RIP, Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Sadly,  we lost one of the greatest and most fearsome athletes of our time earlier this week.              

In fact, he was likely one of the greatest athletes ever.              

“Marvelous” Marvin Hagler was one of the greatest and most intimidating boxers in the history of the sport. I remember him as being particularly fearsome, and his no-nonsense style added to that. Also, he just had the look of a fearless guy, and the physique and demeanor of someone who just refused to lose.              

One of the most memorable fights in history was between him and “The Hitman” Tommy Hearns. Some consider the first round of that particular fight to be the greatest single round in boxing history, with both men landing and receiving some tremendous shots, and neither backing down. The fight only went to the third round, when Hagler outright knocked Hearns out cold. This probably saved him from a knockout loss, as he was bleeding profusely from a wound that Hearns had given him in that brilliant first round.              

Indeed, he only suffered three losses throughout his entire career (67 fights), and I remember the last one. It was one of the biggest boxing matches in history, against Sugar Ray Leonard. Some felt that Hagler had won, but Leonard hugged him after the fight and told him that he knew that Hagler had won. But Hagler was not knocked out, or even nocked down in the fight. In fact, to my knowledge, Hagler was never even knocked down. Technically, he was once, but many believe that that one knockdown was not an actual knockdown.               

After his loss to Leonard (and again, many people, including possibly Sugar Ray Leonard himself, felt that Hagler had actually won the fight), Hagler decided to step away from the ring. He moved to Italy to pursue a career in acting. As I understand it, he lived the way he fought in the ring, relentlessly pursuing success and happiness. Clearly, that is to his credit, and he inspired millions of people.              

In any case, it just felt like something that should be acknowledged, that such a great athlete and champion recently left this world.              

RIP, “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler.