Marvelous Marvin Hagler may have recently passed away, but his boxing legacy will live on forever – indeed, his legend is immortal.
Professional sports are something that can remind us of our own mortality, and this is especially true in professional boxing. Watching our favorite boxing heroes grow old inside the ring is one of the saddest aspects of being a boxing fan. A textbook example of this would be when an old Muhammad Ali suffered losses near the end of his career against Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick. That is bad enough to endure, but when a boxing hero passes away, as was the recent case with Hagler, it is an even stronger reminder of our own mortality.
Marvin came up the hard way and earned everything he achieved, and unlike most professional boxers, Hagler hung up the gloves before father time had eroded his skills inside the ring. The Marvelous One did things his way, and his extraordinary career touched the lives of countless boxing fans.
Hagler is one of the greatest boxers to ever lace them up, and he is widely viewed as one of the very best middleweights during the long rich history of this decorated weight class. Indeed many observers view Hagler as the greatest middleweight of all time, and that is mighty lofty praise Between 1980 and 1987, Hagler reigned as the undisputed middleweight world champion, during which time he made 12 successful title defenses. His championship reign came to an unexpected and somewhat controversial end at the hands of Sugar Ray Leonard on April 6, 1987. Unable to secure a rematch with Leonard, Hagler would walk away from his career as a boxer to pursue other endeavors.
Hagler is best known for his famous battle against Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns on April 15, 1985. To this day it remains one of the most celebrated boxing matches of all time. It was an absolute slugfest for the ages, a total war!
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide a personal take on how one 9 year old boy became a boxing fan when watching the epic battle between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Hearns. Please watch and enjoy the video.