WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome to the Deep Dive. I'm so glad you're 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:06.099 here with us today because we have a very specific 00:00:06.099 --> 00:00:08.900 mission. Yeah, a really fascinating one. We are 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:10.919 exploring the psychology of sheer will. We're 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:14.019 talking about absolute discipline and the relentless, 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:16.600 sometimes agonizing pursuit of respect. Right. 00:00:16.660 --> 00:00:18.960 And we're doing it through the lens of one of 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.100 the most incredible lives of the 20th century, 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:24.719 the boxing legend, marvelous Marvin Hagler. It 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:27.140 is a phenomenal story to unpack. And to guide 00:00:27.140 --> 00:00:30.339 us today, we are relying on a comprehensive Wikipedia 00:00:30.339 --> 00:00:34.240 article that details Hagler's life, his iconic 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:38.759 fights, and his enduring legacy. But what makes 00:00:38.759 --> 00:00:41.159 this source material so compelling is that it 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:43.539 goes far beyond the ropes of a boxing ring. Exactly. 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:45.560 And I want to tell you right up front, to you 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:47.420 listening at home, even if you are not a boxing 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:49.140 fan, even if you have never watched a single 00:00:49.140 --> 00:00:50.759 round of a prize fight in your life, you need 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:53.060 to hear this. Absolutely. Hagler's story is a 00:00:53.060 --> 00:00:56.340 masterclass in overcoming systemic hurdles. It 00:00:56.340 --> 00:00:59.100 is about dealing with immense, just soul -crushing 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:01.880 frustration and ultimately knowing exactly when 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:04.560 to walk away on your own terms. Yeah, it really 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.260 serves as a blueprint for navigating a world 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:09.659 that simply refuses to hand you anything easily. 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:11.799 Okay, let's unpack this from the very beginning. 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:15.640 Because you don't get a will made of iron without 00:01:15.640 --> 00:01:18.079 being forged in some serious fire. That's for 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.099 sure. Looking at the sources. Hagler was born 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:24.260 in 1954 in Newark, New Jersey. He was the eldest 00:01:24.260 --> 00:01:27.299 of six children, raised by a single mother, Ida 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:31.480 May, and money was incredibly tight. That's unbelievable 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:34.219 poverty. Right. By the time he was 14 years old, 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:36.120 he had already dropped out of school to work 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:38.400 in a toy factory just to help support his family. 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:41.219 And that intense poverty is really just the baseline. 00:01:41.739 --> 00:01:44.560 The sources highlight an external event in 1967 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.400 that completely upended their lives. The Newark 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.280 riots. Yes, the Newark riots. This is a harrowing, 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:53.239 terrifying period that resulted in 26 deaths 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:57.219 and $11 million in property damage. The Hagler's 00:01:57.219 --> 00:01:59.319 tenement building was right in the crossfire. 00:01:59.579 --> 00:02:02.159 The family actually had to hide under his sister 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:05.799 Veronica's bed for three days. Three days. Bullets 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:07.879 were literally shattering their bedroom windows, 00:02:07.939 --> 00:02:09.979 smashing the plaster right above where they were 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:12.319 hiding. His mother forbade them from standing 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:14.240 up. They had to crawl around their five -room 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:16.919 apartment on cushions just to get to the bathroom 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:18.939 or the kitchen. When you think about what that 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:21.479 does to a person's psychological baseline... 00:02:22.219 --> 00:02:25.659 It is profound. This is our first real insight 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:28.400 into the Hagler mentality. Yeah. He learned early 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:30.379 that safety isn't guaranteed and institutions 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:33.629 won't protect you. That translates directly into 00:02:33.629 --> 00:02:37.090 his eventual boxing style. It was hyper -aggressive, 00:02:37.189 --> 00:02:39.629 entirely self -reliant, and leaving absolutely 00:02:39.629 --> 00:02:41.849 nothing to chance. So after the neighborhood 00:02:41.849 --> 00:02:44.449 was left in ruins and following another near 00:02:44.449 --> 00:02:47.310 riot a couple of years later, the family finally 00:02:47.310 --> 00:02:49.710 packs up and moves to Brockton, Massachusetts. 