Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler died today at age 66. He was my favorite fighter.

i am of a generation that grew up when boxing was more popular than the NFL, and I watched as many fights as possible (meaning those that were free to watch on television, even if they were broadcast weeks after the closed-circuit pay-per-view event had happened.

But I pretty much stopped following the sport after Marvin retired in 1987. For me, there were no other fighters who ever came close to his grit and determination. His bout against Thomas Hearns in 1985 was the greatest fight I ever saw, Although that fight was held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, I watched the pay-per-view live at the old Boston Garden.

I used to run the Falmouth (MA) 10K Road Race in the 1980s and looked over during one of the races to find Marvin Hagler running right next to me, on a training run for an upcoming fight. We chatted for a little while and his smile and accessibility were just wonderful. He was not out to win the race; he was just taking a more interesting morning training run. And, it turned out, so was I.

I know all the bad things about boxing, and especially what it does to the brain, and I respect that it’s certainly not for everyone. But i will never forget that morning, and how nice Marvin was to everyone around him.

Rest in peace, Champ.