Saying Goodbye To Our Guy, Marvelous Marvin Hagler Gone At 66

Published

4 years ago

March 15, 2021

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On Saturday night March 13, 2021, the sporting world at large was shocked to learn of the sudden death of former undisputed world middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

The internet reacted immediately to a social media posting on Facebook originating from a Marvin Hagler Fan Page administered by Hagler’s second wife, Kay Hagler, who broke the terrible news: “I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately, my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire.”

The Newark, New Jersey born pugilist was just 66 when he died at or near his summer home in Bartlett, NH. Hagler was not known to be ill or in poor health. A scroll through his recent social media reveals a man engaged in sporting activities such as 50 mile bike rides. It’s been reported he enjoyed a meal at the Lobster Trap in North Conway, NH just four days before his death. Staff at the nearby Red Parka Pub also spotted Hagler at their establishment on that Tuesday.

Considered by many to have possessed the sturdiest chin in boxing history, Hagler was never legitimately knocked off his feet nor was he ever knocked out in the ring. What John “The Beast” Mugabi and other big punchers could not do (stop Hagler) the Grim Reaper has finally done.

Though his official cause of death remains unknown at this time, there has been some speculation that Hagler could be another casualty of the coronavirus. After his retirement from boxing in 1987, Hagler relocated to Italy and quietly lived there for many years with his family. It is well known that Italy was the first country to be significantly affected by the Chinese pathogen.

Hagler always claimed that if they opened up his bald head, they’d find a boxing glove in there, that he lived and breathed boxing, that it defined him in a way that nothing else in life ever could.

Always physically fit and ready to rumble, he successfully defended his world title a dozen times, twice by knockout in 1981 at the Boston Garden. A true New England sports legend, Hagler lived and trained in Brockton, Massachusetts before moving to Hanover after taking the middleweight crown off Alan Minter in 1980 at London’s Wembley Stadium. Infamously, Hagler was forced to take cover and flee as angry British fans pelted the ring with bottles and debris.

It was not the first time Hagler was forced to flee from violent rioters. In the wake of the destructive race riots that rocked Newark, NJ in 1967, Hagler’s mother Ida Mae evacuated the fatherless teen up north to Brockton in search of a better life. After suffering a bad beating on the streets at the hands of a boxer named Dornell Wigfall, Hagler found his future in the boxing gym.

In 1973, Hagler got revenge, knocking out Wigfall at Brockton High School in just his 4th pro bout. They met again two years later at Brockton High and Hagler again knocked him out.

Trained for his entire professional career by Goody and Pat Petronelli, Hagler and the two Brockton brothers formed an unbreakable triangle built on unwavering loyalty, consistency and respect. Hagler was equally loyal to the late Angie Carlino, his longtime personal photographer.

Hagler made headlines in 1982 when he legally changed his name from Marvin Nathaniel Hagler to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. He did this so that ring announcers and defiant color
commentators would be forced to call him by the name he’d so marvelously earned and identified with.

With a record of 62-3-2 with 52 knockouts, Hagler was best known for his Superfights with Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard. He is lesser well known for his role in the Italian produced Indio films. Hagler fought 22 times in Boston, winning all 22 including a pair of wins against Sugar Ray Seales. In 1993, he was enshrined at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY.

“Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s name is synonymous with greatness,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “One of the best to ever step into the ring, he combined skill and determination to dominate the middleweight division during his championship career.”

Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan issued a proclamation on behalf of Hagler’s adoptive hometown. “The City of Brockton and the boxing world has suffered a devastating loss today with the passing of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, former Undisputed Middleweight Champion of the world. Marvelous Marvin will always be a champion from our ‘City of Champions’ and he inspired civic pride in generations of Brocktonians. He will be remembered as the dominant Middleweight fighter of his era. His championship boxing matches captivated Brockton and the world and became instant classics. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Hagler family.”

Hagler’s Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had the following to say about a fighter who “embodied everything noble” about boxing. “Marvin Hagler was among the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted. He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparalleled determination. He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly.”

Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns was the first of Hagler’s boxing rivals to comment publicly on his passing, inexplicably doing so before he’d actually passed. What Hearns wrote on Instagram Saturday created a firestorm reminiscent of their ‘Fight of the Year’ war in Las Vegas. For reasons as yet unknown, Hearns wrote that Hagler was “in ICU fighting the after effects of the vaccine.” On Marvin Hagler’s official webpage, “natural causes” are vaguely cited in his death.