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:52.810 Right. And that move sets the stage for everything. 00:02:53.340 --> 00:02:56.099 Because in 1969, we get the ultimate inciting 00:02:56.099 --> 00:02:58.560 incident. Hagler's at a party, and he gets into 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:00.780 a street fight with a local boxer named Dornell 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:03.419 Wigfall. And it doesn't go well. No, not at all. 00:03:03.680 --> 00:03:06.500 Not only does Wigfall easily beat Hagler in front 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:09.000 of his friends, but he compounds the humiliation 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:11.520 by stripping the jacket right off Hagler's back 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:14.240 and stealing it. It was a deeply humiliating 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.759 moment, but it served as the perfect catalyst. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.319 I mean, the very next day, Hagler decides he 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.939 is going to learn how to fight back. He walks 00:03:22.939 --> 00:03:25.719 into a gym owned by brothers Pat... And Goody 00:03:25.719 --> 00:03:28.039 Petronelli. Who would become his lifelong trainers 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:30.340 and managers. Exactly. And even at that young 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:32.879 age, his determination was just next level. He 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:34.960 wasn't old enough to compete in some of the amateur 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:37.259 tournaments he wanted to enter. So what does 00:03:37.259 --> 00:03:39.340 he do? He just lies about his birth year. Right. 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:41.460 He fakes his age. He tells the officials he was 00:03:41.460 --> 00:03:45.400 born in 1952 instead of 1954. He fakes his age 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:47.900 just to get into the ring, and it pays off massively. 00:03:48.300 --> 00:03:52.599 He ends up winning the 1973 National AAU Middleweight 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.120 title. He was named the Outstanding. boxer of 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:57.639 the tournament, beating out future legends, and 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.500 finished his amateur career with a stunning 55 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:03.780 -1 record. Turning pro was the obvious next step. 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:06.039 But the transition to the pros was not a fairy 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:09.520 tale. He hits a massive wall. There is this famous 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:12.039 quote from the great Joe Frazier that perfectly 00:04:12.039 --> 00:04:14.740 sums up the roadblock Hagler was facing. Oh, 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:17.120 this is a great quote. Frazier told him why he 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:19.220 was struggling to get high -profile fights, saying, 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:22.620 You have three strikes against you. You're black, 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:25.560 you're a southpaw. And you're good. Yeah. In 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.120 a sport where the whole point is to be the best, 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.360 help me understand how being too good is actually 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:33.740 a strike against you. What's fascinating here 00:04:33.740 --> 00:04:37.839 is how the business of boxing actually penalizes 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:40.620 excellence if it doesn't come with a massive 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:43.300 television following. Okay. Promoters protect 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.779 their reigning champions. They look at risk versus 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:48.660 reward. Add to that the fact that Hagler was 00:04:48.660 --> 00:04:51.180 a southpaw. Now, Southpaw stands with their right 00:04:51.180 --> 00:04:53.639 foot and right hand forward, which completely 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.300 mirrors and disrupts a standard right -handed 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:58.839 or orthodox fighter's angles. Right. It makes 00:04:58.839 --> 00:05:00.540 everything awkward. It makes them incredibly 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:02.660 awkward to fight. So you have a guy who fights 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.300 from an awkward stance, hits like a freight train, 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:08.420 has immense technical skill, but doesn't yet 00:05:08.420 --> 00:05:10.860 have the big -name recognition to guarantee a 00:05:10.860 --> 00:05:13.740 huge payday. Exactly. For an established champion, 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:16.800 fighting Marvin Hagler was all risk and zero 