Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler held the undisputed middleweight championship for nearly seven years, making twelve successful title defenses, almost all by knockout.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954 and became the undisputed world middleweight champion with a professional record of 62 wins (52 by knockout), 3 losses and 2 draws across a career spanning 1973 to 1987. He won the undisputed middleweight title in 1980 by defeating Alan Minter and defended it 12 times — one of the longest and most dominant reigns in middleweight history. His 1985 fight with Thomas Hearns — Marvelous vs Motor City Cobra — featured a first round voted the greatest round in boxing history: 153 seconds of mutual destruction at a pace that should have produced a double knockout. Hagler won by TKO in the 3rd round. His left-handed stance — he trained both orthodox and southpaw, switching in bouts — his shaved head and his relentless pressure made him one of the sport's most intimidating figures. His 78% knockout rate across 62 wins was exceptional at middleweight. His loss to Sugar Ray Leonard on points in 1987 — disputed by virtually every observer outside Leonard's corner — ended his career. He was Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year in 1983 and 1985 and Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s. He legally changed his first name to Marvelous. He died in March 2021 aged 66.

Aggressive southpaw with iron chin and relentless pressure

One of greatest middleweights ever, southpaw warrior

• International Boxing Hall of Fame
• Fighter of the Decade (1980s)