GorDoom
04-20-2006, 11:11 AM
Marvelous mystique still rings true
Brockton boxing legend Hagler checks in from Italy
By Robert Carroll, Boston Globe Correspondent
The body, still solid and within 10 pounds of his glory days in the ring, gives nothing away. His face, with nary a nick, remains as smooth and polished
as his signature shaved head. It's not until Marvin Hagler speaks that there's any sign of what he's been doing these past 17 years, since his final bout against Sugar Ray Leonard.
Hagler now speaks with an Italian flourish, and the Brockton boxer who had his name officially changed to ''Marvelous Marvin" now ends conversations with a warm, ''Arrivederci."
''I feel fantastic," said the 51-year-old former world middleweight champion, who has lived in Milan for much of the past 17 years. ''I just love Italy. Italians are warm people with big hearts. I fought a couple of times there and never imagined I'd make it my home. I couldn't be happier."
Or busier.
Hagler last month stopped by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers offices in Dorchester to show his support at a fund-raiser to raise awareness about the area's homeless. Before that, it was Argentina and another fund-raiser, this one to help keep kids off drugs. There, Hagler caught up with Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, two opponents who, with Hagler and Leonard, helped make the 1980s a memorable decade for boxing, particularly at the middleweight level.
''I keep going all the time, traveling and working out," he said. ''I really haven't slowed down. Along with everything else, I do boxing commentary for ESPN and the BBC."
In between Boston and Buenos Aires, Hagler slipped into his hometown of Brockton to touch base with longtime friends and enjoy some of the local flavor at George's Café on Belmont Street, where autographed photos of Hagler look down on customers from every angle.
''It's always good to hear from Marvin," said legendary Brockton trainer Goody Petronelli, who with his brother, Pat, molded the aggressive and cocky kid from the streets into a world champion. ''He's such a credit to the sport of boxing and to himself."
Outside of Brockton, Hagler's spotless reputation as a fighter and person runs strongest on the streets of Milan, where he has built a decent reputation as an actor. Appearing in four Italian-made films, he has played a military officer, a cop, and a terrorist. Never, he said, would he portray a boxer. ''I want to branch out and play a doctor or a lawyer," he said. ''I love acting."
The films, for the most part, are in English. ''Taking a punch is easier than learning Italian," he said.
As for any more punches to be doled out or absorbed by Hagler, he said he has no plans to ever return to the ring. ''If you open my head up I probably still have a boxing glove for a brain," he said. ''And sometimes, the smell of a gym can get the juices flowing. But no, I retired years ago with all my senses, and I'm not going to make a comeback like George Foreman or Hearns. I walked away at the right time. I've taken care of my money. I have no regrets."Continued...
What he does have is a legion of adoring fans, a new wife, and an unquenchable thirst to promote a better world both in and outside the ring.
He also has memories -- something he shares with the Petronelli brothers, who guided Hagler to fame, starting one fateful day in Brockton.
''Marvin came to Pat and me. We didn't find him," said Goody Petronelli, who still runs the Petronelli Bros. Gym in town, where he continues to train fighters, including Irish heavyweight Kevin McBride, who last November defeated Mike Tyson. ''He told me early on he was going to be a world champion one day. Being the good trainer, I kind of winked and said, 'OK, Marvin.' I'll be damned if he didn't know what he was talking about."
Hagler, Petronelli said, wasn't anything special at the start. ''But what he did different was work harder than anyone else. Pat and I would tell Marvin on a particular day to go three rounds in training. He'd go six. Always it was the extra mile for him. I'm proud to say that Marvin never got dropped once in the ring as either an amateur or a pro. That's a credit to how hard he worked."
Hagler began his boxing career by winning 57 amateur fights, including the 1973 National Amateur Athletic Union middleweight title. As a professional, he worked his way to 62 career victories in 67 bouts (three draws). Called one of the 100 greatest punchers of all time by Ring Magazine, Hagler won the world middleweight title from Englishman Alan Minter in 1980. The match was held in London, and Hagler and his team, including the Petronellis, barely had time to enjoy the moment as disgruntled fans rained chairs and beer bottles down on the ring.
''It didn't bother me all that much," Hagler said of the fan reaction. ''I came to get something" -- the title belt -- ''and I got it."
For the next eight years, Hagler was the force in the middleweight division, successfully defending his title 11 times, including victories over granite-chinned Mustafa Hamsho and the stone-fisted Duran. His most memorable match, though, came 21 years ago, on April 15, 1985, when he and ''Hitman" Hearns met after weeks of trash-talking between both camps. And while Hearns initially opened a cut above Hagler's left eye that brought referee Richard Steele to nearly call the bout, it was Hagler who would own the day, stopping Hearns in three rounds in what many in boxing circles call Hagler's defining moment as a professional fighter.
''Tommy still gives me respect when I see him," Hagler said.
In 1987, Hagler lost his crown to Leonard in a 12-round unanimous decision. He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
''To this day Marvin's display at the hall still brings in visitors," said Ed Brophy, the hall's executive director, who often welcomes Hagler to the boxing mecca located outside Syracuse, N.Y., on induction weekend.
''Marvin makes sure he comes here to greet the new inductees. He's a class act, always has been."
Still, he finds time to come home to visit.
''I'll be back in Brockton in July," Hagler said last month before heading back to Milan. ''I've got the Marvelous Marvin Hagler Boxing Tournament set up with 80 boxers to help my charitable foundation. I raise money to help young men and women who didn't finish school get the education they need. We've been able to help over 5,000 kids over the years."
With that, ''The Marvelous One," as he calls himself, left to catch his flight home.
