Marvin Hagler: The Man Sent to Kill The Hitman

Photo by Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Disclaimer: This is a rewritten and republished version of a previous writing by the author in question. The original post can be found here for reference.

Introduction

Marvin Hagler was crowned amidst a torrent of Alan Minter’s blood and garbage – the division’s longtime workman had been made a king that was unwanted by a London crowd. Championships tend to embody the symbolic pinnacle of a fighter’s efforts to reach the top in glorious fashion. And yet, a display of a murderous piston jab and clubbing hooks in close-quartered pugilism that turned the Brit’s face into a stuffed cushion was not met with an ovation nor a moment of earned surrealism for Hagler. Instead, he was assailed by tangible objects and the same apathetic contempt that had kept him from the throne to begin with. No matter what the stone-faced Hagler could say, there had to exist some measurement of resentment and will to earn that a moment that was given to all champions: A moment of pure adulation and pride from a thrilling sequence of combat. Driven to reach that ‘Marvelous’ state, Hagler began to carve what remains a permanent, red-smeared scar across the middleweight division, stopping all but one of his challengers, until he would get that moment where life was fair. Nearly five hours after his enthronement, he got his lucky ticket: A date with the hitman from Detroit, Michigan himself, Thomas Hearns.

To call Hearns the sort of man who both had the look and had the fighting ability that one would see out of an old crime gangster film would seem hyperbolic for just about anyone else. However, if anyone had earned a reputation as a terror across the boxing world, it was the nearly six-foot-tall giant himself. Many of the conventional classifications seem to elude Hearns, but, to simplify, Hearns was a boxer-puncher. He could apply methodical pressure at distance or work on the outside at distance to prevent opponents from closing in behind a pistol-whip lead hand to set up his legendary cannon of a right even from a significant distance. In other words, he could work at any and all ranges and, armed with a reach and height that dwarfed practically anyone else within the weight classes he fought at, he was as much a problem to train for as he was to fight. Hearns’ game in its most basic form was to corral you with his jab and feints off the hip to lead you into counters or to set you up for a knockout. To fight Hearns was as difficult as it was because everything he did was to keep you in the range whereupon he could control or deal damage. Conversely, you, his opponent, were rendered inert. In summary, The Hitman would look to establish a fight where his initiative would be first, middle, and last.

For the sake of understanding this sheer comedy of terrors, please consult these gentlemen, who quickly learn why no range is safe and just how potent Hearns is off the lead hand.

Suffice it to say, Hearns was absolutely the monster he was billed to be. Against an opponent whose philosophy is to deny range work, the next course of action should be obvious. You must close the distance, smother the taller man’s work and create the pocket exchanges that would favor you in some capacity. Unfortunately, Hearns, already a fine product of the Final Boss Labs Inc., then was granted a pair of buffs: Power and speed.

Essentially, to fight Hearns is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t sort of dilemma. If you move forward, you stand a far greater chance of landing effectively, but your chances of meeting a broomstick counter jab or a counter thunderbolt right increase. Should you survive, he might have already repositioned and already started working behind that lead hand at range again. Both Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez, two of the finest boxers of their generation, found themselves continuously at the end of the reach, earning a punch for every step unless they created the most effective entries they could whilst still making Hearns continually retreat. Only one of them managed to craft the counterpunches in longer pocket exchanges at the expense of taking some heat in return in order to win. Even the great Roberto Duran found himself absolutely slaughtered by Hearns on the frontfoot in less than five minutes - a feat that no one else can truly claim to even come close to.

To beat Hearns meant understanding that outboxing him at a distance is unlikely and pocket exchanges themselves needed to be calculated and favorable before you were sent back to square one. This description is why defeating Hearns at his peak was such a task.

On the other hand, if you’re Marvin Hagler, you welcome a challenge like a long lost friend.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler stands as perhaps one of the most misunderstood boxers in the last half-decade. Originally a southpaw that would apply a measured pace and attritional damage over the course of the fight, Hagler’s journey to the title saw him develop among the rarest of styles: The switch-hitter.

