The news of Marvelous Marvin Hagler's death came this past Saturday. My initial thoughts were Wow! Left sort of speechless. The tributes started coming in and it made me recall just how much of a wrecking ball tactician the man was. During his reign of the middleweight era, I don't think I was fully on the Hagler train until his career was over. He had vanquished my favorite boxer, Tommie Hearns, as witnessed in this video clip standing bloodied but unfazed it seems by the onslaught that would have made another boxer crumble.
So I will admit going into his later fights hoping this would be the day that he would meet his comeuppance. First came John "The Beast" Mugabi, who went into the fight with 26 wins with 26 KO's. I remember being impressed by a promotional photo of him posing in a war stance with a spear. Well ended up he may have needed that spear in order to beat Hagler, as he was KO'd in the later rounds.
Next came what ended up being Hagler's last fight, against Sugar Ray Leonard, a former Olympian Gold medalist and champion in his own right. Who had also defeated Hearns in a fight so brutal, he had went into retirement for a detached retina. I was conflicted here. Hagler was my newly sworn nemesis, but Leonard had held that title for much longer in my eyes, and represent more flash than substance which eventually came into play in their match. In what is one of the most contested boxing results, Leonard beat Hagler on the scorers' cards admittedly putting a show on for judges by landing numerous light punches in flurries and then dancing around the ring to avoid any sustained Hagler attack.
Leonard's headiness and cunning won the day, but Hagler regained a fan that day. A fan who reflected on the way Marvin always carried himself in victory and now defeat, and later on retiring to life outside the ring. In interviews, Hagler never came off as the typical boxer who brain had been numbed over the years from too many headshots, but as a person of deep perspective and intellect. Salut!