''Take care," he offered. ''Arrivederci!"
Brockton boxing legend Hagler checks in from Italy
By Robert Carroll, Boston Globe Correspondent
The body, still solid and within 10 pounds of his glory days in the ring, gives nothing away. His face, with nary a nick, remains as smooth and polished
as his signature shaved head. It's not until Marvin Hagler speaks that there's any sign of what he's been doing these past 17 years, since his final bout against Sugar Ray Leonard.
Hagler now speaks with an Italian flourish, and the Brockton boxer who had his name officially changed to ''Marvelous Marvin" now ends conversations with a warm, ''Arrivederci."
''I feel fantastic," said the 51-year-old former world middleweight champion, who has lived in Milan for much of the past 17 years. ''I just love Italy. Italians are warm people with big hearts. I fought a couple of times there and never imagined I'd make it my home. I couldn't be happier."
Or busier.
Hagler last month stopped by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers offices in Dorchester to show his support at a fund-raiser to raise awareness about the area's homeless. Before that, it was Argentina and another fund-raiser, this one to help keep kids off drugs. There, Hagler caught up with Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, two opponents who, with Hagler and Leonard, helped make the 1980s a memorable decade for boxing, particularly at the middleweight level.
''I keep going all the time, traveling and working out," he said. ''I really haven't slowed down. Along with everything else, I do boxing commentary for ESPN and the BBC."
In between Boston and Buenos Aires, Hagler slipped into his hometown of Brockton to touch base with longtime friends and enjoy some of the local flavor at George's Café on Belmont Street, where autographed photos of Hagler look down on customers from every angle.
''It's always good to hear from Marvin," said legendary Brockton trainer Goody Petronelli, who with his brother, Pat, molded the aggressive and cocky kid from the streets into a world champion. ''He's such a credit to the sport of boxing and to himself."
Outside of Brockton, Hagler's spotless reputation as a fighter and person runs strongest on the streets of Milan, where he has built a decent reputation as an actor. Appearing in four Italian-made films, he has played a military officer, a cop, and a terrorist. Never, he said, would he portray a boxer. ''I want to branch out and play a doctor or a lawyer," he said. ''I love acting."
The films, for the most part, are in English. ''Taking a punch is easier than learning Italian," he said.
As for any more punches to be doled out or absorbed by Hagler, he said he has no plans to ever return to the ring. ''If you open my head up I probably still have a boxing glove for a brain," he said. ''And sometimes, the smell of a gym can get the juices flowing. But no, I retired years ago with all my senses, and I'm not going to make a comeback like George Foreman or Hearns. I walked away at the right time. I've taken care of my money. I have no regrets."Continued...
What he does have is a legion of adoring fans, a new wife, and an unquenchable thirst to promote a better world both in and outside the ring.
He also has memories -- something he shares with the Petronelli brothers, who guided Hagler to fame, starting one fateful day in Brockton.
''Marvin came to Pat and me. We didn't find him," said Goody Petronelli, who still runs the Petronelli Bros. Gym in town, where he continues to train fighters, including Irish heavyweight Kevin McBride, who last November defeated Mike Tyson. ''He told me early on he was going to be a world champion one day. Being the good trainer, I kind of winked and said, 'OK, Marvin.' I'll be damned if he didn't know what he was talking about."
Hagler, Petronelli said, wasn't anything special at the start. ''But what he did different was work harder than anyone else. Pat and I would tell Marvin on a particular day to go three rounds in training. He'd go six. Always it was the extra mile for him. I'm proud to say that Marvin never got dropped once in the ring as either an amateur or a pro. That's a credit to how hard he worked."
Hagler began his boxing career by winning 57 amateur fights, including the 1973 National Amateur Athletic Union middleweight title. As a professional, he worked his way to 62 career victories in 67 bouts (three draws). Called one of the 100 greatest punchers of all time by Ring Magazine, Hagler won the world middleweight title from Englishman Alan Minter in 1980. The match was held in London, and Hagler and his team, including the Petronellis, barely had time to enjoy the moment as disgruntled fans rained chairs and beer bottles down on the ring.
''It didn't bother me all that much," Hagler said of the fan reaction. ''I came to get something" -- the title belt -- ''and I got it."
For the next eight years, Hagler was the force in the middleweight division, successfully defending his title 11 times, including victories over granite-chinned Mustafa Hamsho and the stone-fisted Duran. His most memorable match, though, came 21 years ago, on April 15, 1985, when he and ''Hitman" Hearns met after weeks of trash-talking between both camps. And while Hearns initially opened a cut above Hagler's left eye that brought referee Richard Steele to nearly call the bout, it was Hagler who would own the day, stopping Hearns in three rounds in what many in boxing circles call Hagler's defining moment as a professional fighter.
''Tommy still gives me respect when I see him," Hagler said.
In 1987, Hagler lost his crown to Leonard in a 12-round unanimous decision. He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
''To this day Marvin's display at the hall still brings in visitors," said Ed Brophy, the hall's executive director, who often welcomes Hagler to the boxing mecca located outside Syracuse, N.Y., on induction weekend.
''Marvin makes sure he comes here to greet the new inductees. He's a class act, always has been."
Still, he finds time to come home to visit.
''I'll be back in Brockton in July," Hagler said last month before heading back to Milan. ''I've got the Marvelous Marvin Hagler Boxing Tournament set up with 80 boxers to help my charitable foundation. I raise money to help young men and women who didn't finish school get the education they need. We've been able to help over 5,000 kids over the years."
With that, ''The Marvelous One," as he calls himself, left to catch his flight home.
''Take care," he offered. ''Arrivederci!"