By Klaas Mabetlela: My boxing friend is caught in the whole frenzy of multiple-weight titlist and reckons that The Marvelous Marvin Hagler would have been more marvelous if he bulked up and fought Michael Spinks instead of spending his whole career as a middleweight. This topic was debated during Hagler’s career to the tilt and I think it is just water under the bridge.

Marvin Hagler thoroughly dominated the middleweight division during the 70’s and 80’s and was regarded as the champ many years before he officially won the title. He got engaged in many ‘Philly’ wars and some people regard him as the best middleweight champion of all times. He was a ripped man and was one of the fittest sportsmen of his era. He was also the kind of man who wore the badge of honor when his trade is concerned.

Detractors will argue that his biggest wins were against men coming up in weight. That is true and ironically is one of the reasons why Hagler did not move up to Light heavyweight (There was no Super middleweight then) at the time because there were great fighters lower clamoring to meet him. Men like Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. These are the kind of fighters you find in the list of most as all-time greats. There was too much business in middleweight and lower to be made at the time.

Michael Spinks was the undefeated light heavyweight king during that era and the best in the division, but he did not possess the same magnetism as the boxers I mentioned. Even if Hagler was to beat him, which I doubt if it would have added the same allure and attention as his fight against Thomas Hearns for instance. Marvin Hagler went on to beat Duran and stopped Hearns in one of the best fights of all-times and their first round is generally recognized as the best round of all times in all of boxing. He lost a decision to Leonard in his last fight.

At the end of the day, The Marvelous Marvin Hagler went on his business the traditional way and cleaned his division before he even became the champ and became part of the most intriguing fab 4 in Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and himself. Their fights have evoked all kinds of emotions in us and they are permanent elite members of the boxing upper echelon.

It is not by coincidence that they all fought each other and they are collectively and individually recognized as all-time greats.

And that should settle it.