Could Marvin Hagler have been a HW champ in the pre-Dempsey era?

Burns was pretty good. He had long arms, decent skills and very good power for his weight. His right hand was real good.

But Burns was never a convincing heavyweight champion, nor was Marvin Hart, the supposed champion who Burns beat for the title.
Yes, Hagler's got a good chance against these types of fighters. Not easy fights, but he's got a good chance.

Jeffries and Johnson would battered him though.
And say what you want about Jess Willard, he aint losing to Marvin Hagler.

 

I would have to say no, based on what we know.

Burns was a small heavyweight, but he outgrew the middleweight division fairly early, and was very proven at light heavyweight and heavyweight.

Haggler never tested the waters at light heavyweight, and he would have had to beat some guys in the cruiserweight size range to progress within the heavyweight division, even in that era.

 

Hagler would've beaten the crude, primitive, unskilled Willard with one hand lol

 

Willard would probably be haglers easiest fight

 

Not sure what weight "Heavyweight contender" Hagler is fighting at. Maybe someone with Boxrec full access can give the Board some weights and heights of the "contenders" of that era. Bob Fitzsimmons at 5'-11.5", was an oversized MW....but hit a ton, and knocked out heavyweights. If it is Fitzsimmons vs Hagler, Rudy Bob is carrying a right hand capable of neutralizing a southpaw fighter.

 

Hart, Burns, Corbett... absolutely.

 

Hagler easily beats the primitive flat footed telegraphed punching fitz as well

 

I think that Hagler might just be able to pull it off. His superior skillset and work ethic means that he would likely hit more, be hit less and come on strong in the later rounds.

But here's the thing. Even if he did manage to become champ and defend a couple of times, his time was limited at the top. That's because he was smallish even for a middleweight, and skill can take you only so far. Eventually the substantial size advantage of his opponents would catch up with him and the accumulated damage would wear him out before his time.

I've often criticized Willard, for example. But Willard was a giant compared to Hagler and a giant with a hard chin and big punch at that. Hagler had a big punch and iron chin ... at middleweight. As wide as the gulf in P4P quality between them was, so is the gulf in actual pounds. I'd be cheering for Hagler but worried for his physical safety against a guy like Willard, who really could go 20 rounds no problem.

To pick an example out of boxing where this happened, take an MMA guy called Igor Vovchanchyn. The guy was a superlative stand up fighter with the heart of a lion and some ground skills to go with it. He regularly went toe-to-toe with 250-350 lb opponents and beat the cr*p out of them. But his run, phenomental though it was in MMA, was cut short by the horrendous damage that his body accumulated. In the end he could barely make a fist his hands were so broken.

In the end the sheer poundage against him would take care of Hagler, marvellous though he was.

 

Can you list the Hagler fights for me, which i can watch his "Superior skill set"?
I have many fights of Hagler, and from what i see is a fighter who is flummuxed, unsure and almost baffled by his own skill set. Hagler would switch from right to left, yet it had no effect on his opponents. All his switching done was make Hagler look awkward and off balance. Ray Leonard laughed at Marvin's tactics, when winning their bout by a landslide. Hagler would have been killed at Heavyweight pre Dempsey era. At middleweight in that same era, Hagler would have been knocked Out by Langford & Ketchel.

 

A landslide?Predictable trolling.

• Judge: Jose Juan Guerra 118-110

• Judge: Lou Filippo 113-115

• Judge: Dave Moretti 115-113

 

Frankel mentioning Langford helps make a case for Hagler. Langford was excellent even at HW.

 

Depends on who he was facing for the title of course. If Johnson held the title... not a chance in hell

 

I would say yes if matched against the right Champion. Even against Johnson and Jefferies he'd be a live challenger! Hagler was an ironman with a mean streak, he'd fit in well in this Era.