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:19.720 reward. so to survive he is forced to become 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:22.899 a boxing road warrior the sources show him traveling 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:24.980 to his opponent's hometowns fighting in their 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:27.240 backyards just to stay active yeah he's taking 00:05:27.240 --> 00:05:30.939 on tough grueling fights in philadelphia in italy 00:05:30.939 --> 00:05:34.100 in monaco we are talking about fighting in half 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.620 -empty arenas where the local crowd is actively 00:05:36.620 --> 00:05:39.240 rooting for his demise taking short money just 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:41.779 to keep his skills sharp he was serving a very 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:45.279 long very frustrating apprenticeship he was consistently 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:47.790 winning Being the boogeyman nobody wanted to 00:05:47.790 --> 00:05:50.209 face, but that elusive shot at the world title 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:53.329 kept slipping away. But pure grit eventually 00:05:53.329 --> 00:05:56.170 forces the establishment's hand. That brings 00:05:56.170 --> 00:05:59.709 us to 1979 and his long -awaited title shot against 00:05:59.709 --> 00:06:02.250 the world middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo. 00:06:02.889 --> 00:06:06.230 They fight 15 grueling rounds in Las Vegas. And 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:09.050 as the fight nears its end, Hagler, perhaps being 00:06:09.050 --> 00:06:12.149 overly cautious, decides to play it safe. He 00:06:12.149 --> 00:06:14.250 had been dominating early on, but he lets off 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:16.310 the gas in the later rounds, assuming he has 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:18.009 a comfortable lead. But looking at the judges' 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:20.189 scorecards from that fight, it is declared a 00:06:20.189 --> 00:06:23.250 draw. A draw. And Tuofirmo retains the title. 00:06:23.389 --> 00:06:25.709 After years of being ignored, to finally get 00:06:25.709 --> 00:06:28.089 your shot and have it end in a tie. How does 00:06:28.089 --> 00:06:30.709 a fighter mentally recover from that? It was 00:06:30.709 --> 00:06:34.220 a crushing psychological blow. Our sources note 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:36.040 that Hagler had the technical skills and the 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:39.480 power to knock Antuo Fermo out, but he lacked 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:41.759 the killer instinct in that crucial moment. And 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:43.779 he left it to the judges. Right. It taught him 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:47.639 a harsh, unforgettable lesson. Never, ever leave 00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.480 your fate in the hands of the judges. If you 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.519 want the belt, you have to take it from the champion. 00:06:53.069 --> 00:06:55.069 by force. Here's where it gets really interesting, 00:06:55.250 --> 00:06:58.069 because he takes that aggressive philosophy straight 00:06:58.069 --> 00:07:00.810 into his next title shot in 1980 against the 00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:03.589 British champion Alan Minter. Oh, this fight. 00:07:03.850 --> 00:07:05.709 And this is not just a boxing match. It is a 00:07:05.709 --> 00:07:08.509 hostile environment of epic proportions. The 00:07:08.509 --> 00:07:11.610 fight is at Wembley Arena in London. Minter severely 00:07:11.610 --> 00:07:14.870 stoked racial tensions beforehand, publicly stating 00:07:14.870 --> 00:07:18.089 no black man is going to take my title. Minter 00:07:18.089 --> 00:07:20.829 later claimed he meant that black man. But the 00:07:20.829 --> 00:07:23.240 damage was already done. The atmosphere in Wembley 00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:26.279 was incredibly toxic, tense, and deeply partisan. 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:29.120 Hagler steps into that arena and just unleashes 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:31.839 absolute fury. He takes command immediately. 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:34.540 His punches are slashing Minter to pieces. Yeah, 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:37.000 by the third round, Minter's face is a mask of 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.600 glaring cuts, and the referee waves off the bout. 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:42.939 Hagler is finally the champion of the world. 00:07:43.100 --> 00:07:45.360 But there is no celebration in the ring. None. 00:07:45.459 --> 00:07:47.620 The moment the fight is stopped, a terrifying 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:50.079 riot breaks out in the arena. The spectators 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.680 completely lose their minds. The source material 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:56.660 describes it as a horrifying ululation of howls 00:07:56.660 --> 00:07:59.300 and boos. Hagler and his trainers have to be 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:01.939 shielded by a phalanx of police officers, and 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:04.180 they are quickly escorted out of the arena under 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.680 a physical rain of thrown beer bottles and glasses. 