MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER

Inducted on November 14, 2013

MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER

Marvelous.jpeg

Class of 1993
Modern Category
Hall of Fame bio:click

World Boxing Hall of Fame Inductee

Name: Marvin Hagler
Alias: Marvelous
Birth Name: Marvin Nathaniel Hagler
Born: 1954-05-23
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, USA
Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts, USA
Stance: Southpaw
Height: 5′ 9½″   /   177cm
Reach: 75″   /   191cm

Marvelous Marvin Hagler Gallery

Amateur Career

  • Hagler had 57 amateur wins by some reports. Boxing Illustrated and Sports Illustrated listed his record as 52-2 with 43 KOs.
  • 1972 New England AAU Light Middleweight Championship Finalist, losing to Wilbur Cameron of Lowell, Massachusetts.
  • 1973 National AAU Middleweight Champion, defeating Marine Corps Champion Terry Dobbs of Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Hagler was 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 that 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 WBA and WBC 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 IBF. 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 that 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 journeyman Kevin Howard in May 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.
  • 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).
  • Has a record of 13-1-1 (12 KOs) in world title fights.
  • Has a record of 7-1-1 (6 KOs) against former world champions:
  • 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

Boxing Record: click