Switch-hitters are aptly named as such because they rely upon the opponent’s knowledge of positioning and take advantage of them by “switching” their stances to change the previous ‘interaction’. For instance, in a conventional closed stance matchup between two orthodox fighters, one fighter switches to the southpaw stance. To change the stance matchup is a risk for the fighter in question, but switching forces the opponent to have to reset their understanding of the fight too. Ergo, a “switch-hitter” is a fighter who will look to confuse the other by taking advantage of their inherent knowledge of positionings. A good switch-hitter like Hagler was not simply just an effective switch-hitter from space, however. He was willing to switch while hitting – or shifting – an effort to create even more havoc upon his opponents’ sense of rhythm from any range.

Although shifting presents a risk of a fighter being caught out of position, their potent effects on an opponents sense of rhythm and positioning can create new angles for offense and defense whilst acting as an effective tool to close distance.

Through the use of an active lead hand, rapid upper-body feinting, and a dogged, unyielding pace, the use of shifts and switches made Hagler both a physically exhaustive foe and an incredibly unpredictable one. The new middleweight champion was content to give up a few early rounds to make his reads and then apply an escalating, damaging attritional game.

At the best of times, this application of offense would club visages into bloody doctor stoppages while said men were still unsure what had happened minutes beforehand. Marvin Hagler is often known as a destroyer of unbelievable aggression, but that distinction is a disservice to how Hagler was genuinely a phenomenal boxer whose specialized talent at using switches into a high-paced game made him a defined ring general of late-round attritional battery.

Only Roberto Duran went the distance out of the many who tried and failed, but only did so through superlative work of feeler counterpunches, pivoting and infighting. That said, the Hitman presented a unique challenge that Hagler had yet to face: a dynamic combination of physical gifts with excellent boxing skills at all ranges. Not only was Hearns likely to test Hagler’s incredible durability, but, similar to Duran, Hearns had the ability to test how good of a boxer his opponent was over the course of a longer fight. Yet, Marvin Hagler was not scared one bit: He promised the boxing world that, for the biggest match the sport could make, he would bring the war. Not just a war for them, but a war for him.

The Legendary Round

Hyperbole tends to be commonplace among combat sports pundits and fans, but there is absolutely no doubt that the first round of Hagler-Hearns stands among the greatest stanzas of all time. It all began because Hagler came out at the gate, pressuring heavily and was met with the full arsenal that epitomized what boxing’s most prolific knockout dynamo was capable of in an opening exchange that has to be seen to be believed.

Hagler switches to orthodox after getting hit to reenter range for another switch. As he does, Hearns is already ready to time him with a right cross (note Hagler immediately has shelled up because he’s out of position, so he’s expecting an onslaught now) and Hearns tears into him. The uppercut to exploit shorter opponent’s crouching (since Hagler is trying to smother Hearns). This denies Hagler’s frame with an overhand. Meanwhile, Hearns fights off the grips as Hagler stays in to counter him with another right. He then anticipates Hagler’s left arm coming over to create a frame/grip, so uses it to uppercut him. The left hook finally forces Hagler to back off.

As stated, Hearns would be able to take the initiative the best at long range. Therefore, Hagler needed to deny Hearns as much space as possible. To that end, forward movement was the right decision for Hagler here because he lacked the tools to win a long-ranged boxing match with Hearns. What he did have was a steel cranium and an unending gas tank, built upon an attritional game. It meant he would have to take shots, but Hagler’s decision to force an all-out offensive fight with Hearns informed how great a fighter he truly was. If an elite fighter faces an opponent with no definite, safe route of victory, then they need to bite down and give it everything they have, even if it took something permanent out of them forever.

The ring then threatened to tear itself down as Hagler looked to eliminate all of Hearns’ breathing room and met some punishment in return, banking on his durability and endurance outlasting and overwhelming whatever was thrown his way.

Hagler level changes establish threats of a body-head attack to get inside and smother Hearns. He then forces Hearns to break the grips as Hagler is already throwing from an unknown stance (that Hearns can’t see) – in this case orthodox – and mix in level changes and upper body movement as he counter hooks with Hearns in the pocket. We’ll get back to this point later, but note who is starting and concluding the exchanges here.