The “Destruction and Destroy” website MarvelousMarvin.com contradicts the statement of Kay Hagler that her husband died “at” their Bartlett home and states that Hagler died “near his home” in New Hampshire on March 13 as widely reported. Perhaps we’ll never know the full story.

According to TMZ, Hagler’s son James told the online tabloid that his father was taken to a New Hampshire hospital earlier on the day he died; after complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains. It’s not known if any of this is true or if Hagler was discharged and released.

Or if he went to a hospital at all.

A reasonable person might conclude Hagler ate some bad seafood somewhere and perhaps succumbed to food poisoning. What’s more likely is that Hagler was enjoying the unseasonably mild weather in the New England area and was outside doing something physical when struck down by a heart attack or a stroke. In the ring he was “unknockoutable” but life hits harder.

On the Monday after his death, Kay Hagler issued another heartfelt statement on the Marvin Hagler Facebook page. The Italian widow apologized for her poor English before stating that she is “the only person that know how things went, not even his family know all the details. I was the only person close to him until the last minute.”

Mrs. Hagler is adamant that the coronavirus vaccine had nothing to do with Marvin’s death and that he died in peace with a smile on his face. Surprisingly, she also wrote that Marvin “hated funerals” and thus there would not be one for him or any “church celebrations” planned.

Sugar Ray Leonard spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix on the night Hagler died, telling the reporter that his middleweight title fight with Hagler was the “closest I’ve been” to death.

After losing his middleweight championship by controversial split decision to Leonard in 1987, Hagler resisted the urge to come back and seek a rematch. Instead, he retired with his faculties and his fortune intact. Hagler never accepted or acknowledged the legitimacy of his defeat to Leonard, forever claiming it was the dirty politics of boxing that was his true undoing.

“I still feel as though I’m the champion,” claimed Hagler after the loss to Sugar Ray. “I fought my heart out to keep my belt. I think I’ve done a lot for boxing. I’ve been a true champion to the sport. It puts a bitter taste in my mouth the way they went and did this. It’s just not right.”

Rest in Peace Marvelous One.

—

I’ll never forget meeting you for the first time at Brockton High School in 1980. I was 10. You were in the gymnasium conducting a very sweaty public sparring session with your half-brother Robbie Sims. I ran around getting every autograph I could on a black-and-white headshot of you handed out to everyone in attendance. I wish I still had it. Every Hagler friend or family member signed it, your trainers, and even your publicist. When it came time for you to sign my picture, there was no room left on the front so you humorously flipped it over and signed the back.

Thanks for always being our guy.

Boxing Writer Jeffrey Freeman grew up in the City of Champions, Brockton, Massachusetts from 1973 to 1987, during the Marvelous career of Marvin Hagler. JFree then lived in Lowell, Mass during the best years of Irish Micky Ward’s illustrious career. A former member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a Bernie Award Winner in the Category of Feature Under 1500 Words, Freeman covers boxing for The Sweet Science in New England.

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Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Usyk Outpoints Fury and Itauma has the “Wow Factor” in Riyadh

Oleksandr Usyk left no doubt that he is the best heavyweight of his generation and one of the greatest boxers of all time with a unanimous decision over Tyson Fury tonight at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But although the Ukrainian won eight rounds on all three scorecards, this was no runaway. To pirate a line from one of the DAZN talking heads, Fury had his moments in every round but Usyk had more moments.

The early rounds were fought at a faster pace than the first meeting back in May. At the mid-point, the fight was even. The next three rounds – the next five to some observers – were all Usyk who threw more punches and landed the cleaner shots.

Fury won the final round in the eyes of this reporter scoring at home, but by then he needed a knockout to pull the match out of the fire.

The last round was an outstanding climax to an entertaining chess match during which both fighters took turns being the pursuer and the pursued.

An Olympic gold medalist and a unified world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, the amazing Usyk improved his ledger to 23-0 (14). His next fight, more than likely, will come against the winner of the Feb. 22 match in Ridayh between Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker which will share the bill with the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Fury (34-2-1) may fight Anthony Joshua next. Regardless, no one wants a piece of Moses Itauma right now although the kid is only 19 years old.

Moses Itauma

Raised in London by a Nigerian father and a Slovakian mother, Itauma turned heads once again with another “wow” performance. None of his last seven opponents lasted beyond the second round.

His opponent tonight, 34-year-old Australian Demsey McKean, lasted less than two minutes. Itauma, a southpaw with blazing fast hands, had the Aussie on the deck twice during the 117-second skirmish. The first knockdown was the result of a cuffing punch that landed high on the head; the second knockdown was produced by an overhand left. McKean went down hard as his chief cornerman bounded on to the ring apron to halt the massacre.

