Marvin Hagler
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler is an American former professional boxer who reigned as the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987. He made twelve defenses of the undisputed title and today holds the highest knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight champions, at 78%. At six years and seven months, his reign as undisputed middleweight champion is the second longest of the last century, behind only Tony Zale, who reigned during World War II. In 1982, annoyed that network announcers often did...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBoxer
Date of Birth23 May 1954
CityNewark, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
I started out doing commercials, like Diet Coke and Pizza Hut. And I started to find there was a different life for me, in a different field. From there, I got a call from a director in Italy, and we did 'Indio' I and II, and that's where it started.
I tried my best to ensure I kept the respect for the middleweight division in the tradition of Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake La Motta.
When you knock people out, it's sometimes a very scary situation - but I always hoped that no one got seriously hurt. Now when I see them get knocked out, I laugh. When you finish the game, it's funny. And when I look at film of myself, I think, 'I wouldn't fight that guy.'
Sugar Ray wouldn't give me a rematch, and that's the reason I walked away from boxing.
Some fighters know when to stop on their own and go on to something else, and then some fighters have nothing to go back to after they are finished. Some fighters still have the burning fire and feel that they just need to try one more time. Few can do it.
For me, I believe George Foreman was a bad example because when he became world heavyweight champion again at 42, that made a lot of fighters think they could also carry on.
The likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns were true champions. There were some incredible fights between us, and I was happy to give them all an opportunity to fight me.
I like acting very much because I don't get punched, and it's not real.
I know that when a fighter is out of the ring for more than two years, when he comes back he isn't the same anymore. Each fighter is different. But each must think, even if something goes wrong, 'I have to make this decision and live with it for the rest of my life.'
When a man goes into the ring, he's going to war....
You know, I think I had a great career; there's not much I think I'd do different other than get a title shot much earlier. I didn't get one till 49 or 50 fights into my career.
Even though the outcome wasn't the way it should have been, publicly I still feel in my heart I won the Sugar Ray Leonard fight.
Well, you can't trust most people in this game, period; it can be a very shady business.
The situation right after the fight wasn't too good; I believe I'm still the only champion in the world who never received the belt inside the ring once you've won the title. I held that against the English fans for a long time but I felt that also motivated me.