The moment that sparked Marvin Hagler’s boxing profession says quite a bit concerning the legendary middleweight.
There’s a reason why when Dustin Poirier arrived at UFC 318 for the ultimate fight of his profession, he did so wearing an iconic red hat.
The hat was originally donned by ‘Marvelous’ to indicate his mentality heading into what many consider is the best win of his profession.
Hagler famously stopped Thomas Hearns within the third round of their 1985 clash that is still one of the vital referenced performances in boxing history.
While ‘The Hitman’ gave the impression to be the right rival for the long-time middleweight champion, there was a distinct opponent that shaped his entire profession.
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Marvin Hagler beat the fighter who inspired him to take up boxing twice as a professional
Long before Marvin Hagler would produce iconic moments as one in every of the best middleweights of all time, he was inspired to take up boxing following a big event in his life.
After moving to Massachusetts as an adolescent, he was beaten up at a celebration by an individual he didn’t know in front of his friends in 1969.
The fight, which supposedly broke out resulting from a confrontation a couple of girl which led to Hagler having his jacket stolen, pushed him to learn the right way to fight so he could defend himself.
Having been easily bested by the person on the party, he entered an area boxing gym where his assailant, revealed to be Dornell Wigfall, was already training.
Hagler moved gyms but 4 years after their altercation at a celebration, he got here face-to-face with Wigfall again, this time in knowledgeable boxing match contested over eight rounds.
This time around, it was ‘Marvelous’ who got his hand raised, beating the person that had inspired him to take up boxing via points.
They shockingly met in a rematch at the identical Brockton High School Gymnasium in Massachusetts in 1975, where Hagler, who had fought 15 times since their first bout, stopped his rival within the sixth round to place an end to this chapter of his life for good.
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| Marvin Hagler vs Dornell Wigfall | Date | Records | Result |
| First fight | October 6, 1973 | Hagler: 3-0 Wigfall: 8-0 | Hagler via points |
| Second fight | February 15, 1975 | Hagler: 18-0-1 Wigfall: 14-2 | Hagler via KO in round 6 |
Dornell Wigfall ended his boxing profession in 1983 after a promising start
Through the primary 21 fights of his pro profession, only Marvin Hagler and one other opponent, Willie Taylor, had been in a position to get the higher of Dornell Wigfall.
Nevertheless, in his final 4 fights, he lost three of them, with defeats via TKO in each of those setbacks in accordance with BoxRec.
Wigfall fought for the last time in March of 1983, where he was stopped within the sixth round by the vastly more experienced Jose Maria Flores Burlon.
It seems that Wigfall passed away unexpectedly in February of 2014, seven years before Marvin Hagler’s passing was announced by his wife.