No matter where you place the Marvelous Marvin Hagler in a ranking of the greatest middleweights of all time, no one can dispute the fact that few boxers have dominated a division as completely as Hagler did in the 1970s and 1980s. Due to his record of fourteen consecutive title defenses, many consider Carlos Monzón to be the most dominant middleweight of his era. But Hagler, who rose through the ranks just as Monzón was retiring, was clearly the best for the longest time, close to a full decade. Shunned by top talent and robbed by the judges in his first shot at a world title against Vito Antuofermo, he was widely recognized as the division’s best fighter long before he finally won the championship in 1980.
Early in Marvin’s career, none other than Joe Frazier had warned him that he would have a hard time getting opportunities. According to the former heavyweight champion, Hagler had three strikes against him that meant trouble: he was black, left-handed and good. Of course, Hagler would eventually show everyone how “good” he really was, but he had a long and difficult road to travel before the public recognized the greatness of him. In the ’70s there was little recognition for Hagler beyond fight writers and hardcore boxing fans, even though by 1978 he had defeated more quality middleweights than anyone else.
It was fitting that Frazier, of all people, broke the news to Marvin about the coming fight because the hard path Hagler took passed directly through Philadelphia, Smokin’ Joe’s adopted home, the toughest city in all of the world. boxing at that time. Hagler and his managers, the Petronelli brothers of Brockton, Massachusetts, assessed the situation and recognized that the “City of Brotherly Love” was a hotbed of wrestling talent and home to some of the best middleweights in the world. If Marvin wanted to get to the top, it meant venturing to Philadelphia to prove himself. It was a risky move, but as Goody Petronelli would say years later: “We knew that if we were going to get anywhere we had to fight ‘the iron’. So we went to Philadelphia.”
When Hagler walked down the hall at the Philadelphia Spectrum for the first time, he was undefeated in 26 fights. His opponent, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, a tall, lanky fighter with quick hands and a strong jab, was five years older and more experienced. It was a difficult test for Marvin, but he had to pass it in order to face some of the top contenders, fighters like Mike Colbert, Eugene Hart and Bennie Briscoe.
Philadelphia fight fans demanded action and they got it that night as Watts and Hagler engaged in a fast-paced, hard-hitting battle in which both men gave it their all. It was clear that the man from Brockton had the advantage in terms of aggression, strength and power, but Bobby Watts was from Philadelphia and so were the ring officials. Although Marvin deserved the victory, after ten rounds the judges gave the decision to Boogaloo. The verdict was bad enough to prompt J. Russell Peltz, the Spectrum boxing promoter, to reach out and apologize to Hagler’s people.
“It may not have been the worst decision ever,” Peltz would later say, “but it was pretty bad.”
So bad that after the verdict was announced and Watts left the ring, the Philadelphia fans actually cheered Hagler on. And the next morning the perfect headline appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer: “Welcome to Philadelphia, Marvin Hagler!”
Hagler refused to let the setback discourage him. He returned to the win column less than a month later, and then returned to Philadelphia for another tough fight and another decision loss, this time against Willie “The Worm” Monroe. A lesser wrestler might have decided right then and there to stay away from the mean streets of Philadelphia forever, but not Marvelous Marvin.
A series of wars on the Spectrum would soon follow, with Marvin avenging his loss to Monroe not once, but twice, and scoring major victories over Eugene Hart and “Bad” Benny Briscoe. Those fights were Hagler’s baptism of fire, the tough battles that brought out the best in him and molded him into the great champion he would soon be. Marvin may have learned to box in Brockton, Massachusetts, but it was in Philadelphia where he became “Marvelous.”
As Bobby Watts would eventually discover. In April 1980, Hagler and Watts finally met again and this time the judges might as well have stayed home. Marvelous Marvin stopped “Boogaloo Bobby” in the second round. -Michael Carbert