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.519 Just awful. I want you, the listener, to really 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:11.920 think about that for a second. Imagine working 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:14.339 your entire life enduring the poverty of Newark, 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:16.199 the systemic barriers of the boxing business, 00:08:16.379 --> 00:08:18.959 and years of being ignored. You finally achieve 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.579 your life's greatest goal, and your reward is 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:24.759 a shower of broken glass and hatred. It is chilling 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.040 when an experience like that shapes a person's 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.449 worldview. It hardens them permanently. It makes 00:08:31.449 --> 00:08:34.470 you realize that even when you win, you might 00:08:34.470 --> 00:08:36.929 not get the respect you rightfully deserve. You 00:08:36.929 --> 00:08:39.629 have to demand it. Which leads to one of my absolute 00:08:39.629 --> 00:08:42.850 favorite details from the sources. Hagler gets 00:08:42.850 --> 00:08:45.769 so annoyed that network TV announcers refuse 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:48.750 to introduce him by his nickname, Marvelous, 00:08:48.750 --> 00:08:51.950 that in 1982, he takes it to court. That's right. 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:54.590 He legally changes his name to Marvelous Marvin 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:57.350 Hagler. If they wouldn't give him the respect 00:08:57.350 --> 00:08:59.009 of his nickname, he was going to force them to 00:08:59.009 --> 00:09:01.149 say it because it was his actual legal name. 00:09:01.330 --> 00:09:04.610 It is a brilliant, defiant move. He essentially 00:09:04.610 --> 00:09:08.450 legally mandated his own respect. And he absolutely 00:09:08.450 --> 00:09:10.350 backed up that name in the ring. He became one 00:09:10.350 --> 00:09:12.269 of the most dominant champions in history. For 00:09:12.269 --> 00:09:14.549 12 successful title defenses. And the incredible 00:09:14.549 --> 00:09:18.289 11 of those were by knockout. He holds the highest 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:20.669 knockout percentage of all undisputed middleweight 00:09:20.669 --> 00:09:23.929 champions at 78%. He also had a legendary iron 00:09:23.929 --> 00:09:27.100 chin. Out of 67 professional fights, he was only 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:28.940 ever knocked down once. And even that was highly 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:31.600 controversial. It was against Juan Roldan, and 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.980 Hagler bitterly insisted it was just a push. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:36.659 But the referee counted it as a knockdown, and 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:39.000 Hagler was so enraged by the disrespect of having 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:42.059 his chin questioned that he just brutalized Roldan 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:44.279 for the next 10 rounds until stopping him. That 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.059 iron chin and that ferocious will perfectly set 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:50.659 the stage for April 15th, 1985, a fight simply 00:09:50.659 --> 00:09:54.340 billed as the war. Hagler versus Thomas Hearns. 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:56.779 This is the stuff of absolute legend. It is widely 00:09:56.779 --> 00:09:58.879 considered the greatest three rounds in the history 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.879 of boxing. Round one is often described as three 00:10:01.879 --> 00:10:05.179 minutes of pure unadulterated violence. Within 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:08.360 the first 15 seconds, Hearns lands a monstrous 00:10:08.360 --> 00:10:11.299 straight right hand squarely on Hagler's chin. 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:13.779 It was a punch that would have knocked out almost 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:15.919 anyone else on the planet. But Hagler just steps 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.100 back, absorbs it, and then keeps walking forward, 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:20.659 waiting right through Hearns' power punches to 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:22.879 land his own. And the toll it takes is immense. 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:26.460 By round two, Hagler has a deep, bleeding cut 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:28.980 on his head from an unintentional clash, but 00:10:28.980 --> 00:10:30.779 he pushes the fight forward through a mask of 00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:33.200 blood. Hearns is struggling too, right? Hearns, 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.440 meanwhile, is fighting terribly hurt. He had 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.519 actually broken his right hand on Hagler's rock 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:40.000 -solid head in the first round, and his legs 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:41.799 are starting to give out under Hagler's pressure. