Marvelous Marvin Hagler dead at 66

doubledragon

The greatest middleweight boxer in history has died at the age of 66.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.tmz.com/2021/03/13/former-middleweight-champion-marvelous-marvin-hagler-dead-dies/

Justacommeman

RIP. The Hagler-Hearns first round was still the greatest single 3 minutes of boxing I've ever seen. Brutal. Especially for an opening round. It was like Rock em Sock em robots or a Rocky Movie

m

doubledragon

@Justacommeman said:
RIP. The Hagler-Hearns first round was still the greatest single 3 minutes of boxing I've ever seen. Brutal. Especially for an opening round. It was like Rock em Sock em robots or a Rocky Movie

m

That was all out war. Hagler was busted open and still managed to win. An absolute beast. In his prime, I'd put him up against anyone in the history of the middleweights.

bronco2078

he was robbed in the leonard fight

stevek

Great fighter!

RIP

Justacommeman

@bronco2078 said:
he was robbed in the leonard fight

So was Hearns. Twice

m

Brick

RIP

BLUEJAYWAY

When at Caesars Palace in LV many years ago for a Rodney Dangerfield performance, we were seated a table away from MH. He was with a group of people so no chance for a Hello or auto. RIP.

bobbybakeriv

RIP Marvelous. The Hagler vs Hearns fight was awesome. Hearns said he hit Hagler with one of the hardest right hands he ever threw and Hagler didn't go down. Hagler said Hearns hit as hard as anyone he fought. Hagler was cut pretty good and Hearns broke his right hand early. No way that one was going long.

Justacommeman

@bronco2078 said:
he was robbed in the leonard fight

Hagler was so distraught after the Leonard decision that he retired. After that and the two Leonard- Hearns decisions I stopped watching boxing seriously.

m

JoeBanzai

@Justacommeman said:

@bronco2078 said:
he was robbed in the leonard fight

Hagler was so distraught after the Leonard decision that he retired. After that and the two Leonard- Hearns decisions I stopped watching boxing seriously.

m

RIP

I just saw a rerun of the "Tonight Show" with Hagler just before the Leonard fight. I read up on it and saw that Marvin changed to an orthodox style for the first few rounds and lost the first 3-4 rounds, he then went back to fighting "southpaw", eventually losing a split decision.

doubledragon

I loved Haglers style, he would just straight up go to war with you. He was always in phenomenal shape. He had that intimidating look also. The epitome of what a boxer should be. He meant business when he stepped into the ring, and he had the attitude of you're going to have to kill me to beat me. I love it, eat it for breakfast!

Goldenage

No one was robbed in the Hagler-Leonard fight.

The first four rounds went to Leonard. Hagler got most of the middle rounds. The last two rounds have some
people splitting them, and some people giving them both to either Hagler or Leonard.

To say someone got robbed only shows a bias. A neutral observer could see how either fighter got the victory.

If you're saying that Hagler deserved to win, then yes, I agree. But if you're saying he lost because of an unfair bias,
then I disagree. Both fighters deserved to win that night, and it probably should have ended a draw, but it didn't.

DrBuster

Hagler fights were always a good watch. RIP

craig44

I remember thinking he was so cool when he was on Punky Brewster.

stevek

After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Justacommeman

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

stevek

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

Smart move on his part.

galaxy27

best nickname in all of sports

RIP Marvelous Marvin

coolstanley

Hagler Leonard was a good fight. Seen it many times.

hammer1

Tommy Hearns: " On March 13, 2021, the day that Hagler’s wife announced his unexpected death in a Facebook post, Hearns wrote on Instagram, “A real true warrior Pray for the king and his family.. he’s in ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine."

craig44

wow. i hadnt heard that one. that adds another layer.

thisistheshow

Wow! RIP! I loved this guy! My favorite fighter ever!

My Dad was a big boxing fan. He died in September 1981 when I was five. I have memories about my father and Hagler intertwined in my brain. Looking back at the timeline of Hagler's fights and where he fought I can see why.

