Dubai: After 67 bouts, 63 wins, 52 of which were knockouts, Marvelous Marvin Hagler only lost three times and drew twice in his 14-year boxing career without ever getting kayoed.
Having retained the WBC Middleweight title for seven years until a controversial defeat in 1987 to Sugar Ray Leonard, Hagler retired because Leonard wouldn't offer him a rematch. The fight went down in history because while Hagler slugged it out and hit hard, Leonard tapped his way to a narrow victory on points.Hagler, 32 at the age of retirement, was a southpaw eyeing a bout with a former retiree, both out to cement a legacy in the fight everyone wanted (re)decided — these are almost exactly the same variables that exist today among 32-year-old southpaw Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, except the latter haven't met previously.
Hagler spoke to Gulf News recently about ‘that' fight, Pacquiao's predicament (from his almost identical experience) and what the sport needs to do to save itself, as well as growing up amid poverty and being bottled upon his belt-winning.
Following are the excerpts:
GULF NEWS: Is boxing on the decline?
MARVIN HAGLER: Boxing will never die. It just needs another big face like Manny Pacquiao, since a lot of other sports have begun taking over like UFC and wrestling. What's hurting boxing more is that there's too many organisations and five different world champions in the same weight division. It needs a box-off to determine one winner. That would spark interest back into boxing. They have this ace in the hole but as usual there's too much money and politics involved.
Did growing in poverty amid the Newark riots spark the fight in you?
The riot changed things that I didn't understand. It was racial between black and white. I only remember my mother having us all sleep on the floor because of gunfire and rocks coming through the window. I imitated all kinds of athletes growing up like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Walt Fraser to Mohammad Ali. As a kid you have to dream to get yourself away from the reality that surrounds you. That was my escapism pretending I was someone else but then I saw others pretending to be me.
Did getting bottled off mar your World Championship celebrations?
I was very happy I finally got my gift. I didn't notice all the bottles and things (against Alan Minter at Wembley in 1980, which ended in a riot after a third round stoppage). I never even saw that, I was so happy. My manager and trainers protected me and covered me up. You could have been hit on the head with one of those. I did say I would never go back to England after that fight, but now I realise it was just a handful of people that really made the whole country look bad.
Were you robbed of victory in the Sugar Ray Leonard fight?
I wouldn't say running, but he just was moving so fast. I don't think he wanted to win the title because if you want to win you know you've got to take it. He was just flash-dancing. I can't remember his punches, usually when a guy hits you, you know about it. They were pitty-patty taps, those were like amateur days. I fought like the challenger even though I was the champion. I still feel I won the fight and I believe he knows it too.
Do you regret ending your career on that low-point?
I feel I accomplished everything I wanted to do. I gave everyone the opportunity to dethrone me and showed the world I was the best. I'm very contented and everything, that fight there don't bother me no more. I hung around for a year after hoping that he'd [Leonard] give me the same opportunity I gave him, but I just knew the guy didn't want to fight. I don't blame him, I wasn't going to hang around and get grey hair. I got to get on with my life.
Is the way in which you were denied a re-fight to cement your legacy similar to how Floyd Mayweather now won't fight Manny Pacquiao?
Pacquiao's legacy will probably be the same as mine in a sense that he waited around for this guy. But if this guy doesn't want to fight hey well. I think Pacquiao will just wipe it off and say well I offered it to you and you didn't want to come out. I'm not hanging around in this game too long so caio. Don't wait for a Leonard or someone like that to dictate to you. He won't get that big legacy until the fight with Floyd Mayweather but in time everything fades away and people tend to forget that.
What's up with this fight?
Something's a little nervous about that fight I think its more Mayweather. If he wants to fight he could make it happen tomorrow. You can't say he's scared because no fighter is scared. He's playing games hoping Pacquiao loses so he can come out the woodwork and say now I'll fight you. But as long as Pacquiao is winning, knocking people out Mayweather is going to stand back because he's waiting for the weakness — it's like I used to tell fighters ‘beat me at my best', don't wait around getting old or crippled like a couple of fighters I know who were waiting for me to lose.
Pacquiao only had to agree to Mayweather's condition of a drugs test.
[Imagining he's Pacquiao] yeah but who are you to dictate to me what I got to do? If I've got to take it, you've got to take it. You're not going to tell me what I have to do in order to get a fight with you. Who are you? Come on man.
But that's exactly what you did with Leonard. You agreed to his conditions of a 24x24 foot ring, 12oz gloves and 12 rounds.
A lot of people felt that I shouldn't do it but I felt as though it didn't mean anything to me — the outcome would have been the same anyway. Basically I just wanted to get the guy in the ring it was for mega bucks. He [Leonard] was doing the same kind of thing Mayweather is doing. I would have fought the guy in his house he just forgot to give me his address. They should both take the drugs test. Let's get this thing on you know? That's what real fighters are all about.
Source: gulfnews.com