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:44.600 Then we get to round three. The referee actually 00:10:44.600 --> 00:10:47.220 stops the action to have the ringside doctor 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:51.240 examine the bloody cut on Hagler's head. The 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:53.759 crowd is on its feet, sensing the fight might 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:56.179 be stopped. Talk about tension. But the doctor 00:10:56.179 --> 00:10:59.169 clears him to continue. Hagler, knowing he is 00:10:59.169 --> 00:11:01.889 running out of time, just charges. He drills 00:11:01.889 --> 00:11:04.570 a massive overhand right behind Hearns' ear. 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:07.009 Hearns wobbles, goes down, manages to get up 00:11:07.009 --> 00:11:08.549 at the count of eight, but then his body just 00:11:08.549 --> 00:11:10.789 gives out and he collapses into the referee's 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:13.149 arms. It was a breathtaking display of resilience. 00:11:13.470 --> 00:11:15.929 Yeah. As the commentator Al Michaels famously 00:11:15.929 --> 00:11:18.629 shouted on the broadcast, it didn't go very far, 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:20.889 but it was a beauty. It cemented Hagler as a 00:11:20.889 --> 00:11:23.950 true global superstar, but it also perfectly 00:11:23.950 --> 00:11:28.019 sets up the climax of his career. In 1987, Hagler 00:11:28.019 --> 00:11:30.620 agrees to fight Sugar Ray Leonard. Now, Leonard 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:33.480 is a media darling, a gold medalist, but he is 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:35.539 coming off a three -year retirement. Right. He'd 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:37.379 only fought once in the previous five years. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.500 But Leonard was a master strategist, both inside 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:43.759 and outside the ring. During the pre -fight negotiations, 00:11:44.220 --> 00:11:46.720 Leonard made several crucial demands in exchange 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.740 for letting Hagler have a larger share of the 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.580 purse. Yeah, he demanded a larger 22 by 22 foot 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:55.299 ring instead of a standard smaller one. He demanded 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:58.379 heavier 10 ounce gloves instead of the standard 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:02.039 8 ounce gloves. Okay. And he insisted the fight 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:04.539 be 12 rounds instead of the championship standard 00:12:04.539 --> 00:12:07.190 15. Think about this in the context of your own 00:12:07.190 --> 00:12:09.929 career. You're the reigning champion, the undisputed 00:12:09.929 --> 00:12:13.250 best. But to get the ultimate defining matchup, 00:12:13.269 --> 00:12:15.870 you are being asked to concede the size of the 00:12:15.870 --> 00:12:18.090 ring, the size of the gloves, and the length 00:12:18.090 --> 00:12:21.289 of the match. Would you swallow your pride and 00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:23.730 accept those terms just to get the opponent in 00:12:23.730 --> 00:12:25.889 the room? This raises an important question. 00:12:26.049 --> 00:12:28.450 How does a master tactician use those specific 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:31.779 rules to level the playing field? A larger ring 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:33.740 gave the quick -footed Leonard much more space 00:12:33.740 --> 00:12:37.000 to run and evade Hagler's pressure. Heavier 10 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.940 -ounce gloves have more padding, which slightly 00:12:39.940 --> 00:12:42.320 reduces the devastating impact of Hagler's power 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.100 punches. And a shorter 12 -round fight meant 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:47.259 Leonard didn't have to survive those grueling 00:12:47.259 --> 00:12:51.100 final three rounds, rounds 13, 14, and 15, where 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:53.419 Hagler's endurance usually destroyed his opponents. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:56.940 Leonard was using physics, perception, and rules. 00:12:57.370 --> 00:13:00.409 to negate a superior physical force. Hagler accepts 00:13:00.409 --> 00:13:03.269 the terms. But when the bell rings, Hagler makes 00:13:03.269 --> 00:13:06.190 a bizarre, arguably foolish mistake. Remember 00:13:06.190 --> 00:13:08.850 earlier we discussed how being a southpaw was 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:11.370 his greatest advantage? Yes. Well, for the first 00:13:11.370 --> 00:13:13.470 two rounds of this fight, Hagler voluntarily 00:13:13.470 --> 00:13:16.529 fights in an orthodox stance. By switching to 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:18.990 a standard right -handed stance, he completely 00:13:18.990 --> 00:13:21.529 abandoned his greatest natural advantage and 00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:23.730 essentially fought Leonard on Leonard's preferred 00:13:23.730 --> 00:13:26.090 terms. He handed those first two rounds away. