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Mark KriegelESPN
The great warrior retires with his fortune and his abilities intact.
Then he retires – resisting the urge of the promoters, the public and the ferocious power of his own ego, what made him great in the first place.
This is boxing’s most unlikely story.
And that’s the happiest.
And that’s the wonderful Marvin Hagler, forever.
“When I ask myself what I’ve been doing with boxing over the years, I think of Marvin Hagler,” Bob Arum said on Saturday shortly after being notified of Hagler’s passing. “He was the most loyal, dedicated fighter I have ever promoted.”
It comes from a man with 55 years of business, a man Hagler could not speak to once again. But not for lack of trying, and no matter the price.
Arum remembers being at Caesars Palace in the late 1980s. Muhammad Ali was there. Tommy Hearns was there. So did Roberto Duran and Ray Leonard, about a year after Leonard won his controversial decision on Hagler.
“Tell Marvin we have to do it again, a rematch,” Leonard told Arum. “We earn a fortune. Tell him. ‘
Since Leonard’s logic was inviolable, Arum delivered the message.
Hagler stared intently at the promoter. “Tell Ray to get a life,” he said.
No pursuit of the great Leonard, but that’s the hardest part. For fighters, fighting is the easy thing. Not fighting is harder. This is the hardest proposal to have a life, happy and healthy and rich enough to enjoy yourself after the fights. And if you judge Hagler’s place in boxing history – the ever-controversial decision to Leonard, the less ambiguous decision on Duran, the stoppage of Alan Minter, Vito Antuofermo, Hearns (watch ESPN +) and John Mugabi – it should count as his greatest victory.
The Greatest Himself could not do that. I remember the first time I saw Ali in person while signing a topic of repression at Macy’s. Someone had to wipe the saliva from his mouth. It was horrible to see, but even in the midst of this protracted celebration of Ali-Frazier’s 50th anniversary and the memory of Ali’s majesty, it’s worth remembering.
Hagler did not return after the Leonard fight.
He did not owe the IRS.
Did not have the need to sell himself in an ‘exhibition’.
He does not have to feed his ego or soften his regret. Other people may argue about the significance of his career, or the Leonard struggle itself. Hagler knows what he’s doing. He spoke his piece at its best in the ring, as it should be. And when he was done, he was done.
Actually, he wanted to finish sooner. “He wanted to retire after Hearns,” Arum said, referring to their three-round standard for concussion title fights. “But he did a lot of business at the casinos. It was the biggest weekend ever at Caesars Palace.”
Arum remembers the casino raising its bid ‘a few million’ ‘when a few million meant something. After all, Hagler would fight against Mugabi, 25-0, every time, when 25-0 actually meant something.
Hagler finally allowed Mugabi, who he knocked out in the eleventh round, to discuss. Then, 13 months later – by the time he knew his skills were deteriorating – it was Leonard.
“I remember driving with Pat Petronelli, his driver, for about five hours in the middle of the night,” Arum recalls. “When we finally get to his house in New Hampshire, Pat tells me to wait in the car. He’s going to meet Marvin. They’re talking in this little hangout on the side of the house. It’s going on and on and on and on. Finally I see Marvin punching the table with my fists, I think, ‘It’s not going so well.’ Then Pat walked back to the car. ‘
“What was that all about? asks Arum
“You will not believe it,” said Petronelli, who, along with his brother, Goody, coached Hagler, offered to reduce their fees by 50 percent to allow the fight to take place.
“What did he say?” asked Arum.
“He said, ‘I do not know if I’m going to fight this bastard, but if you do it better, you should demand the full amount. ‘
Hagler and Leonard fought on April 6, 1987 (watch ESPN +).
“He never hurt me,” Hagler said afterwards.
“Where is he going now?” asked Leonard. “I feel sad for him. I really do.”
While that was happening, Hagler got a life, as Rick Telander encouraged in Sports Illustrated in 1990. He moves to Milan and becomes an actor, mostly bad guys in action movies. He still had most of his money, the best part of $ 40 million, his health and his memories intact.
“I saw Joe Louis at the door in Caesars Palace, just the handshake, and it left a bad taste in my mouth,” he told Telander. “Then I saw Jersey Joe Walcott do the same thing in Atlantic City.”
Earlier that year, Hagler traveled back to the United States to see his daughter study in high school. He ran into Petronelli.
“For the first time in my life, I’m happy with myself,” he told the driver. “I’m retired.”
Though he would still turn down countless riches for a reunion with Leonard.
“I just got off the phone with Ray,” Arum said Saturday night. “He’s really broken up.”