JoeBanzai

Re-watched Hagler/Leonard tonight.

Close fight, Leonard was pretty smart, both before and during the fight. Hagler shouldn't have switched, neither boxer seemed to ever be in serious trouble. According to "count a punch" they hit each other about the same, with Leonard connecting on a higher % of punches and a fair amount of "power" shots.

Hagler chased Ray for most of the fight, Ray threw some low blows and held quite a bit.

My feelings have always been you need to be a clear victor to beat the champion.

I would have called it a draw or narrow victory for Marvin.

Justacommeman

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

>

And you would be wrong. It's well documented why he left boxing in his own words. But feel free to run a muck. I find it entertaining

m

Justacommeman

@galaxy27 said:
best nickname in all of sports

RIP Marvelous Marvin

The 4 Kings of the 80's all had great nicknames

Sugar Ray Leonard
Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns
Roberto " Hands of Stone" Duran
Marvelous Marvin Hagler

What a time for Welter and Middle weights

m

stevek

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

>

And you would be wrong. It's well documented why he left boxing in his own words. But feel free to run a muck. I find it entertaining

m

Hagler quit boxing for a movie career. Similar to what Jim Brown did.

Smart move on both of their parts.

But i guess you believe every boxer who states that a given fight is their final fight? Well sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

doubledragon

Getting on his bicycle, that's what they used to call it when Sugar Ray Leonard would make you chase him. He would get on his bicycle and ride around the ring. He had to run from Hagler because if he would have fought him straight up in the center of the ring blow for blow, Hagler would have dismantled him. No way Ray Leonard could have went to war with him in the middle of the ring for that many rounds and won.

JoeBanzai

@doubledragon said:
Getting on his bicycle, that's what they used to call it when Sugar Ray Leonard would make you chase him. He would get on his bicycle and ride around the ring. He had to run from Hagler because if he would have fought him straight up in the center of the ring blow for blow, Hagler would have dismantled him. No way Ray Leonard could have went to war with him in the middle of the ring for that many rounds and won.

Then perhaps he shouldn't have won? I get the style difference, but the challenger should be more aggressive if he wants to take the title from the champ imo.

I am not so sure about Leonard not being able to "slug it out" with Hagler. If you watch closely, he does pretty well when Marvin does get him in the corner or up against the ropes. Hagler missed a lot of punches.

Even though I like Hagler in this fight, I was surprised at how hard Ray hit and how Marvin wasn't able to hurt his opponent.

Great fight!

stevek

@JoeBanzai said:

@doubledragon said:
Getting on his bicycle, that's what they used to call it when Sugar Ray Leonard would make you chase him. He would get on his bicycle and ride around the ring. He had to run from Hagler because if he would have fought him straight up in the center of the ring blow for blow, Hagler would have dismantled him. No way Ray Leonard could have went to war with him in the middle of the ring for that many rounds and won.

Then perhaps he shouldn't have won? I get the style difference, but the challenger should be more aggressive if he wants to take the title from the champ imo.

I am not so sure about Leonard not being able to "slug it out" with Hagler. If you watch closely, he does pretty well when Marvin does get him in the corner or up against the ropes. Hagler missed a lot of punches.

Even though I like Hagler in this fight, I was surprised at how hard Ray hit and how Marvin wasn't able to hurt his opponent.

Great fight!

I watched that fight live on TV. I thought technically Leonard did win the fight.

Don't forget it's Marquess of Queensberry rules, and Leonard did everything to win within the rules. In a street fight, I'd of course take Hagler every time to easily win.

I mentioned earlier that Leonard came up to Hagler after the fight and said "you beat me" or words to that affect. But Leonard also stated in interviews afterwards that his fight strategy was well planned, mainly to keep Hagler at bay for most of each round, then get involved in flurries at the end of each round to hopefully persuade the judges to give him that round. Well, it worked.