Photo (c): Mark Robinson

Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs after going 20-0 as an amateur) is the real deal. It was the second straight loss for McKean (22-2) who lasted into the 10^th round against Filip Hrgovic in his last start.

Bohachuk-Davis

In a fight billed as the co-main although it preceded Itauma-McKean, Serhii Bohachuk, an LA-based Ukrainian, stopped Ishmael Davis whose corner pulled him out after six frames.

Both fighters were coming off a loss in fights that were close on the scorecards, Bohachuk falling to Vergil Ortiz Jr in a Las Vegas barnburner and Davis losing to Josh Kelly.

Davis, who took the fight on short notice, subbing for Ismail Madrimov, declined to 13-2. He landed a few good shots but was on the canvas in the second round, compliments of a short left hook, and the relentless Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) eventually wore him down.

Fisher-Allen

In a messy, 10-round bar brawl masquerading as a boxing match, Johnny Fisher, the Romford Bull, won a split decision over British countryman David Allen. Two judges favored Fisher by 95-94 tallies with the dissenter favoring Allen 96-93. When the scores were announced, there was a chorus of boos and those watching at home were outraged.

Allen was a step up in class for Fisher. The Doncaster man had a decent record (23-5-2 heading in) and had been routinely matched tough (his former opponents included Dillian Whyte, Luis “King Kong” Ortiz and three former Olympians). But Allen was fairly considered no more than a journeyman and Fisher (12-0 with 11 KOs, eight in the opening round) was a huge favorite.

In round five, Allen had Fisher on the canvas twice although only one was ruled a true knockdown. From that point, he landed the harder shots and, at the final bell, he fell to canvas shedding tears of joy, convinced that he had won.

He did not win, but he exposed Johnny Fisher as a fighter too slow to compete with elite heavyweights, a British version of the ponderous Russian-Canadian campaigner Arslanbek Makhmudov.

Other Bouts of Note

In a spirited 10-round featherweight match, Scotland’s Lee McGregor, a former European bantamweight champion and stablemate of former unified 140-pound title-holder Josh Taylor, advanced to 15-1-1 (11) with a unanimous decision over Isaac Lowe (25-3-3). The judges had it 96-92 and 97-91 twice.

A cousin and regular houseguest of Tyson Fury, Lowe fought most of the fight with cuts around both eyes and was twice deducted a point for losing his gumshield.

In a fight between super featherweights that could have gone either way, Liverpool southpaw Peter McGrail improved to 11-1 (6) with a 10-round unanimous decision over late sub Rhys Edwards. The judges had it 96-95 and 96-94 twice.

McGrail, a Tokyo Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, fought from the third round on with a cut above his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads. It was the first loss for Edwards (16-1), a 24-year-old Welshman who has another fight booked in three weeks.

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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Fury-Usyk Reignited: Can the Gypsy King Avenge his Lone Defeat?

In professional boxing, the heavyweight division, going back to the days of John L. Sullivan, is the straw that stirs the drink. By this measure, the fight on May 18 of this year at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the biggest prizefight in decades. The winner would emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when Lennox Lewis out-pointed Evander Holyfield in their second meeting.

The match did not disappoint. It had several twists and turns.

Usyk did well in the early rounds, but the Gypsy King rattled Usyk with a harsh right hand in the fifth stanza and won rounds five through seven on all three cards. In the ninth, the match turned sharply in favor of the Ukrainian. Fury was saved by the bell after taking a barrage of unanswered punches, the last of which dictated a standing 8-count from referee Mark Nelson. But Fury weathered the storm and with his amazing powers of recuperation had a shade the best of it in the final stanza.

The decision was split: 115-112 and 114-113 for Usyk who became a unified champion in a second weight class; 114-113 for Fury.

That brings us to tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 21) where Usyk and Fury will renew acquaintances in the same ring where they had their May 18 showdown.

The first fight was a near “pick-‘em” affair with Fury closing a very short favorite at most of the major bookmaking establishments. The Gypsy King would have been a somewhat higher favorite if not for the fact that he was coming off a poor showing against MMA star Francis Ngannou and had a worrisome propensity for getting cut. (A cut above Fury’s right eye in sparring pushed back the fight from its original Feb. 11 date.)

Tomorrow’s sequel, bearing the tagline “Reignited,” finds Usyk a consensus 7/5 favorite although those odds could shorten by post time. (There was no discernible activity after today’s weigh-in where Fury, fully clothed, topped the scales at 281, an increase of 19 pounds over their first meeting.)

