Marvin Hagler

IBHoF Bio

Name: Marvin Hagler
Alias: Marvelous
Birth Name: Marvin Nathaniel Hagler
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts, USA
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, USA
Died: 2021-03-13 (Age:66)
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 173cm
Reach: 191cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

• Marvelous Marvin Hagler Gallery

Amateur Career

Hagler vs. Alan Minter (1980)

Hagler vs. Roberto Duran (1983)

Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns (1985)

Hagler vs. John Mugabi (1986)

Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard (1987)

• Had 57 amateur wins by some reports. Boxing Illustrated and Sports Illustrated listed Hagler's record as 52-2 with 43 KOs.
• Outpointed by Wilbur Cameron of Lowell, Massachusetts, in the light middleweight final of the 1972 New England AAU Tournament.
• Outpointed Marine Corps Champion Terry Dobbs of Atlanta, Georgia, to win the 1973 National AAU Middleweight Championship.
• Named the Most Outstanding Fighter of the 1973 National AAU Tournament.

Professional Career

• Managed and trained by Goody & Pat Petronelli. Hagler was with the Petronellis his entire career.
• Defeated 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist Sugar Ray Seales by a ten-round unanimous decision on August 30, 1974, in Boston, Massachusetts. It was Seales' first professional loss after 21 straight wins. They had a rematch on November 26, 1974, in Seattle, Washington. After ten rounds, the fight was declared a draw.
• Suffered his first professional loss on January 13, 1976, losing to Bobby Watts by a disputed ten-round majority decision in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Lost to Willie Monroe by a ten-round unanimous decision on March 9, 1976, in Philadelphia. Hagler avenged the loss by stopping Monroe in twelve rounds on February 15, 1977, in Boston. He defeated Monroe again on August 23, 1977, stopping him in two rounds in Philadelphia.
• Stopped Sugar Ray Seales in one round on February 3, 1979, at Boston Garden.
• Fought Vito Antuofermo for the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship on November 30, 1979, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. After fifteen rounds, most felt Hagler had won. However, the fight was declared a draw, and Antuofermo retained the title.
• Stopped Bobby Watts in two rounds on April 19, 1980, in Portland, Maine, avenging his first professional loss.
• Stopped Alan Minter on cuts in three rounds to win the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship on September 27, 1980, at Wembley Arena in London, England. A riot ensued after the stoppage. The pro-Minter crowd threw bottles, and the fighters and officials were forced to flee the ring.
• Avenged the draw to Vito Antuofermo by stopping him on cuts after four rounds on June 13, 1981, at Boston Garden.
• Became the first World Middleweight Champion to earn a $1 million purse when he stopped Mustafa Hamsho in eleven rounds on October 3, 1981, in Rosemont, Illinois.
• Legally changed his name from Marvin Nathaniel Hagler to Marvelous Marvin Hagler on April 2, 1982. He did so because he was upset when ABC TV refused to introduce him as "Marvelous Marvin" before his title defense against William "Caveman" Lee on March 7, 1982, which he won by a first-round TKO. ABC Sports executive producer Alex Wallau told the Petronellis, "If he wants to be called Marvelous Marvin at ABC, tell him to go to court and have his name changed."
• When Hagler fought Wilford Scypion on May 27, 1983, the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council refused to sanction the fight, first because of a dispute over the scheduled fifteen-round distance and then because of a dispute over officials. The fight was sanctioned by the newly created United States Boxing Association-International, which later became the International Boxing Federation. Hagler won by a fourth-round knockout.
• Defeated Roberto Duran by a close fifteen-round unanimous decision on November 10, 1983, at Caesars Palace. After winning seven straight title defenses by knockout, Hagler was forced to go the distance for the first time as champion.
• Stopped Juan Domingo Roldan in ten rounds on March 30, 1984, at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Hagler was ruled down in the first round for the only official knockdown of his career. He insisted it was a slip.
• Stopped Thomas Hearns in three rounds on April 15, 1985, at Caesars Palace. The Ring named it Fight of the Year, and the first round was named Round of the Year.
• Stopped John Mugabi in eleven rounds on March 10, 1986, at Caesars Palace. It was Hagler's twelfth successful title defense.
• On November 3, 1986, a press conference was held to announce that Hagler would fight Sugar Ray Leonard on April 6, 1987. Many objected to the fight because of Leonard's eye problems: He had surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye in May 1982 and another surgery to repair a loose retina in his right eye in February 1984. Many also objected to the fight because of Leonard's inactivity: Since February 1982, he had fought just once, scoring an unimpressive TKO win against welterweight journeyman Kevin Howard on May 11, 1984. The WBC agreed to sanction the fight, but the WBA stripped Hagler of their title for not fighting the top contender, Herol Graham. The IBF refused to sanction the fight and announced that their title would be declared vacant if Leonard won the fight.
• Lost the WBC Middleweight Championship to Sugar Ray Leonard by a disputed twelve-round split decision on April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace. The Ring named it Fight of the Year and Upset of the Year.
• Announced his retirement on June 12, 1988, after watching his half-brother, Robbie Sims, lose to WBA Middleweight Champion Sumbu Kalambay in Ravenna, Italy. Hagler finished with a professional record of 62-3-2 (52 KOs).
• 11 opponents (10 by KO) beaten in world championship bouts.
• Retired with a record of 13-1-1 (12 KOs) in world title fights.
• Retired with a record of 7-1-1 (6 KOs) against former world champions:
  • Won against Alan Minter, Fulgencio Obelmejias (twice), Vito Antuofermo, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, John Mugabi.
  • Lost against Sugar Ray Leonard.
  • Drew with Vito Antuofermo.
• Retired to Italy and made several movies. The action movies Indio and Indio 2: The Revolt are the most notable of his movies. Hagler plays Sgt. Jake Iron, an ex-Marine, who fights to save the rainforest against the forces of mega corporations that are trying to destroy it to make money.
• Usually only returns to the United States to attend the annual International Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, which are held every June in Canastota, New York.

Awards and Recognition

• Named Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America for 1983 and 1985.
• Named Fighter of the Year by The Ring for 1983 and co-Fighter of the Year for 1985 (along with Donald Curry).
• Named Fighter of the '80s by Boxing Illustrated in 1990.
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
• Named the 3rd greatest middleweight of the 20th century by the Associated Press in 1999.
• Named the 17th greatest fighter of the past 80 years by The Ring in 2002.
• Named the 35th greatest puncher of all-time by The Ring in 2003.
• Named the 4th greatest middleweight of all-time by The Ring in 2004.
• Hagler's reign as World Middleweight Champion was named the 7th greatest title reign of all-time by The Ring in 2005.

External Link

• Official Website of Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Preceded by: Alan Minter	WBA Middleweight Champion 1980 Sep 27 – Mar 21 1987 Stripped	Succeeded by: Sumbu Kalambay
Preceded by: Alan Minter	WBC Middleweight Champion 1980 Sep 27 – 1987 Apr 6	Succeeded by: Sugar Ray Leonard
Preceded by: Inaugural Champion	IBF Middleweight Champion 1983 May 27 – 1987 Apr 6 Stripped	Succeeded by: Frank Tate

Marvin Hagler was primarily a southpaw, but could be considered ambidextrous as he switched many times and was one of the more successful boxers doing this.