After 7 years of long suffering and frustration, Hagler finally got his long waited crown. It took him a total of 53 fights to finally become a world boxing champion.
In November 30, 1979, Marvelous received his first shot at the title when then champion Vito Antuofermo of Italy, via Brooklyn, NY,
gave him the opportunity to fight for the crown. After 15 entertaining rounds, the crowd in Las Vegas thought that Marvelous deserved the decision. It was not so. Strangely, the decision was a draw. Another block of frustration for the future champ. What he got to do to win a world title?
From then on, Hagler took the judging on his own hands. To kill and destroy. No decisions. Just win by knockout. And so it was. Hagler in the year 1980 won his next 3 fights to establish himself as the number one contender of the Middleweight crown. But, this time, the champion was Alan Minter, who took the crown from Antuofermo. And if Marvelous wants that crown, he had to cross the Atlantic flight all the way to London to get it.
And so it was. Hagler arrived to England with one thing in his mind. To become champion at any cost. It got dirtier when the champion said that "No black man is going to take my title".
Did Minter set up himself up for a slaughter? I think he did. For three rounds, Hagler dished Minter the whupping of his life. It was a combination of rights, lefts, the whole arsenal in Hagler's artillery, that open a gash on the left eyelid of Minter. A nasty cut.
The referee, Carlos Berrocal of Panama, stopped the fight. It was a big mistake. Instead of Hagler celebrating his long waited triumph, he was bombarded with beer bottles and debris at him in the ring. His handlers had to cover him outside the ring. Then, the London police took over and covered him up all the way to his dressing room.
No champion in the history of boxing has ever received such a hard reception of cruelty by winning a title. Was the fight well stopped by the referee? I would say yes. Minter was getting ass whupping, even though he was on the fight. But, I think that the longer that fight was going, the longer punishment Minter would have received.
Marvin Hagler, not named Marvelous then, is the new Undisputed World Middleweight Champion. After a long hard road to glory, of fighting top contenders that nobody wanted to fight and going to those dangerous contenders hometowns for a payday, and 53 fights later with 7 long years overdue, he is finally the champ.
It started a string of 13 title defenses, 12 won by knockout and a legacy of fighting the other 3 Kings of Boxing of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard in the 80s decade.