It worked with me as well, as i gave the fight to Leonard. Yes, Hagler was the aggressor and at times Leonard ran like a rabbit, but within the rules, Leonard won, in a very close call.

doubledragon

You have to give Leonard credit, he had a great plan against Hagler, and it worked. He stepped into the ring a challenger, and he stepped out of the ring the champion, and at the end of the day, that's what mattered. He did what no one could do for years, he took the belt from Hagler.

JoeBanzai

@stevek said:

@JoeBanzai said:

@doubledragon said:
Getting on his bicycle, that's what they used to call it when Sugar Ray Leonard would make you chase him. He would get on his bicycle and ride around the ring. He had to run from Hagler because if he would have fought him straight up in the center of the ring blow for blow, Hagler would have dismantled him. No way Ray Leonard could have went to war with him in the middle of the ring for that many rounds and won.

Then perhaps he shouldn't have won? I get the style difference, but the challenger should be more aggressive if he wants to take the title from the champ imo.

I am not so sure about Leonard not being able to "slug it out" with Hagler. If you watch closely, he does pretty well when Marvin does get him in the corner or up against the ropes. Hagler missed a lot of punches.

Even though I like Hagler in this fight, I was surprised at how hard Ray hit and how Marvin wasn't able to hurt his opponent.

Great fight!

I watched that fight live on TV. I thought technically Leonard did win the fight.

Don't forget it's Marquess of Queensberry rules, and Leonard did everything to win within the rules. In a street fight, I'd of course take Hagler every time to easily win.

I mentioned earlier that Leonard came up to Hagler after the fight and said "you beat me" or words to that affect. But Leonard also stated in interviews afterwards that his fight strategy was well planned, mainly to keep Hagler at bay for most of each round, then get involved in flurries at the end of each round to hopefully persuade the judges to give him that round. Well, it worked.

It worked with me as well, as i gave the fight to Leonard. Yes, Hagler was the aggressor and at times Leonard ran like a rabbit, but within the rules, Leonard won, in a very close call.

I actually thought Ray was the more of the "street fighter" in this contest, hitting with quite a few low(ish) blows and being warned several times for holding the back of Marvin's head.

The two judges who were actually watching the fight saw it as a draw, which I would agree with as easily as with either fighter getting the win.

Leonard fought a very smart fight and hit a lot harder than I thought he could. I didn't see Hagler with his reputation as a puncher hurt Ray at all.

Personally, I feel the champion has to be beaten and I didn't quite see it here.

Unusual fight to begin with, Leonard coming out of retirement and Marv being at the end of his career. Leonard also got a 12 round fight instead of 15, bigger gloves and a bigger ring, otherwise he was going to refuse to fight. Smart man and fighter!

Hagler and his advisors made some bad decisions against a great fighter. Of course 12 million dollars is a big motivator.

I sure can't argue too hard against saying that Leonard won. Since the records say he did, I guess you are correct!

thisistheshow

For the record, Marvelous Marvin Hagler was his legal name. He changed it because announcers and media weren't using it enough.

stevek

@JoeBanzai said:

@stevek said:

@JoeBanzai said:

@doubledragon said:
Getting on his bicycle, that's what they used to call it when Sugar Ray Leonard would make you chase him. He would get on his bicycle and ride around the ring. He had to run from Hagler because if he would have fought him straight up in the center of the ring blow for blow, Hagler would have dismantled him. No way Ray Leonard could have went to war with him in the middle of the ring for that many rounds and won.

Then perhaps he shouldn't have won? I get the style difference, but the challenger should be more aggressive if he wants to take the title from the champ imo.

I am not so sure about Leonard not being able to "slug it out" with Hagler. If you watch closely, he does pretty well when Marvin does get him in the corner or up against the ropes. Hagler missed a lot of punches.

Even though I like Hagler in this fight, I was surprised at how hard Ray hit and how Marvin wasn't able to hurt his opponent.

Great fight!

