Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (2nd meeting)

Marvin Hagler 160 lbs beat Willie Monroe 160 lbs by TKO at 1:20 in round 12 of 12

• Date: 1977-02-15
• Location: Hynes Convention Center , Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Referee: Tommy Rawson

• See also: Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (1st meeting)
• See also: Marvin Hagler vs. Willie Monroe (3rd meeting)

In his book Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing, George Kimball wrote:

"His confidence bolstered by the earlier win, The Worm agreed to travel to Boston to meet Hagler on his turf. This time Hagler didn't leave it to the judges. In the final round of a twelve-round fight, Hagler caught Monroe with a right uppercut followed by a straight left and knocked him out cold. Goody Petronelli would forevermore describe the combination as 'the Willie Monroe Punch.' Eddie Futch and George Benton worked Monroe's corner that night. After the fight, Futch came to Hagler's dressing room to offer his congratulations. 'It seemed like every time we had Willie do something, Marvin did something else,' he told Petronelli."

Monroe reflected on his second fight with Hagler in a 1987 interview:

"Two or three weeks before the fight, I fought in Rochester. I caught a cold in my back. I went right back to the gym, though. My manager made the fight with Marvin and I needed the money. I was confident. I figured I beat him the first time and I'd do it again. He was getting better and I was getting older. The cold knocked me out. He was in better condition. I had it won going into the 12th round. But I was so tired and weak from the virus. He dropped me and the ref stopped it."

Sources:
"The Worm Hasn't Forgotten" The Milwaukee Sentinel, April 4, 1987
Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing by George Kimball, 2008

• Attendance - 4,400
• Hagler claimed he had the flu in their first bout and Monroe claimed a heavy chest cold in their rematch.

Post-fight comments

• "That's the first time I ever dreamed of knocking somebody out. I wanted it so bad I could taste it." -Marvin Hagler

• "He fought a different fight this time, a very smart fight. He never hurt me, though, not even at the end. But I didn't do the smart thing. I should have held him after I got knocked down in the last round. Instead I rolled with the punches for about 10 seconds and gave the referee an excuse to stop the fight." -Willie Monroe