

with Hearns in '85, and with Mugabi in '86. The Mugabi fight took more out of him. Like the Hearns fight, Hagler had an intensity that brought him to victory. But he had decided to retire.

Leonard had flirted with fighting Marvin, but opted not to, until he saw the punishment in the Mugabi fight. Then he challenged Marvin. And Hagler let Ray dictate where the fight was held, the number of rounds, and the size gloves they wore.

Vegas gave Ray a "hometown" advantage. Judges there tend to favor slick boxers, and while Marvin had great skills, his goal was to wear Ray out and crush him. And, to be fair, if the exact same fight had been held in Atlantic City, I believe Marvin would have gotten the decision.

More, had it been 15 rounds, with smaller gloves -- and if Marvin had stuck to fighting as a southpaw -- the fight would not have made it to the decision.

[Midnight Writer]

6. In addition, Leonard insisted on an extra large ring. A big advantage for a slick fighter.

What struck me was the punch count. They were awfully close. But Leonard was throwing a lot of quick "pitty pat" flurries that seemed to annoy Hagler more than hurt him. Hagler had moments when Leonard looked hurt.

Leonard spent the first four rounds dancing backwards around the ring, putting on little offense. Those are rounds I give to Hagler, though you are right, a lot of judges would score for the slick boxer. But enough about Leonard.

The Hagler-Hearns fight was the most exciting fight I ever saw, and I've seen a lot. I paid $50 bucks to watch it live in a theatre, and my friends razzed me because it only went to the third round, but that was about the best $50 bucks I've ever spent.

[Prof. Toru Tanaka]

15. The Hagler-Hearns fight

was judged as the "Fight of the Year" by Ring magazine.

The fight lasted only three rounds but it was eight minutes of nonstop action and brutality. Both fighters came out from the opening bell with one thing in mind- a knockout. Hagler won by KO but he was pounded and bloodied in doing so.

The 1980s were the glory days for middleweights. Hagler, Hearns, Leonard and Duran were four of the all-time greats.

Leonard was smart in requesting a bigger ring which helped him in the fight with Hagler. I personally thought the fight was a draw and I think Leonard scored a lot of his points in end-of the round flurries which might have stood out in the judges' mind.

I was a big fan of Hagler and also "Hitman" Thomas Hearns. I was saddened and shocked to read of the passing of Marvelous Marvin.

RIP Marvelous Marvin Hagler, 1954-2021. Undisputed world middleweight champion 1980-1987.

[bahboo]

4. one tough hombre...

[iluvtennis]

5. Rest in Peace Marvelous Marvin Hagler and May your Memeory be a Blessing.

[appmanga]

7. A great fighter...

...who let his leaving boxing be as admirable as his feats in boxing. I hope he knew how much he was respected and revered by the vast majority of boxing fans. RIP.

[CentralMass]

8. I saw him spar in Provincetown on the Cape (Cod)where he was training.

My brother and I had just finished running the Cape Cod Relay that ended there. We walked into the hotel and there were some boxing rings setup. We, still in our running gear, sat on the edge of the ring with the speed bag setup thinking iui t was a safe dpo tg. When Marvin came out he went straight to that ring and we went to get up and he said no man keep your seats. He worked out awhile on the speed bag. He was really fast and ripped. They mentioned his training weight and while I forget if it was 165 or 175 I weighed the same and while I'm 6'2 I looked like a bean pole in comparison. He moved to the sparring ring and sparred three sparring partners. Tge first wasn't bad but it was a warm up. The second was better and the third oned was as an up and comer that was really good. I think he was one George Foremans sons. He really came after Marvin and who was really impressive.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

9. If you like boxing, watch this...

Rest in Power, Marvin Hagler

[BeyondGeography]

10. That was just a straight-up brawl for three rounds

Hearns was used to intimidating people. Nobody scared Hagler.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

11. When I heard this on the radio this morning, I thought, "didn't he die a month ago?"

That was Leon Spinks. I don't keep up with boxing.

Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks dies at 67

[Escurumbele]

12. Sad, one of the best fighters of all time, and intelligent fighter, a warrior.

I saw the fight against Hearns on a big screen, I was in Boston, and to me it is one of the best ever, they both came out giving everything they had.

Rest in Peace Champion.

[bluedigger]

13. I remember watching the first two Antifuermo matches in awe.

He was a great fighter.

[Maxheader]

14. tough fighter..

Seen him on tv a couple times..rip MH....

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

16. K&R! nt

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Bummer! One Of My All Time Faves

The bout with Hearns was epic!
He was a cool dude, and one of the all-time greats at any weight.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

18. Rest In Power, Marvelous Marvin!