A Boxing Memory: Hagler vs. Mugabi

A Boxing Memory: Hagler vs. Mugabi

“I have to give it a little thought, but this might be my last fight.” Hagler

It would be the last fight he would ever win. The words above were hardly surprising. The brutality of his fight with John Mugabi, who proved he was indeed a beast, was enough for Marvelous Marvin Hagler to seriously contemplate retirement. But thoughts of letting go had been there for quite some time.

Mugabi was eventually vanquished. But the latest challenger to Hagler’s dominance of the middleweight ranks was beyond stubborn. The resistance the Ugandan puncher offered was enough to hint that the long reign of Hagler would not last much longer. If retirement didn’t come by way of a voluntary method, there was enough of an interest at ringside to force Hagler into a permanent removal from the sport and a division he had ruled since he brutalised Alan Minter in three savage rounds in 1980.

Thomas Hearns was showered and appropriately dressed after his opening-round blitz of the previously unbeaten James Shuler earlier in the evening. The ‘Hit Man’ looked mightily impressive in the way he had quickly dispatched Shuler, and he looked like the likely opponent for Hagler. A rematch of their 1985 war was seemingly imminent.

But the undisputed welterweight champion of the world Donald Curry was also ringside in Las Vegas. Curry was eyeing a move up in weight. And Hagler.

But if Curry or Hearns thought they were next, or if Hagler really wanted out, a former champion who, after a few beers were consumed sitting alongside Michael J Fox, decided he wanted back in. Everything then changed. Sugar Ray Leonard liked what he saw in the desperate struggle Hagler had with Mugabi. Hearns and Curry were out of the equation. It took a little time, but Hagler was back in also.

Mugabi, a former Olympic silver medallist, was 26, with twenty-six fights, all wins, all inside the distance. On the night that Showtime entered the boxing fray, Hagler, making his twelfth defence of his undisputed world middleweight baubles, was the 3-1 betting favourite. Mugabi, despite his impressive resume, was expected to fold with little drama in Las Vegas. Leonard predicted Hagler would have Mugabi out of there inside six rounds.

His fearsome record looked good on paper, but equally, Mugabi was viewed with much suspicion. A fight with James ‘Hard Rock’ Green in 1984 was much tougher than expected. Mugabi got an early thumb in the eye. He wanted to quit. He was talked out of it and eventually stopped Green in the 10th round. If Green could push Mugabi this hard, Hagler would surely have far too much for the still untested and unproven challenger. But the reality was very different.

But there were signs even before the first bell that all was not well with Hagler. The fight was originally scheduled for November the previous year. There were ongoing back problems, and a broken nose courtesy of a sparring session got the fight pushed back to the following March. But Hagler had already talked openly about walking away. A famous dinner with Leonard planted the seed for the return of the ‘Sugar Man.’ Hagler had confessed his hunger for the sport was waning and retirement was very much in his thoughts. The scintillating pulsating win over Hearns in 1985 had given Hagler everything he ever wanted. But it left him needing nothing more.

There were problems at home. His wife Bertha wanted Hagler to retire, his marriage was on the rocks because he refused to adhere to his wife’s wishes. There were stories of alcohol and drug abuse. And at 32, Hagler had reached the pinnacle of his craft. And usually, that means there is only one way to go from there. Down. Hagler felt like had achieved everything he wanted to. He needed the whispers in his ear for him to fight on.

When training resumed for the rescheduled fight things weren’t right in training. Hagler was dropped in sparring courtesy of a left hook from Bobby Patterson just four days before his fight with Mugabi. Hagler initially tried to pass it off as a slip and that he was off balance. Goody Petronelli said otherwise.

Many expected Mugabi to fall with little fuss. But the Ugandan hadn’t read the script. The torrential rain which had been lashing down in the preliminary fights had thankfully stopped prior to Hagler walking out to James Brown and Living in America. But another storm was coming.

All the doubts beforehand must have more than flickered in the fight. There were exchanges of the utmost brutality. Another fight where Hagler had to suffer again. At least his battle with Hearns the year before only went slightly past the eight-minute mark. Mugabi wouldn’t fall easily, and when he did it was out of exhaustion when the body just couldn’t take no more. The unfancied challenger gave everything and more and pushed Hagler far beyond any reasonable pre-fight expectations. The champion thought he had it won in the 6th, but Mugabi came roaring back before the round was assigned to history. Trust me, that was some round.

Hagler finally found the punches he needed in the 11th when it all became too much for the brave and determined former Olympian. Post-fight the talk wasn’t about Hearns or Curry it was about retirement. “I have to give it a little thought, but this might be my last fight,” Hagler said after tougher than expected struggle with Mugabi. And if a fighter from the past hadn’t thrown down the unlikely and seemingly suicidal challenge, then Hagler would almost certainly have walked away for good. Hagler always wanted a fight with Leonard and the temptation to finally get Leonard in the ring was too great to ignore. History now tells us he should have.

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