Could any other former lightweight champion go 15 rounds with a prime Marvin Hagler?

Neither one could

 

A not so obvious and tricky choice is Sam Langford. He wasn`t official worldchampion, but he has beaten the worldchampion Joe Gans. Langford was quite young, but he fought at Lightweight.

 

Here are some of my picks. The ones highlighted in red have a good chance - whereas the ones have a slight, slim to none chance.

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acho - I'm undecided so I gave him half a highlight. He was never stopped & fought some of the hardest punchers in history, but he was inconsistent & 15 rounds is a tall order against Hagler

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Augustus
Mosley
Pacquiao
Marquez

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ford - Also undecided, but from what I've seen so far from him suggest he could. I may eat my words later but we'll see

 

Ray Robinson fought at lightweight and in fact beat the lightweight champ in a nontitle fight. I give Robinson a great chance at beating Hagler.

 

A young Sugar Ray Robinson also beat the lightweight champion in Sammy Angott, but it was a non-title bout.

 

Duran had 5 years after he left LW before he got in the ring with Hagler ... He had plenty of time to fill out , gradually put on the weight take on fights on the way up .. No doubt he was a special talent , but so were a lot of these other old timers being mentioned here in their own eras .. And a lot of these guys fought 20 to 25 rounds .. Hell Gans and Nelson went 42 outside in the 100 degree heat ... Just saying I know I am going against the grain , but I think if you give some of these guys 5 years , I think some of these names could ... Give Packey McFarland 5 years to go up to 160 ,, I bet the farm he lasts 15 with Hagler ..

 

Okay interesting, I have not thought of Robinson. Decisive is also what means the word "Champion". Means it lineal worldchampion or also e.g. one random WBO champion (more a paper champ), or just a legendary boxer. But I don`t wanna be a wisenheimer.

 

the more accurate question would be any former Welterweight,,, because a man finishing a lengthy career as a MW, beginning as a LW, well WW is his more accurate size... just saying.

so yes there have been lots of WW cum Middles who could give Hagler a Dance.

 

Duran grew into a bigger fighter. He was not a lightweight when he fought Ray, and not a lightweight when he fought Barkley. The same can be said about Hearns when he fought Virgil Hill,, he looked smaller in body structure, but he won and outboxed Hill. Was Hearns a welterweight?

 

He liked to gorge too much between fights. I think that roller coaster ride of losing and gaining weight then losing it again took a toll both physically and mentally. Plus the $ was bigger @Welterweight with Ray Leonard coming into the picture everyone sort of benefited from it financially. The ripple effect of having a crossover star certainly motivation.

 

Duran was 5-7 in height. He was pudgy at middleweight. Getting fat doesn't mean you were bigger as a boxer. The point is he was no longer at his optimum weight. Hearns was 6-1 a freakish height for a Welterweight. His frame had room to grow into the higher divisions even lightheavy. Were there 175lbers towering over Hearns? Duran was small for Welterweight and small for Middleweight, routinely giving up 3-4 inches in height to his opponents.
With that said Tommy wasn't at his best at 160 or 175 but he was effective there. His best weight division IMV was at 154. He peaked there and its doubtful anyone not named Ray Robinson could have beaten him there.

 

Hearns said before he fought Andries, I am going to miss all that food. They all like to eat. This shows Hearns was not really a natural light heavyweight against Andries. Duran was having weight issues for many years and fighting at welterweight and even at 154. And Duran was a competitor. If the right style were there Duran could beat a heavyweight. In range.

 

I am not sure I would say 6-1 is freakish for welt. Maurice Blocker was tall. Breland was about Hearns height, with less musculature. Paul Williams. They have been there. How tall is that fighter now fighting at 154? I forget his name. He is something like 6 foot 6.. I could be wrong. I think he is a southpaw. That is big height advantage. I agree Hearns was not as effective at 160 like lesser weight however, he was moving up and down too much due to trying to get the bigger fights and being a multitilist. I think had he campaigned at 160 exclusively after Shuler and not gone up and done he would have developed more his knockout 147 and 154 style. I don't think towering over someone matters. If Dwight Muhammad Qawi fought Corrales what would have been the result? This is not only the variable of height.

 

Tommy was actually closer to 6-2. Yes there have been a few guys over the course of history. I would say what made him freakish in a sense is that he had speed, power and most importantly coordination at that height. Marvin Hagler actually called Hearns a freak leading up to their fight. Blocker and Paul Williams were both slappy arm punchers. Extremely frail. Breland looked like he might be another Hearns but he was I guess a homeless man's version of Tommy Hearns.

 

How many other Lightweight Champions also successfully moved up to win the prestigious Middleweight Crown? Not even the great Mayweather.