I watched that fight live on TV. I thought technically Leonard did win the fight.

Don't forget it's Marquess of Queensberry rules, and Leonard did everything to win within the rules. In a street fight, I'd of course take Hagler every time to easily win.

I mentioned earlier that Leonard came up to Hagler after the fight and said "you beat me" or words to that affect. But Leonard also stated in interviews afterwards that his fight strategy was well planned, mainly to keep Hagler at bay for most of each round, then get involved in flurries at the end of each round to hopefully persuade the judges to give him that round. Well, it worked.

It worked with me as well, as i gave the fight to Leonard. Yes, Hagler was the aggressor and at times Leonard ran like a rabbit, but within the rules, Leonard won, in a very close call.

I actually thought Ray was the more of the "street fighter" in this contest, hitting with quite a few low(ish) blows and being warned several times for holding the back of Marvin's head.

The two judges who were actually watching the fight saw it as a draw, which I would agree with as easily as with either fighter getting the win.

Leonard fought a very smart fight and hit a lot harder than I thought he could. I didn't see Hagler with his reputation as a puncher hurt Ray at all.

Personally, I feel the champion has to be beaten and I didn't quite see it here.

Unusual fight to begin with, Leonard coming out of retirement and Marv being at the end of his career. Leonard also got a 12 round fight instead of 15, bigger gloves and a bigger ring, otherwise he was going to refuse to fight. Smart man and fighter!

Hagler and his advisors made some bad decisions against a great fighter. Of course 12 million dollars is a big motivator.

I sure can't argue too hard against saying that Leonard won. Since the records say he did, I guess you are correct!

I only watched the fight once when it was broadcast live, and that was a long time ago. But i believe ya, especially since it's not easy to make a brute such as Roberto Duran just sit down and quit without being knocked out and say "No Mas.". At least some of those Leonard punches had to sting Hagler, and Leonard must have at least some street fighter in him.

Leonard also got that detached retina. I'm not sure if that ever could get repaired or not, but it shows that Leonard had heart as well. Of course against a beast such as Hagler, you gotta do what ya gotta do to try to win. Tommy Hearns learned the hard way not to go toe to toe with Marvin Hagler.

And if those in heaven are smart, they won't go toe to toe against Marvelous Marvin either.

JoeBanzai

The good old days! I sure miss them.

I saw it years ago and watched it again the other day in it's entirety, what a battle!

Justacommeman

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

>

And you would be wrong. It's well documented why he left boxing in his own words. But feel free to run a muck. I find it entertaining

m

Hagler quit boxing for a movie career. Similar to what Jim Brown did.

Smart move on both of their parts.

But i guess you believe every boxer who states that a given fight is their final fight? Well sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

No, he left boxing an angry man. One over the poor decision of the fight and the two he was tired of waiting for Leonard to offer a rematch. I'll go with his words over your speculation. He only did a movie in retirement. He didn't retire to do a movie.

m

stevek

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

>

And you would be wrong. It's well documented why he left boxing in his own words. But feel free to run a muck. I find it entertaining

m

Hagler quit boxing for a movie career. Similar to what Jim Brown did.

Smart move on both of their parts.

But i guess you believe every boxer who states that a given fight is their final fight? Well sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

No, he left boxing an angry man. One over the poor decision of the fight and the two he was tired of waiting for Leonard to offer a rematch. I'll go with his words over your speculation. He only did a movie in retirement. He didn't retire to do a movie.

m

No, Hagler left boxing a rich man.

I think you're a fight fan, so you should know that boxer's "retirement speeches" are often BS. A number of them say they're retiring after a fight, and then a year later, sometimes longer like a Mike Tyson or George Foreman, they're back at it.

If Hagler was truly "angry" but still desired to box, it's obvious that he would have simply done so.

