After losing to srl Hagler never got the rematch he desired, so that was it. Marvin walked away, never came back. But what if he announced he was going to fight the kalmbay of the barkley fight. Who wins? And if he wins next up is mike mcallum so who gets that one?
If he somehow got a renewed sense of love for the game and eased himself back into it by taking on a few tuneups then he might have done okay. But Marvin made it pretty clear that he was done after Leonard and without the right motivation a successful comeback would have been very hard at that stage. Kalambay would have been an extremely formidable opponent for an aging and inactive Marvin. He was riding a good winning streak, was a great boxer and very durable. I've always felt that the Micahael Nunn KO loss was a one in a million thing. Mike McCallum probably would have beaten Hagler circa 1989.
Yes perhaps if he took a few bout s first,shook the rust off. By then perhaps he'd have been able to challenge the barkley who had just ko'd hearns. That's a fight I believe marvin would have been up for. Hagler with at least 3 bouts under his belt could have beaten barkley. A tough fight it would have ended with barkley getting pulled out by his corner with his face swollen and eyes shut. He could even have had a rematch with Duran who had come back in to contention. There was definitely a few names who he could have beaten. Doug de witt for the, wbo title could have been up for grabs. But leonard would still have avoided him!
Nah. Hagler was showing clear wear and tear at the end of his career. He would have gotten himself messed up by some young lion, when he didn't need to. Only thing he should have come back for was SRL, but Leonard wasn't having any of that.
Could of fought Dewitt his old sparing partner for the WBO title and got a win but what would be the point? .probably could of beaten Barkley in a tough fight but I think kalambey would of beaten marvin at that point in his career would be a hard fight even for.a.peak Hagler.Marvin got out at the right time a lesson for fighters everywhere.
Would have been another chapter to his story but suppose like u say , he never came back to be battered by some one in His prime he would have murdered.
Legacy cemented like Michael Spinks despite ko loss to Tyson. Nothing to prove as he had achieved the recognition and fame he always wanted and big payday he always craved. Nothing would have motivated MH like a SRL rematch which he never got. If for some unexplained reason Hagler did continue he would be shell of his formerself and would lose on points to the first hungry mw tiger he faced.
I remember that even before the Leonard match, the boxing mags (and there were still a lot of them in the 80s) were already pushing the next generation of young MWs that were going to replace Hagler.The likes of Frank Tate, Michael Nunn and Michael Olajide. Nunn was the only one that would go on to somewhat live up to the hype that they got but it's possible that at the time that it's was the prospect of these young flashy upcomers that influence Hagler to retire if he could not entice Leonard into a rematch. Not that Hagler would have been afraid of them.Probably just couldn't motivate himself to do it all again with the next generation.
Hagler had been getting noticeably slower in defensive reflexes and legs since 1984. Barring an unlikely shot like the one Nunn landed, Kalambay probably outspeeds and outboxes Hagler. Same with Nunn. Hagler was smart to get out when he did. He had a ton of mileage on him, 67 pro fights and all those amateur fights and tough sparring sessions.
Hagler was shopworn and tired. Only the Leanord re match would have made sense. Hagler was going to lose his title within the next few defenses and Sugar Ray knew it. HE was a dirty opportunist and I believe he lost the Hagler bout anyway. Hagler was absolutely angry and humiliated at the loss. HE would not have messed around and lost the rematch. He probably would have hurt Leonard. But, Only the rematch would have made Hagler that kind of fighter again He retired and his time was done . Good call on Haglers part.