As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I was watching the epic 3 round fight between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns today, after hearing that Mr. Hagler had died, and apparently from effects of the vax.
I always wonder who was the greatest in different weight classes. Tommy Morrison was just scary in his left hook, Ernie Shavers was brutal as was Evander Holyfield. Mike Tyson in his youth was awesome. To me a fighter has to be able to take a punch and hit with knockouts. Ali could take a punch, but was not a clocker. Rocky Marciano to me was the guy who could take a punch and give a punch. I do no think that anyone who got clocked by Tommy Morrison or Mike Tyson in their prime would have continued a fight.
After Cassius Clay was no longer able to fight, the Larry Holmes era was not the best fighters in the heavyweight, and it moved into the welterweights of Roberto Duran, who was the eldest of the group and simply fantastic. That was the problem with Duran is he was aging when three fantastic fighters appeared in Sugar Ray Leonard who was fast as Ali, Thomas the hit man Hearns who was big and strong, and a fantastic boxer, and the subject of this post in Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Hagler reminded me a great deal of Ernie Shavers and Evander Holyfield in they were all perfectly constructed fighters who could take punches and continuously dish out brutal punishment.
I honestly believe that Roberto Duran was the toughest of these four in his prime, but watching Hagler and Hearns in that epic 3 rounds was the kind of fight that fans come to see. From the opening bell, Hagler went after the taller Hearns, and Tommy with his hard right hand, should have knocked Hagler out as he staggered him, but Hagler was angry about being hit, and kept coming.
Hearns would have floored Leonard with the blows landed. Duran may have taken the punishment as Hagler did, but Hagler just kept coming inside and hitting Hearns body, and then he staggered Hearns with a head shot, and I honestly think that was the blow that took Hearns out and it happened in round one.
The second round, Hearns legs were wobbly and into the third. I do not think that Hagler ever gave time to Hearns to recover. Tommy kept smiling and tried boxing and moving away, but Hagler kept coming. It was in the 3rd that Hagler caught Hearns in what looked like in real time, not much of a punch. It was though a reaching, right cross, that a shorter man would lunge with at a taller man, and in slow motion, Hagler, temple punched Hearns perfectly. Hearns to his credit took the punch and was dazed. So dazed he turned and sort of skipped away, which Hagler closed immediately and in one more punch. Tommy Hearns legs were gone and he was out on his feet.
I do not want to make it sound like Marvin Hagler beat up Hearns as it was not like that, but he gave a beating to Hearns, who in turn slugged Hagler to covering Hagler's face with blood. It simply was Hagler recovered from Hearns knockout punch in the first and Hearns did not recover from Hagler's knockout punch in the same round.
I liked all of these fighters, Hagler was a Christian and all of them were good for boxing, not for what they brought to the sport, bur their status of handling themselves as champions. It is hard with these boxers to not appreciate all of them and not have a favorite. Leonard was the best boxer and with his speed won. Duran was a man to be feared in how punishing he was. Hearns was a fine boxer but backed it up with his hard right. Hagler though was just relentless in power.
Marvin Hagler was like Rocky Marciano and Joe Frasier. An opponent could hit them with everything and the just kept coming and seemed to get stronger. They were tough men, real fighters and when it took boxers who could take a punch like Cassius Clay and Ray Leonard to stay with them, and often they even lost.
My condolences to the Hagler family as they knew Marvin Hagler more than the fans did, and the fans glimpsed the product of all the work he invested in.
agtG