I think if Hagler wins the fight, he retires anyway. He lost his desire to do it, and the big money certainly helped with that. Besides, there's less contact in doing movies than in boxing.

thisistheshow

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:

@Justacommeman said:

@stevek said:
After that fight which the judges called for Leonard, and the decision was announced, didn't Leonard go over to Hagler and say "you beat me" or words to that affect?

Yes publicly Hagler was disappointed, but privately i doubt if he was disappointed at all. Hagler made a lot of money off that fight.

Hagler quit boxing over that decision. I'd say he was pretty disappointed

m

I'd say he made a ton of money and decided to retire, before his brain turned to mush.

>

And you would be wrong. It's well documented why he left boxing in his own words. But feel free to run a muck. I find it entertaining

m

Hagler quit boxing for a movie career. Similar to what Jim Brown did.

Smart move on both of their parts.

But i guess you believe every boxer who states that a given fight is their final fight? Well sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't.

No, he left boxing an angry man. One over the poor decision of the fight and the two he was tired of waiting for Leonard to offer a rematch. I'll go with his words over your speculation. He only did a movie in retirement. He didn't retire to do a movie.

m

Leonard ducked Hagler when Leonard initially retired. He did it again after their fight. You are correct, @Justacommeman Hagler had only one thing to prove at the end, and that was that he could beat Leonard. When this match wasn't coming to fruition he eventually decided to retire. The movies weren't about the money, as they paid a pittance compared to boxing. But he felt good making them, producing something tangible, being part of something. They gave him joy.

doubledragon

Sugar Ray Leonard made a comment about his famous fight with Marvin Hagler. He said about the fight, "It was the closest I've been to death."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/amp/sugar_ray_leonard_comments_on_famed_fight_after_death_of_marvin_hagler/s1_127_34347521

bobbybakeriv

@doubledragon said:
Sugar Ray Leonard made a comment about his famous fight with Marvin Hagler. He said about the fight, "It was the closest I've been to death."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/amp/sugar_ray_leonard_comments_on_famed_fight_after_death_of_marvin_hagler/s1_127_34347521

Ali said something just like that in '75 after the 'Thriller in Manila' fight with Joe Frazier.

stevek

@bobbybakeriv said:

@doubledragon said:
Sugar Ray Leonard made a comment about his famous fight with Marvin Hagler. He said about the fight, "It was the closest I've been to death."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.yardbarker.com/boxing/articles/amp/sugar_ray_leonard_comments_on_famed_fight_after_death_of_marvin_hagler/s1_127_34347521

Ali said something just like that in '75 after the 'Thriller in Manila' fight with Joe Frazier.

You're right and that's likely where Leonard got it from.

Frankly, yes it was a tough fight, but i don't recall any "close to death" type of experience.

Whereby with that Ali-Frazier fight, it was fought in a hot humid stadium and estimated ring temperature was over 100 degrees. It sucked the strength right out of both of them, as well as being a brutal fight. When Ali stated, his fight was "near death" or however he phrased it, I believe him.

Mickey71

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was clearly my favorite fighter at that time.....and with my eyes he also clearly lost that fight. It almost seemed like a bad matchup for Hagler. Leonard was quick. Hagler had great power; but could not deliver that big shot to Leonard. Just my opinion. RIP Marvin Hagler- a fantastic champion.

craig44

too bad there couldnt have been a rematch.

Justacommeman

@craig44 said:
wow. i hadnt heard that one. that adds another layer.

Turns out it was anti-vaxxer nonsense as suspected.

Thanks to misinformation spread by anti-vaxxers and a former rival, the grieving widow of boxing legend "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler felt the need to clarify that her husband's unexpected death was not caused by a COVID-19 vaccination.

Kay Hagler, the boxer's wife of more than 20 years, released a statement Monday through the same Facebook fan group in which she announced her husband's death. After thanking fans for their love and supportive messages, Hagler denied speculation that the death was caused by COVID-19 vaccine complications, calling such comments "stupid" and "nonsense."

coolstanley

@craig44 said:
too bad there couldnt have been a rematch.

Leonard was good at dodging rivals.