"Marvin Hagler vs Herol Graham"

The difference is Marvin was a little better quality and had a long jab and he was stronger. I think that would be the difference.

 

Hagler points

 

Hagler by stoppage mid to late.

 

"Oooooh no! That's what we were afraid of!"

The main differences would be it wouldn't be a single shot, and Hagler probably wouldn't be almost hopelessly behind when he takes Graham out.

 

There are very few prime middleweights who could have competed with Hagler. I'm thinking of Robinson, Monzon and Toney. Graham was a very fine fighter. But he is not in that league.

 

Hagler.

 

Would look like Cotto vs Margarito

 

Correct and not only that but the Graham Jackson ko d wasn't even at his very best.

 

You really think that Hagler and Graham would split two fights?

 

I’ve never been big on “ahh but the guy was winning before he got knocked out” when it’s a KO in the first half of a fight.

 

Yeah totally agree. Canelo vs Khan is a good example. Regardless of losing some early rounds Canelo always knew he only needed one good shot.

Similar to GGG vs Brook.

 

Was the OP asking about this match "primes" or within a given window of time?

12 or 15 rounds?

Primes - MMH wins whether 12 or 15. The MMH of say, the Sibson fight in Feb' '83 hunts prime Bomber down, cuts him off, corners him, gradually takes Graham's legs & likely scores a stoppage in about 7 - 10 rounds, losing some rounds on the way but with the outcome never really in doubt after the first 3-4 rounds.

However, if we are talking about a smallish window of time from about '86 onwards (say MMH post Mugabi) & prior to Graham's May '87 loss to Kalambay, this gets more interesting, imo. Hagler of the Mugabi fight (& after) was nowhere near the fighter of say '83. The sharpness, speed, timing & flexibility of prime Marv was much reduced, pretty much all that was left was the strength, power, durability, experience, work ethic & will to win.

I suspect that Graham could take advantage of Hagler's declining abilities, particularly in the early rounds. Early on I see Graham getting in and out, hitting Marvin without getting hit in return. I see Graham building up a points lead but as he tires, Hagler getting closer to him and wearing Graham down...this is where the scheduled distance becomes a factor in my opinion. 15 rounds - I'm pretty confident Hagler catches up to Graham, breaks him up and stops him. 12 rounds; Graham has a better chance of surviving.

Overall, my gut feeling is that in the above scenario, in '86 or '87 even over 12 scheduled rounds Hagler pulls out the win - just.

Whether primes or in '86-'87 you would probably get the same bald (!) result; a TKO win for Hagler, but the actual fights themselves could take very different paths.

 

Actually find myself siding with Senor Pepe on this one.

 

Yeah, it's casual fan logic.

 

The 2nd fight doesnt count neither guy was in their prime. Margarito was particularly washed