‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler once revealed the hardest puncher he ever crossed paths with.
Throughout his outstanding professional career, which spanned fourteen years, Hagler reigned as the undisputed middleweight champion, making twelve successful defences of his crown during this period.
He defeated the likes of Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and John Mugabi during his six year reign as undisputed champion, before he was eventually dethroned by Sugar Ray Leonard in the April of 1987, in what would go on to be his final career outing.
After locking horns with a number of great fighters from that golden era of boxing, Hagler once revealed the one opponent who hit him harder than the rest in an answer that may come as a surprise.
In a feature with The Ring Magazine, Hagler named former WBC light-middleweight champion John Mugabi – alongside Thomas Hearns – as the hardest hitter he fought throughout his glittering career.
“I believe he put on more weight before the fight. I could feel his body against me. He felt like a light heavyweight, he didn’t feel like a middleweight. When he threw punches, they were all deadly, very hard punches. This guy felt like a light heavyweight to me, so I had to wear him down, to take away some of that strength.
“Mugabi hit me with an uppercut. It didn’t hurt, but it was a hard punch, and I learned something from that. I had to regroup and come up with a different strategy.”
Hagler handed Mugabi the first defeat of his career when they clashed for the undisputed middleweight championship in Las Vegas just under forty years ago. The reigning champion knocked Mugabi out in the penultimate round of what is described as a classic by boxing fans around the world.
Uganda’s Mugabi competed professionally from 1980 to 1999, known for his formidable punching power that led to an impressive record of 39 knockouts in 42 wins.
