Hag was a switcher during a fight....... He never fought entirely as a southpaw...... Hag went both ways.......... ALSO! Hagler was NOT a big 160 pounder......... MMH often weighed 157, 158 or 159......... I think Hag weighed the full 160 for Scypion in 1983.?.? Hagler never struggled with the scales like Monzon........ Foster prevails..........:bbb MR.BILL:hat
I would pick Foster myself ,I just thought the fact that Hagler was a southpaw had not been mentioned,and I couldn't recall how easily Foster handled them .I also have seen several fights in which Hagler boxed entirely as a leftie.
Of course Chris Finnegan was a southpaw, and theirs was such a high profile epic bout that I didn't think it merited mention. For me, it matters more that Hagler had a steel chin and could stick and move laterally.
I know the idea of Spinks/Haglar was bandied about, but did Haglar ever show any serious interest in moving up to 175? I don't think he did. He simply wasn't big enough to carry 175 pounds at elite level. There is little chance that Marvin Haglar could last 15 rounds with Bob Foster.
I doubt Hagler would come in greatly above 160, even if he does have a vast track record of pursuing exceedingly unwise fight strategies. His bicycle would need to be fully oiled for this one, so to speak.
Marv squelched talk of taking on Michael pretty quickly, saying that when he undertook training, his weight went right down. Both Michael and Bob weighed 170 pounds in LHW Title defenses (for Sears and Anderson respectively), so neither of them ever exactly struggled to make that limit either. If they were to meet Hagler, a catch weight at the SMW limit probably would have been stipulated. (If they could make 170, then one would expect that they could drop a couple more pounds, especially Michael under Shilstone's guidance.) Hagler said at times that he felt faster and quicker when he came in a couple pounds under 160. For optimal mobility, a weight like 158 would probably be best for dealing with Foster. Marv had an iron chin and terrific jab, but he wasn't as physically strong as his build made him look, and he wasn't ever going wear down Bob by out muscling and shoving him around. (Antuofermo, Minter and Hamsho were all physically stronger than Hagler.) Sticking and moving around the perimeter would clearly have been the way for him to try dealing with Foster, to try exploiting that mobility impaired stance of Bob's by outmaneuvering him.
The key element here is Hagler's major vulnerability to cuts in a fight and most graphically demonstrated in the Hearns fight. Foster made much of his reputation on his ability to twist his jab in such a way to cut fighters who were traditionally prone to cutsm, namely Ali. I like Foster to cut Hagler up en route to a 7th round stoppage in a fight where Hagler is slightly behind on the cards but still fighting back very hard at the end.
Ali-Foster was an anomaly though. Bob did stop Charlie Polite on a cut, but how many other times did he win this way? (By contrast, Arguello was a real cut master, halting champions Escalera, Limon, Chacon and Navarrete by spilling their blood.) Marv wasn't the bleeder Antuofermo and Minter were. Granted, if Bob opened him up the way he gushed against Hearns, it's likely over (unless Foster's chin is far more questionable than is typically assumed). However, I do think projecting a cut induced stoppage is something of a leap of faith. He certainly didn't stop either Finnegan or Fourie on cuts, so it was clearly possible to compete against him through an extended bout without getting carved into submission. To beat Hagler on cuts, Reyes gloves ought to be employed.
I don't recall ever seeing this fight being brought up on here, which is strange as it's a very, very intriguing prospect. I think Hagler was a vastly superior boxer all-round, but with Foster's advantages in size (weight, height, reach) and his insane power to take into account... basically I can't make my mind up. I can see Hagler boxing his way through an engaging battle, getting badly rocked a few times, but holding on for a points win. Alternatively, I can see Foster landing a bomb in the late rounds once Hagler has started to slow a little, and if Foster lands a bomb it's over. If they fought 10 times it could be 6 of one, 4 of the other, but I'm going with Foster with a late TKO.
I wish to Christ that ESPN Classics would air "Ali-Patty 2" and "Ali-Foster" from 1972..... The hell is ESPN waiting for??? I'm tired of all that horse**** modern stuff with "Corrales, Freitas, Tszyu, Casamayor and bull**** being shown........ Gimmie the old ****........ MR.BILL
**** ESPN. That's what youtube's for. (McGrain KO 1 ESPN) [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9kcpTkzHsU[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ1pxr4Gzu0[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PfQjTESlsQ[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh6_koD6tZc[/ame]