Hagler did end his career with a defeat, but it came by a hotly disputed decision to the celebrated Sugar Ray Leonard. And after that July 6, 1987 setback, Hagler walked away from the ring at age 33, never to return.
The southpaw from Brockton, Mass., ended his career with a record of 62-3-2, including 52 wins by knockout. In the last 11 years of has career, he went 36-1-1, as the loss to Leonard ended a remarkable 37-bout unbeaten streak.
So Hagler could hardly be called washed up when he ended his career. Ironically, he retired at roughly the same age as another Brockton great – heayvweight champion Rocky Marciano, who called it quits at age 32 with a 49-0 record.
Hagler reigned as middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, a period during which he captured the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation belts to unify the world title.
The Ring magazineranked Hagler as the fourth-best middleweight of all-time in 1994, and in 2002 rated him as the No. 17 pound-for-pound fighter of the last 80 years. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992.
What Made Hagler Great
The 5-foot-9 Hagler possessed considerable boxing skills. He could jab efficiently, possessed decent speed and moved well. He'd sometimes switch from a southpaw to an orthodox stance to throw his opponents off balance.
But he was a slugger at heart, and hated to back down from a scrap. He was strong, he could punch hard with either hand, and he could absorb punches with the very best. Boxing writer Graham Houston rated Hagler's chin as the best in boxing history.
Hagler's versatility enabled him to deal effectively with opponents of varying styles. He could handle slick boxers, hard-nosed brawlers and big punchers.
But Hagler was almost too good. He was repeatedly passed over for title shots until Vito Antuofermo gave him one in 1979.
Hagler's Rise in the Middleweight Division
Hagler began his pro career in 1973, was 25-0-1 over his first 26 bouts. The only blemish was a 10-round draw with former Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Seals in 1974.
But in 1976, Hagler lost two decisions to Philadelphia fighters in their hometown. He dropped a 10-round majority to decision to Bobby Watts, then lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Willie Monroe two months later.
The loss to Monroe was Hagler's last until he met up with Leonard nearly 11 years later. After the defeat, Hagler cleaned up on Philly's fine stable of middleweights, building a 20-bout winning streak. Included were knockout victories over Seales and Monroe in rematches.
Hagler finally landed a world title shot in 1979, taking on champion Vito Antuofermo. But in a thrilling 15-round bout, the brawling Antuofermo – who was badly ouboxed much of the way – rallied to pull out a controversial draw.
Hagler's Championship Reign
Hagler won three more bouts – including an easy TKO of Watts – before gaining a title shot from Englishman Alan Minter in 1980. A badly bloodied Minter was stopped in three rounds before rowdy crowd at London's Wembley Stadium.
A dominant champion, Hagler piled up 12 successful title defenses, including an easy fifth-round TKO victory over Antuofermo in a rematch.
His closest bout was a tight 12-round decision over former lightweight and welterweight great Roberto Duran, who moved up in weight to challenge him in 1984.
In his next bout, Hagler suffered the only knockdown of his career, going down from a punch by Juan Domingo Roldan, which caught him when he was off balance. Hagler went on to dominate the bout and won by TKO in the 10th round.
Hagler vs. Hearns
Hagler's most memorable fight was vs. former welterweight champion Thomas Hearns on April 15, 1985, in Las Vegas. A deadly puncher who stood 6-2, Hearns also possessed sharp boxing skills. But he couldn't avoid getting into a slugfest with his Hagler, who seemed unconcerned with Hearns' punching prowess.
In a first round often rated as one of boxing's best ever, Hearns landed a series of big right hands at the outset, but Hagler continued to wade in and fire away. Both men were rocked in a non-stop exchange of bombs, with Hagler suffering a deep cut on his forehead and Hearns fracturing his right hand.
Hearns tried to box and long range, but Hagler continued to score heavily and took control. Hagler was continuing the press the action in the third round when referee Richard Steele stopped the fight briefly to check on Hagler's cut. The short break briefly revitalized Hearns, who landed three sharp lefts.
But Hagler hurt Hearns with a body shot, then landed an overhand right that sent Hearns staggering toward the ropes. A second right toppled him to the canvas. Hearns struggled to his feet, but remained wobby, and Steele stopped the bout at 1:52 of the round.
The Leonard Bout and Beyond
Hagler scored an 11th-round knockout of No. 1 contender John Mugabi in 1986 before taking on former welterweight champion Leonard on April 6, 1987, in Las Vegas.
The speedy, elusive Leonard gave Hagler problems with his speed and landed more punches. But Hagler was the aggressor the whole way. He landed the harder shots and had Leonard in trouble late in the bout.
Leonard won on two of the three official scorecards in a decision that was widely criticized. Hagler, saying he was disgusted with the politics of boxing, retied from the ring. He eventually became a movie actor in Italy, starring in a series of action films.
Born May 23, 1954 in Newark, N.J., Hagler officially changed his name to Marvelous Marvin Hagler during his championship reign.
Sources
Boxrec.com
ESPN.go.com
Internet Movie Data Base