In short, Hagler was not the most nuanced ringcutter, but cutting off a man as tall and long as Hearns at range had its inherent risks and gave the younger man more time to think. Instead, staying on top of Hearns, smothering him and ripping both the body and head at every chance would afford Hagler the best route to victory. For what it was worth, Hearns had been finished before and that was exactly what Hagler was maximizing upon his ability to do. It was in the corners and on the ropes where the workman showed his hand.

The key here is how Hagler uses his high guard to catch shots off of it and then pull forward as Hearns retracts, then to smother/hook Hearns and attempt to place his head on Hearns’ rear shoulder to set up hooks upstairs in the space that he brings his head back. If Hearns raises his arms to guard his head, then the body is open. This all extends to if Hearns fires to get off the ropes, where Hagler can catch and pitch off the guard while shifting in combination.

The ropes were the worst possible place Hearns could be. Therefore, it became imperative that he control the exchanges at distance and in open space.

For the duration of the fight, Hearns went to his outside game’s bread-n-butter. The use of the lead hand jab behind upper body hip feints and hops to bait reactions out of Hagler and to lead him into more powerful counterpunches (e.g. check hook, right straight) and misdirections. The more Hearns could establish feints off of folding his hip and that jab, the more effective he became.

By the end of a hellacious opening round, the champion’s visage was smeared in his own blood, but he was just getting started. This was war and he was going to settle for nothing less than a decisive victory.

Breaking Hearns’ Back

To close the distance and continue to force Hearns into the pocket or towards the ropes, Hagler would apply a few of his base tools. First, Hagler used a gazelle jab to look for the level change under Hearns’ shots.

Marvin Hagler’s gazelle jab was as much of a rhythm breaker as it was a means to close the distance. The timing of the jab itself was difficult to anticipate because Hagler would not use it from a set motion. Instead, he would time it randomly off a V-step or a random plant to catch his opponents unaware consistently. Pay attention to Hagler’s feet before, as, and after he throws to see how effective this can be.

The most important tactic Hagler used in this fight, however, was his specialty: shifting and switching in tandem.

A high guard can help catch shots and the lead hook is about as good a counter as you can find to punish an opponent attempting to create an angle on you. If you’re Hagler, it’s also a chance to convert to southpaw as you fire and continue to manipulate where Hearns’ moves.

Shifting can be especially useful if you have already messed with your opponents’ understanding of positioning via switching to allow you to continue putting on mental and physical pressures on the opponent and make their reactions (i.e. Hearns counter hooks to the head) easier to predict.

The last component of Hagler’s offensive plan was to constantly touch Hearns to force more engagements.

To make ends meet here, Hagler’s solution was to use the lead hand to keep touching Hearns with a mix of noncommittal, doubling, or counter jabs. Subsequently, Hagler could stay in range with Hearns, constantly force the latter to keep moving, and anticipate his responses more. Moreover, jabbing with, before, or after someone who uses their lead hand to set up most of their offensive. To make ends meet here, Hagler’s solution was to use the lead hand to keep touching Hearns with a mix of noncommittal, doubling, or counter jabs. Subsequently, Hagler could stay in range with Hearns, constantly force the latter to keep moving, and anticipate his responses more. Moreover, jabbing with, before, or after someone who uses their lead hand to set up most of their offensive and defensive range work means that they’re not allowed to do anything without a response.

Let’s pause for a second and ask what is actually happening here:

To beat Thomas Hearns, the route to victory usually involved setting up a significant moment of offense that he might not have expected. By placing intensive, relentless pressure on him, Hagler was demonstrating another rule; perhaps the most prevailing unspoken stipulation for any fighter to win any contest. In short, a great amount of pugilism involves whoever is controlling the premises for initiated engagements. In other words, you don’t want to be the person to respond more often. By staying in Hearns’ face, Hagler was positing many engagements and imploring Hearns to respond to them.

The issue for Hearns became a compulsion to react to literally everything, yet his reactions did nothing against the indestructible pursuer. The downside for Hagler was a need to take shots to accomplish this goal, but the implication is less consequential once you realize that he was always the one dictating what happened. In a battle of proactivity versus reactivity, Hearns was made purely reactive and thus, gradually wilted from the realization that his responses were creating minimal results.

