Switching Stances With Marvin Hagler

For close to a full decade, Marvelous Marvin Hagler was part of any discussion about the best fighter in the game, pound-for-pound. Quick, powerful, ruthless and clever, he was feared and avoided, Ray Leonard publicly stating more than once that he wanted nothing to do with the undisputed middleweight champion who, after thrashing Alan Minter in 1980, blew away one top contender after another and ruled his division with impunity.

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Painting by Damien Burton.

By the time Ray decided to come out of retirement to challenge Hagler, the competitive fire of the Marvelous One had all but burned itself out. He had been fighting professionally for 14 years, had 62 wins, and had fulfilled all of his career goals. Leonard timed his comeback perfectly. Having collected massive paydays for his fights with Roberto Duran and Thomas Hearns, not to mention lucrative endorsement contracts with Pizza Hut and Gilette, Hagler was seriously contemplating walking away from the fight game. His zeal for combat had waned and against Sugar Ray it showed.

In any case, Marvin Hagler, while universally regarded as an all-time great middleweight champion, is still viewed by some as primarily a two-fisted, power-punching, knockout artist. The shaved head, the menacing scowl, the “Destruct and Destroy” mentality, all helped to create the image of Hagler as a brute of a fighter who relied on ferocity and power above all else. But in fact this view completely short-changes “The Marvelous One” and his extraordinary talent. Here Lee Wylie breaks down for us one of the key elements of Hagler’s skill set: his sophisticated footwork and rare ability to switch stances. Suffice to say, Hagler brought much more to the ring than power, aggression and excellent conditioning.           — Robert Portis 

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5 thoughts on “Switching Stances With Marvin Hagler

  • November 11, 2014 at 5:58 pm
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    Outstanding work as always. Lee’s a credit to the boxing media.

    Reply
  • November 11, 2014 at 7:11 pm
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    Once again great video Lee. What made the video even better was that it featured Marvin Hagler, one of my all-time favorite boxers. By the way how is that Guillermo Rigondeaux video coming?

    Reply
  • November 25, 2014 at 2:12 pm
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    Hello,
    I like your videos, I’ve already subscribed to your youtube channel. This one is not available in my country, can you do something about that ? Thank you very much.

    Reply
  • June 21, 2015 at 8:38 pm
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    Great work man, Hagler is one of the greats boxers, can you make a video on Lennox Lewis? Thank you very much.

    Reply
  • January 27, 2020 at 5:09 pm
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    Lee Wylie, I am a great admirer of your work. I had not previously seen Sugar Ray Robinson or Locche. You are an outstanding teacher.

    Reply

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