A VERY SPECIAL PERSON
LIKE all boxing fans I was so saddened to hear about Marvin Hagler’s sudden passing. I was most fortunate to meet Hagler at Michael Watson’s 50th birthday dinner in London, at the Park Lane Hotel, on April 23, 2015. Hagler was quietly and very unassumingly attending the dinner with his wife, Kay. As happens at these evenings, most of the guests ended up surrounding various boxers of yesteryear, and why not? But I was amazed to see Hagler and his wife sitting alone. I asked if I could sit down with him and he said yes.
I then spent the next hour or so in deep conversation with him. One thing that struck me was how eloquent he was. I was frankly stunned, given how much of a monster he was in the ring. He was the consummate gentleman and the absolute polar opposite of the fearsome fighter (and stunning boxer) who dominated such a fabulous group of middleweights throughout the 1980s.
We spoke about his fight against Alan Minter and his most stunningly violent encounter with Thomas Hearns. The fight that I feared might be problematic bringing up was his controversial loss to Sugar Ray Leonard, as I’d read or heard somewhere that Hagler was haunted by it – that it still rattled him to talk about it. But no, there was absolutely none of it on this evening. He was completely over it. He had no bitterness and he had nothing but respect for Leonard, which just showed the man’s class.
Marvin Hagler was, and always will be, a colossus of boxing, and someone who I regard as a very special person. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and spending time with him. David Doe
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER
I SET my alarm for the Juan Francisco Estrada-roman Gonzalez rematch in the early hours of Sunday morning in the UK, and the first thing I heard was that Marvin Hagler had died at the age of only 66.
The news really knocked the wind out of me, as Hagler is my all-time favourite fighter, which I imagine is the same for countless other boxing fans. The man was the ultimate fighter. Although he was naturally a southpaw, he was able to switch seamlessly between stances. He had a granite jaw and a long reach, and he was a big puncher who came forward aggressively.
R.I.P to a real legend of the ring. My heart goes out to his family and everyone who loved him. Patch Hammond
A TRUE ALL-TIME GREAT
I WAS very sad to hear about the passing of Marvin Hagler – a true all-time great. In my opinion, for pure action and excitement, his fight with Thomas Hearns will never be topped. Phil Williams