Given the politics of boxing, anything “undisputed” is fragile. In June, Usyk abandoned his IBF belt and the organization anointed Daniel Dubois their heavyweight champion based upon Dubois’s eighth-round stoppage of Filip Hrgovic in a bout billed for the IBF interim title. The malodorous WBA, a festering boil on the backside of boxing, now recognizes 43-year-old Kubrat Pulev as its “regular” heavyweight champion.

Another difference between tomorrow’s fight card and the first installment is that the May 18 affair had a much stronger undercard. Two strong pairings were the rematch between cruiserweights Jai Opetaia and Maris Briedis (Opetaia UD 12) and the heavyweight contest between unbeatens Agit Kabayal and Frank Sanchez (Kabayel KO 7).

Tomorrow’s semi-wind-up between Serhii Bohachuk and Ismail Madrimov lost luster when Madrimov came down with bronchitis and had to withdraw. The featherweight contest between Peter McGrail and Dennis McCann fell out when McCann’s VADA test returned an adverse finding. Bohachuk and McGrail remain on the card but against late-sub opponents in matches that are less intriguing.

The focal points of tomorrow’s undercard are the bouts involving undefeated British heavyweights Moses Itauma (10-0, 8 KOs) and Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KOs). Both are heavy favorites over their respective opponents but bear watching because they represent the next generation of heavyweight standouts. Fury and Usyk are getting long in the tooth. The Gypsy King is 36; Usyk turns 38 next month.

Bob Arum once said that nobody purchases a pay-per-view for the undercard and, years from now, no one will remember which sanctioning bodies had their fingers in the pie. So, Fury-Usyk II remains a very big deal, although a wee bit less compelling than their first go-around.

Will Tyson Fury avenge his lone defeat? Turki Alalshikh, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and the unofficial czar of “major league” boxing, certainly hopes so. His Excellency has made known that he stands poised to manufacture a rubber match if Tyson prevails.

We could have already figured this out, but Alalshikh violated one of the protocols of boxing when he came flat out and said so. He effectively made Tyson Fury the “A-side,” no small potatoes considering that the most relevant variable on the checklist when handicapping a fight is, “Who does the promoter need?”

The Uzyk-Fury II fight card will air on DAZN with a suggested list price of $39.99 for U.S. fight fans. The main event is expected to start about 5:45 pm ET / 2:45 pm PT.

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Unheralded Bruno Surace went to Tijuana and Forged the TSS 2024 Upset of the Year

The Dec. 14 fight at Tijuana between Jaime Munguia and Bruno Surace was conceived as a stay-busy fight for Munguia. The scuttlebutt was that Munguia’s promoters, Zanfer and Top Rank, wanted him to have another fight under his belt before thrusting him against Christian Mbilli in a WBC eliminator with the prize for the winner (in theory) a date with Canelo Alvarez.

Munguia came to the fore in May of 2018 at Verona, New York, when he demolished former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali, conqueror of Miguel Cotto. That earned him the WBO super welterweight title which he successfully defended five times.

Munguia kept winning as he moved up in weight to middleweight and then super middleweight and brought a 43-0 (34) record into his Cinco de Mayo 2024 match with Canelo.

Jaime went the distance with Alvarez and had a few good moments while losing a unanimous decision. He rebounded with a 10th-round stoppage of Canada’s previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan.

There was little reason to think that Munguia would overlook Surace as the Mexican would be fighting in his hometown for the first time since February of 2022 and would want to send the home folks home happy. Moreover, even if Munguia had an off-night, there was no reason to think that the obscure Surace could capitalize. A Frenchman who had never fought outside France, Surace brought a 25-0-2 record and a 22-fight winning streak, but he had only four knockouts to his credit and only eight of his wins had come against opponents with winning records.

It appeared that Munguia would close the show early when he sent the Frenchman to the canvas in the second round with a big left hook. From that point on, Surace fought mostly off his back foot, throwing punches in spurts, whereas the busier Munguia concentrated on chopping him down with body punches. But Surace absorbed those punches well and at the midway point of the fight, behind on the cards but nonplussed, it now looked as if the bout would go the full 10 rounds with Munguia winning a lopsided decision.

Then lightning struck. Out of the blue, Surace connected with an overhand right to the jaw. Munguia went down flat on his back. He rose a fraction-of-a second before the count reached “10,”, but stumbled as he pulled himself upright. His eyes were glazed and referee Juan Jose Ramirez, a local man, waived it off. There was no protest coming from Munguia or his cornermen. The official time was 2:36 of round six.

At major bookmaking establishments, Jaime Munguia was as high as a 35/1 favorite. No world title was at stake, yet this was an upset for the ages.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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