Unfortunately, it got worse for Hearns. Understand that because Hagler is constantly providing a varied onslaught, Hearns’ responses become less calculative and assured. The Hitman was caught in a trap that was slowly closing in on him. Everything he did to try and earn back the momentum was just another nail in his coffin.

The worst moments were, again, where Hearns were trapped against the ropes. Hearns wanted nothing to do with Hagler on the inside. Consequently, he had two choices: go left or go right.

Why can’t Hearns go to his left? Simple. Hagler already has gotten outside foot position in the southpaw-orthodox matchup (note how Hagler is almost always in southpaw the moment he has Hearns near or on the ropes) and can threaten with the lead right hook from a position that Hearns cannot predict nor see. Even if Hearns is not locked in that outside foot position, westward movement simply allows Hagler to cut him off or stay in proximity. The worst case scenario is that Hearns has also walked himself towards the corner.

To go right, by contrast, allows Hearns a better chance to create some distance off his jab and away from that open-stance matchup. On the other hand, there are consequences everytime he circles out: Hagler hits a rear hook to the body. This decision is what Hearns opts for as the lesser of two evils, but still, the actual ramifications begin to emerge.

The right hook upstairs starts to make Hearns reconsider going to his right more often and, as a result, tries to exchange counter hooks with Hagler. In these situations, however, he is not the one primed to take the best advantage of them.

Hearns attempts to go right to evade Hagler’s presumed switch to southpaw. Hagler uses a throwaway jab to blind Hearns and drags his rear leg across to set up the straight and now pushes Hearns into the corner in southpaw, where he digs to the body.

Ultimately, the finish is more of reverberated conclusion to a natural progression of events:

Hearns loves to frame with his lead hand. To set up a lead right hook from Hearns’ blindspot, Hagler fakes the rear left straight to handtrap Hearns and then shifted his weight out of a switch to orthodox (what Hearns is expecting – see his right hand raised) to deliver the decisive blow. From there, a final shifting straight puts the Hitman on the ground.

Thus, Marvin Hagler, through the most indomitable display of offensive fighting he might well had ever shown, had earned the signature win of his career as a flow of crimson flowed from his forehead. His championship of claret had run full circle to the jubilation of a crowd that he had rightfully deserved several years prior.

Conclusion

I suppose I have to take this time to note that, as impressive and awe-inspiring a fighter Hagler was here, that his victory in “The War” (further supported by his following victory in another barnburner versus the unbeaten knockout artist John Mugabi) has led to some mythos about how he had fought his whole career. Marvin Hagler certainly ranks among the most durable fighters to have ever fought in the boxing ring. His shifting offensive combination punching off of and into the opponents’ ribs would just about crumble most in turn. Still, Hagler never truly fought many fights the way he did versus Hearns nor Mugabi. He would instead look to wear his opponents down over the stretch of a fight as opposed to going to war and breaking them there.

In some regard, he did not change the strategic component of his game (e.g. attritionally dissecting them), but he did up the ante on his output, pace, and pressure exponentially, especially from the opening bell – a decided rarity for him. I have posited before that beating fighters like Thomas Hearns often requires taking away their initiative completely. Therefore, it is equally plausible that Hagler truly saw that going to war was the most likely – if not the only – chance of victory.

I obviously cannot prove that, but I have to believe that Hagler chose to bring this kind of effective stratagem for a reason. For the record, this victory was not necessarily a replicable one for just about anyone else. Only a fellow all-time-great with the understanding of how to both endure Hearns’ best shots while consistently unsettling him in every phase and position could get this done. Hearns’ future opponent, Juan Roldan, would attempt a similar approach, but he would lack the nuance and knowledge of the where, when and why to make it count and ended up on the canvas multiple times despite having some success. If anything else, this fight is special because it is one of the only times you might ever see two extraordinary technicians decide to trade hell-for-leather from the opening bell, but I think it stands for more than that. Hagler-Hearns stands as an all-time victory that, in this writer’s opinion, embodies the entirety of what made Marvin Hagler such an incredible fighter and a force of perseverance.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was a legend - and with his unfortunate passing last year - I can only hope that he is remembered as a man who took everything the politics and challenges of the ring he could take and won on his own, uncompromising terms.