By Yannis Mihanos: Today, boxing grieves the loss of an all-time great fighter in Marvelous Marvin Hagler. As tributes are soaring the internet, I also honor the former middleweight world champion, Hagler. And I will start with a statement that Bob Arum made some hours ago.
It is very much in tune with how I can describe this man. Here I post a part of it; you can read it all in his Twitter account:
”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.“
It is more than well said. Hagler’s place in history is cemented since a long time ago; what keeps it fresh and what will keep it fresh is its purity. In a time that champions are many, we often lose the plot of who is true and who is not.
No person who knows boxing will ever forget Hagler because he was the complete package. A true warrior. He was true in and out; he was the real deal.
The young Hagler aspired to be a fighter looking up to champions like Rocky Marciano, and he wanted to arrive there on his own terms, not the terms of second and third parties.
Of course, there was a price to pay for that; many do not like it when someone chooses the hard way.
The big names vastly avoided him; no champion dared to give him a chance unless necessary. Hagler aimed for that; his unbeaten run made it absolutely necessary to fight for the title.
No one ever trained like Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs), no one ever was so determined and dedicated in his craft. Big words? Maybe. Maybe I exaggerate because of the day.
I’m also devastated by this loss. Emotions are still heightened. He left the building early.
I did not belong in his generation; I never even watched his fights live. As a kid, I knew him only from some posters in magazines, that’s all.
In recent years and more this last year during the lockdown, I watched many of his vintage fights on YouTube and even some of his documentaries.
He was so determined and finally made it and fought all the best of his time. With only one exception (Sugar Ray Leonard), he beat them all.
Hagler’s fight against Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns in April 1985 remains one of the most explosive fights in boxing history, even if it was just 3 rounds!
Hagler so enriched boxing; he brought integrity, dignity, courage, strength, grit, athleticism. He brought so many things together that it is impossible for me to count.
At some point in his career he asked for his name to change and to be called marvelous; some didn’t take it seriously, they thought its just one of these silly demands that star athletes make.
But Hagler’s position was different. He was 100% serious about it because being marvelous was a symbol to him—a symbol of brilliance.
Marvelous Hagler was indeed a brilliant fighter and man.
