Hagler vs. Hearns - the Mother of All Battles?

It was thirty years this week since those of us who are of a certain age witnessed what is considered by many to have been the greatest fight in boxing history - the epic three-round war between the middleweight titans "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler and Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns.

It was the fight that everybody wanted to see, in a golden age of middleweights which also included such legends as Sugar Ray Leonard and the diminutive but hard-as-nails Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran. Between them they, along with several other fighters who in any other age would themselves have dominated the division (the Argentinian Juan Roldán springs readily to mind), captivated fight enthusiasts for a decade the likes of which has never since been seen and probably never will again.

Even in the UK names such as Herol Graham, Errol Christie, Tony Sibson and Mark Kaylor were commonly known amongst amongst sports fans, with the gutsy Sibson challenging no fewer than three times for various world titles.

Marvin Hagler

Hagler had become world middleweight champion in 1980 at the second attempt when, following a drawn contest against the defending champ Vito Antuofermo ten months previously, he defeated Britain's Alan Minter on a technical knockout in the third round. Notwithstanding his total command of the division he felt sidelined by the trilogy of Leonard, Hearns and Duran, who had seemed content to share the spotlight through a number of money-spinning mutual encounters.

Hearns had begun his professional career as a welterweight, for which at 6'1" he was freakishly tall, usually boasting a massive reach advantage over his opponents. He possessed a peculiar style, gangly and awkward but deadly effective with arguably the hardest punch in the sport. He had dispatched the solid Duran to the canvass in the second round of their meeting in 1984, after the Panamanian had taken Hagler the distance in his previous encounter. This was seen by many as indicative of Hearns' superior pedigree when he came up against Marvelous Marvin a year later.

The fight itself, when it came, was from the onset a veritable explosion of raw aggression and talent. Both fighters claim not to have even heard the first bell. Fearsome blows were exchanged and the pace did not let up until the end of the first round. Back in his corner, Hearns revealed that he had broken a finger, whilst Hagler had blood streaming from a gash to his forehead.

Thomas Hearns

During the second round Hagler alternated his style between southpaw and orthodox, discomfiting Hearns and not giving him the opportunity to settle. He was comfortably on top before, in the third round, referee Richard Steele suspended proceedings to enable the doctor to take a closer look at the cut on Hagler's forehead. He permitted the fight to proceed, but Hagler knew there was no way he would last the distance in his present predicament. From there onwards it was kill or be killed.

With this firmly in mind, Hagler hurled himself back into the fight with a renewed sense of urgency. Hearns was wobbled, he clung on, then he fell. Then he got up again, but referee Steele had seen enough.

Although Hearns was enthusiastic for a rematch (and apparently still is, although the 60-year-old Hagler is perhaps understandably dismissive), it never did happen. Hagler eventually retired after losing a dubious decision to Leonard, whilst Hearns continued a little longer than he perhaps ought to have done, finally hanging up his gloves after his 2006 tenth-round defeat of Shannon Landberg at the age of 47.