Was Hagler robbed in his first match with Vito Antuofermo?

[ThatOne]

Please discuss

[Cutman Scabbers]

As far as I've heard, that's the consensus.

[tiny_acres]

It has been years since I have seen this fight.But I remember it close but a clear win for Hagler.
Not the best decision but far from a huge robbery.

[Seamus]

Nope, I thought Vito won. He took the fight to Hagler for 15 rds and punched him anywhere he could. It was one of the best examples of a guy who was inferior in every possible category, simply refusing to lose.

[pbchron]

In boxing one has to prove that he is as good as he hypes himself. Before the fight Hagler kept demeaning Vito (who was one of the toughest guys ever), calling him "Vito the misquito," saying Vito won't last 3 rounds. We are all human and maybe subconsciously we are saying 'OK mr. wonderful' prove yourself. After Marvin got off to an early lead Vito starting fighting Hagler to a standstill, contesting every round with savage fury and maybe the judges and many of the fans tended to give a close round to Vito with the thinking "OK if you are so great Hagler, and Vito is a such a bum, why are you having so much trouble with him ? I thought Hagler edged it but I was glad he didn't get it. He disrespected the toughest fighter (except maybe Briscoe) he ever fought.

[Seamus]

My favorite moment in the bout is in the 13th rd, when Vito gives Hagler a pounding forcing Marvin to get up on his toes and stay out of range, to which Vito responds by waving to the baddest man on the planet, to C'mon and fight.

[Broomhall]

What a tough man Antuoformo was, as I recall though the consensus at the time was that Hagler had won the fight but that Vito had scored a moral victory in giving Hagler such a hard (and unexpected) fight.

[Chuck1052]

I had Marvin Hagler winning in the first bout with Vito Antuofermo, pitching a virtual shutout in the first ten rounds of the scheduled fifteen-round bout. But afterwards, Antuofermo came on to take the last five rounds to get a draw. I think that it was a blessing in disguise for Hagler because he learned that you cannot take anything for granted. As a result, Hagler had some emphatic victories afterwards.

- Chuck Johnston

[yancey]

Saw the fight live.

Hagler clearly won.

[SenorPipino]

When I watched the fight live on the ABC prime time telecast, my feeling was that Hagler clearly deserved the nod, although Vito came on strong in the later rounds.
But having seen replays of the bout in recent years, I now feel that Antuofermo's aggressiveness and high punch output (albeit low connect percentage) made it a much closer bout than it initially appeared.
I still lean toward Hagler deserving the verdict, but on second viewing, the draw decision no longer seems so outlandish.

[klompton]

I thought a draw was right. This was another example of Hagler using a poor strategy in one of his biggest fights (like he did in the Duran and Leonard fights). He fell asleep at the wheel over the last half of the fight allowing the champion to pick up steam and carry the momentum. I thought the second fight was more controversial where Hagler clearly intentionally headbutted Vito more than once opening those cuts that stopped the fight. Hagler should have lost on a DQ or at least had that fight considered a NC. For a guy who was supposedly such a badass and so tough Hagler was mentally weak IMO.

[Seamus]

I've heard a number of people make the argument that Hagler just seemed to get lazy in the second half of the fight and that allowed Vito to come on strong, but actually I think it was more of a case of Hagler getting tired from the kind of pressure Antuofermo was applying. Maybe a part of it was psychological when he got to find out just how tough his opponent actually was. Personally I think Hagler could have boxed for 15 rds and won a wide decision, but instead he let Vito get on the inside more than he should have.

[yancey]

I think when one watches a replay of a fight, their interpretation of what is happening can sometimes be subconsciously colored at least a bit by the known result.

When one watches a fight live, not so.

I watched the first Hagler-Antuofermo fight live.

Hagler clearly won.

Don't need to see a replay.

[klompton]

I think sometimes when watching a fight the first time your perceptions can be colored by the moment. Replays help this.

[Nile4000]

Damned Right he was (11-3-1, Hagler).

[giacomino]

Big fan of both. When I saw it live I thought it was close, with either a close Hagler win or draw. Vito came on at the end and that probably influenced my feelings on the outcome. When I rewatched it years later I was more convinced Hagler won more rounds.

[elmersalsa]

It was a robbery, but not a highway robbery. I think the judges got influenced by the crowd in the way how gallantly Vito came stronger and stronger after round eight. He was giving a fight to the great Marvelous. Maybe Marvin took it easy in the latter half of the fight or maybe he never thought that Vito was as tough as they come. He underestimated Vito's talent, but could not underestimate his heart.

[yiddle]

It's been a couple of years since I last watched the fight but I certainly thought Vito came into the fight later on in the contest . Hagler for me though was definitely deserving of a tough say two to three round victory .
Close but clear as is said

[pbchron]

boot

[Hairy Arse]

Antuofermo's success in the third period of this fight has been exaggerated, simply because he wasn't being handled as comprehensively as he was earlier on in the fight. Hagler was still generally outboxing him and landing the more authoritative and sharper punches in many of those exchanges.

[Flump]

From memory I had it 10-5 Hagler, bad decision but Vito fought gallantly.