Boxing’s Greats of the States | Massachusetts: Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Boxers come from every corner of the globe. Sometimes, fighters are products of their environment, favoring styles prevalent in the country or state from which they hail. Various regions of the United States are considered factories for great fighters, though that certainly is not the case with each state. In this weekly Sherdog.com series, the spotlight will shine on the best boxer of all-time from each of the 50 states. Fighters do not necessarily need to be born in a given state to represent it; they simply need to be associated with it.

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A number of boxing hall of famers have called “The Bay State” home, but Marvelous Marvin Hagler eclipsed them all. He was arguably the greatest middleweight of all-time.

Hagler’s reign as the undisputed champion at 160 pounds started in 1980, when he obliterated Alan Minter, and lasted until 1987, when he lost a controversial split decision to “Sugar” Ray Leonard. In between, he was unstoppable and compiled the highest knockout percentage -- 78 percent -- of any undisputed middleweight champion in boxing history. Hagler was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 1980s by a number of reputable media outlets. He fought any number of his contemporaries, from Bennie Briscoe and Vitor Antuofermo to Roberto Duran and John Mugabi. There was also his legendary brawl with Thomas Hearns in 1985, which he won by third-round knockout. It became forever known as “The War.”

Born on May 23, 1954 in Newark, New Jersey, Hagler relocated with his family to Brockton, Massachusetts, when he was a teenager. He was renowned for his ferocious punching power and granite chine, as he was never officially knocked off his feet as a professional. Hagler retired in 1998 with a career record of 62-3-2. All three of his losses were by decision. Hagler was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

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