Reflections on the Passing of Marvelous Marvin Hagler

You just never know how long life will last, or when/how it will end.

Boxers do not tend to have long, healthy, and productive post-retirement lives, but if any boxer could have been expected to achieve all three of those goals that boxer would have been Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a boxer so prideful that he changed his legal name from Marvin Nathaniel Hagler to Marvelous Marvin Hagler because TV networks did not always refer to him by his preferred designation. A boxer's pride is often his downfall, as many boxers fight long past their primes for big prizes (and, sometimes, small prizes) for which they pay a supreme price as they get older--but Marvelous Marvin Hagler left the fight game on top, the people's champion if not the official champion, and he rebuffed all efforts to bring him back in the ring. When his rival Sugar Ray Leonard tried to entice him back, Hagler retorted to an intermediary, "Tell Ray to get a life."

Hagler had a wonderful post-boxing life, enjoying being an actor in Italy while also spending time with his family. He never looked back with regret, he never returned to the ring, and whenever he was interviewed he spoke with a clear mind and a strong voice that are rare for retired boxers as they get older. Every time I heard him speak I thought that he might be the rare boxer who reached the top, stayed there for a long time, and left the ring with a chance to live to an old age with his faculties intact.

Perhaps I should not be shocked by his death, or by any death, considering how tenuous life can be, and how many tragic deaths and events have happened in the past year or so.

Hagler will always be remembered as one of the greatest boxers of all-time. Hagler achieved a 62-3-2 career record with 52 knockouts against fighters who had an aggregate record of 444-25-6 at the time he faced them; he battled against nearly unbeatable fighters and, in most cases, he beat them. Boxing Illustrated named Hagler the Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s, while The Ring twice honored him as Fighter of the Year and ranked him as the fourth greatest middleweight of all-time. Hagler's rivalries with Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns helped to make the 1980s a golden age for boxing. 

Hagler's most celebrated victory featured perhaps the greatest round of all-time. In a April 16, 1985 match versus Hearns that is forever known as "The War," the two legendary champions threw a flurry of punches in a three round battle royale that culminated in Hagler knocking out Hearns, adding a crown jewel to Hagler's nine year winning streak. After the bout, Hagler said, "You have to take something to get something." Hearns, who lost for just the second time, commented, "I hope the people got their money's worth."

Hagler successfully defended his middleweight championship belt 12 times, and Hagler was the consensus middleweight champion from 1980 until he lost a controversial split decision to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987. Hagler initially wanted a rematch with Leonard, but after Leonard refused Hagler moved on and Hagler never looked back, enjoying his post-boxing life to the fullest.

You just never know. Rest in peace, Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

Old School Video: Hagler-Hearns, "The War"

Marvelous Marvin Hagler (he legally changed his name so that everyone has to call him "Marvelous") held the World Middleweight Boxing Championship from 1980-87, successfully defending the crown 12 times, 11 by knockout. On April 6, 1987, he lost a controversial split decision to Sugar Ray Leonard. Hagler's supporters contend that he landed the more punishing blows, that he controlled the fight and that Leonard "stole" some rounds by throwing flashy but ineffective combinations in the waning seconds; Leonard's advocates argue that he successfully followed his game plan of avoiding a big "bomb" by Hagler and that he "out-fought and out-thought" the defending champion.

Leonard retired after the Hagler fight but--like many boxers--he came out of retirement several times; he won his first three fights after beating Hagler but then he lost a 12 round unanimous decision to Terry Norris in 1991 and he was knocked out in five rounds by Hector "Macho" Camacho in 1997 before hanging up his gloves for good.

Hagler took a much different path than Leonard--and most other boxers. He asked Leonard's camp for a rematch but Leonard refused so Hagler, who was never knocked out and whose only losses came by decision, announced his retirement--and he never came back. He has spent the last two decades working as an actor and a boxing commentator and devoting time to charitable work, most notably with the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Hagler retired with a record of 62 wins (52 by knockout), 3 losses and two draws.

Check out these four videos of "The War," when Hagler defended his World Middleweight title against Tommy "Hitman" Hearns on April 15, 1985.

First, Al Michaels and the late, great Curt Gowdy set the stage by explaining who these two great champions faced prior to their epic showdown:



Here is the first round, still considered to be the greatest in boxing history:



The second round starts off slowly but ends with a bang:



Michaels summed up round three perfectly: "It's Hagler, full of blood...It didn't go very far but it was a beauty!"