if hagler

he would have SURELY retired. he was going to retire in the first place and Leonard had to convince him to reconsider a fight with him over retirement. Hence you see a few months pass before Hagler's announcement to go thru with the fight.

I saw Hagler in sparring for his last fight. If you ask me, he was in no condition to have any more fights as he had none of his old skills that served him so well in his previous championship matches.

Also, another sure sign that he was heading for retirement is the fact that the Leonard fight had only the WBC championship at stake. This would never have been the case had Hagler intended to continue with his career as he would not settle for being addressed as anything less than undisputed middleweight champion. Every previous match was for the undisputed championship-WBC, WBA, and IBF starting in 1983. Check it out and you'll see that it's true.

 

i think he either would have retired or lost soon.

I reckon he wuld have won a rematch with Leonard but probably woul dhave lost to Hearns then retired

 

The 'masterplan' doing the rounds in the boxing mags at the time was that Hagler would finish off with Hearns II and then Curry. I don't think he was going to retire before the first Leonard fight either, the rematch with Hearns seemed very much a 'goer' until Leonard threw his hat into the ring.

 

I tend to agree with you. Fleet-footed technicians bothered an aging Hagler FAR MORE than a Mugabi did. That is much why Hagler went right at Hearns. He was no longer the fluid, machine-like counter-puncher that disassembled guys circa 1984 and beyond. Complcated boxers like a peeking Herol Graham or Michael Nunn would have presented problems for a late-87 variant of Hagler, forget '88.

 

Rooster,I personally don't have to check it out as I know that everything you wrote down here is the truth.Good job,man.

 

I think he would have retired because the leonard fight was the one he wanted to seal his legacy, I think he would of found it easy to retire knowing that he had beaten all the greats of his era. I believe the only reason he did'nt retire after the mugabi fight is because of the Leonard fight being offered to him.

 

He was actually due to fight Hearns in a rematch after the Mugabi fight.

 

What do yer recken the hold up was then on the Hearns re-match, as we know Hearns blew shular away on the Mugabi bill but there was a good year or so before the Leonard fight, was it $$$$, any idea's?:smoke

 

Yep, the wasn't going to retire after Mugabi, the Hearns rematch was pretty close to being signed when Leonard decided he fancied a fight with Hagler.

 

My memory of it that there was a lot of (basically) ****ing about. Hagler-Hearns II was being negotiated then Leonard hinted he MIGHT come back, Hagler trying to play it cool etc.

TBH though, at the time Hagler wasn't fighting that often anyway (the Mugabi fight got postponed due to an injury IIRC) and once the Leonard fight was mooted if it took a year to sort out, it took a year to sort out...that fight was that big people didn't mind wating for it.

Its easy to forget looking back but the biggest fight in boxing at that time was Hagler-Hearns II but as soon as Leonard starting dropping hints all of a sudden no one gave a **** about it!!

 

Well said:yep most people are under the impression he was always the Hearns type wrecker, not so & as you're one of the few of us who know too the contrary, as precision counter punching was what Marvin was always all about, it was is he had you on a piece of elastic not dissimilar to a bat & ball, just watch the way he took Sibbo apart & Sibbo was no mug, i've always been of the mind that the circa 1984 Hagler would have been a nightmare for Leonard, it would have turned into a systymatic beatdown going into the 12th, jeezus he was so so accurate, all of-em fell the same way, Fuleobel,Hamso,Sibbo:smoke