Marvin Hagler .vs. Dwight Braxton

I envision Hagler taking a horrible beating for most part.

Not even big by Middleweight standards, it's asking a lot of him to move up to 175lbs and take on one of the division's toughest competitors.

Braxton was relentless, very strong, hit hard for his size, and would later demonstrate a sturdy chin up at Cruiserweight and Heavyweight.

...Yeah, Hagler's in deep ****.

 

I think Hagler does a lot better than people expect if he can keep some semblance of the mobility and conditioning he had at 160.

He would be silly to take Qawi head on and Marvin is smart enough to know this.

So for me it just really how long Hagler can use the ring and his skills to offset Qawi...If he can still move well and doesnt tire with the extra poundage..He may be able to hang with Dwight for quite some time and steal some rounds here and there. His chin will carry him through some tough moments and he may end up losing on the cards but by a pretty respectable margin ..Best case scenario I can see for him.
But if the extra weight hinders him to much in these departments he really gets mugged in there from a pretty early stage and might not make the rounds.

 

Antuofermo:nono
Leonard:nono

 

So you are basing your opinion of his ring smarts on young Hagler's first title shot and only second 15 round fight (which I felt he won anyway) and battle weary version's last career fight against a bloke who fought him in almost exact opposite way that Qawi would?

Im not claiming Marvin is some kind of in the ring genius but it wouldnt take one to know you don't move up a division and fight a bullstrong guy like Qawi head to head if you have the capability not to.

Qawi's style isnt exactly a puzzle..neither would Marvin have to work hard to find him like he was forced to against a retreating Leonard.

Whether he is successful or not with it, it wont be long before he has to give ground to Qawi.

 

No smart fighter has ever done anything but fight smart because people are perfect. Good point. Also, I had him comfortably winning the Antuofermo fight, as did many, and a lot of people thought he won the Leonard fight. So, brilliant argument really.

 

Hagler was a regular sized 160 pounder... A solid 168 is feesible and possible for 1983 Hagler, but not 175.... At 175 I see Hagler losing his edge and some of his finess... Of course a blown-up Hagler at 175 could still hammer a bum or stiff that high up in weight, but not Dwight M. Qawi...

Qawi is just too strong at 175 for Hagler in 1983.....bbb

MR.BILL

 

In hindsight that came off pretty snarky, but I'm a Hagler fan, sue me.

 

This has always been my argument against Hagler that he never moved up and fought Spinks or Qawi, yet called out Duran and Hearns and Leonard. Spinks was too big for Marvin, but Qawi surprisingly was 5-5 or 5-6 tall. Strong but Marvin had a 75 inch reach and he was a great boxer as his fight with Sibson and Hamsho showed. I think he would use his reach and be the boxer and win a decision. Hagler would look pretty fast against Qawi and it would surprise many people.

 

Qawi wins a wide UD in 15 over Hagler.Hagler's chin would save him from being floored, but Qawi would bust him up real bad.

 

Qawi would put too much pressure on Hagler and break him down to a wide decision.

 

They fight at a catchweight of 168 lbs and Hagler wins the the LHW and a vacant SMW titles simultaneously.

No wait, that would be ridiculous...

 

What awful examples.

 

I don't suppose any of you have ever seen Braxton against James Scott?

Braxton cranked everything he had for ten rounds and Scott never even registered any of his shots. Not one time did he even flinch. He did hurt Braxton himself on several occasions, however.

You're telling me that arguably the toughest and strongest champion and competitor ever at 160lbs in his prime would get washed away by a B level Alphabet Soup Champ? You really don't think he could add 10 lbs of muscle and box Braxton senseless?

Wow. I'm really surprised at the consensus here.

 

It's been a while since I've watched it, but as I recall Braxton out-boxed/out-worked a constantly backing up/clinch-initiating Scott for the majority of the fight. Only occasionally (perhaps a bit more toward the later rounds) did Scott find the time to load up for power shots between his constant, awkward movement. His strategy was based around constantly moving, regaining his wind/finding the range, and then shooting off a flurry of power shots in the hopes of catching and hurting Braxton. Most of the time these shots were slipped/rolled, only for a clinch to be initiated by Scott, at which point he'd repeat the cycle while being out-boxed during these spells. He may've rung his bell a few times in the latter half, but he never really halted Dwight's progress or turned the tide of the fight for any sustained period, I don't think. Not enough to win the fight, anyway.

Either way, Scott was a notably larger man and physical presence than Hagler (whose punching power, among other things, was completely unproven at the weight). Calling Dwight a "B level Alphabet Soup Champ" is pretty absurd as well, in my estimation. Perhaps not top tier among the division's history, but I think he'd give a lot of top names a lot of problems.