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:28.399 He eventually switches back to southpaw and starts 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.399 hunting Leonard down. But Leonard's strategy 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.259 is clear. Throw flashy, quick flurries and then 00:13:33.259 --> 00:13:35.500 immediately move away or hold on. Turns into 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.679 a fiercely contested, wildly polarizing fight. 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:40.980 Let's talk about the split decision, because 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:44.299 to this day, it divides the boxing world. Leonard 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:46.580 is awarded the victory, but the scorecards and 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:49.279 the reactions are all over the place. We want 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.100 to be completely impartial here and just look 00:13:51.100 --> 00:13:53.320 at what the sources say, because. Both sides 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.559 have incredibly strong arguments. On the pro 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.480 -Leonard side, you have official judge Jojo Guerra, 00:13:59.659 --> 00:14:04.100 who scored it a wide 118 -110 for Leonard. His 00:14:04.100 --> 00:14:06.399 reasoning was that Leonard completely outsmarted 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:09.980 an outboxed Hagler, making him miss wildly and 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:11.899 controlling the geography of the ring. Yeah, 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:13.799 and you also have legendary sports columnist 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:15.769 Jim Murray. Right. Murray wrote that Leonard 00:14:15.769 --> 00:14:18.169 didn't just outpoint Hagler, he exposed him. 00:14:18.330 --> 00:14:20.850 Murray vividly described Leonard making Hagler 00:14:20.850 --> 00:14:24.450 look like a guy chasing a bus in snowshoes, hitting 00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:26.509 harder and more often whenever they engaged. 00:14:26.769 --> 00:14:28.769 But then you have the fiercely pro -Hagler side. 00:14:29.190 --> 00:14:31.909 Official judge Lou Filippo scored the bout for 00:14:31.909 --> 00:14:33.929 Hagler, pointing out that Leonard was constantly 00:14:33.929 --> 00:14:36.230 holding, he was actually warned by the referee 00:14:36.230 --> 00:14:38.970 over 30 times for holding and fighting only in 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:41.129 brief spurts while Hagler did all the actual 00:14:41.129 --> 00:14:43.470 work of pressing the fight. And perhaps the most 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:45.970 poetic defense of Hagler comes from British journalist 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:48.669 Hugh McElvaney, who called Leonard's performance 00:14:48.669 --> 00:14:52.490 an epic illusion. An epic illusion. He argued 00:14:52.490 --> 00:14:55.009 that Leonard intentionally exaggerated his hand 00:14:55.009 --> 00:14:57.210 speed at the expense of power, throwing these 00:14:57.210 --> 00:15:00.289 flashy, rapid -fire flurries that mostly landed 00:15:00.289 --> 00:15:02.970 harmlessly on Hagler's arms and gloves, just 00:15:02.970 --> 00:15:05.389 to steal rounds in the eyes of the judges. And 00:15:05.389 --> 00:15:07.629 the craziest part is that Leonard himself kind 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:10.740 of admitted this was his plan. Before the fight, 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:13.340 he told journalists, the reason I will win is 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:16.220 because you don't think I can. Wow. It was what 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:19.440 analysts call a compound optical illusion. Because 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:21.940 everyone expected Hagler to destroy the smaller, 00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:24.700 retired Leonard, the mere fact that Leonard was 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:27.120 surviving and looking competitive made him appear 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:29.600 as though he was dominating. The media scorecards 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.379 reflect this profound split perfectly. Of the 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:34.840 reporters at ringside, 18 scored it for Hagler, 00:15:34.940 --> 00:15:38.039 17 for Leonard, and 6 had it a dead draw. It 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.929 was that incredibly close. But officially, Leonard 00:15:40.929 --> 00:15:43.710 was crowned the new champion. So what does this 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:46.570 all mean for Hagler? The man who spent his whole 00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:49.009 life fighting for respect feels he's been robbed 00:15:49.009 --> 00:15:51.629 of it again by the establishment. He asks for 00:15:51.629 --> 00:15:54.129 an immediate rematch, but Leonard retires again. 00:15:54.429 --> 00:15:58.090 Typical. Hagler is tired of waiting. 14 months 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:01.450 later, in 1988, he officially retires from boxing. 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:04.429 And here is where his iron will shows up in a 00:16:04.429 --> 00:16:07.960 totally different, unexpected way. In 1990, Leonard 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:10.679 finally comes back and offers Hagler a rematch, 00:16:10.740 --> 00:16:13.600 a fight that reportedly would have paid Hagler 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:16.980 $15 million. And Hagler declines it. He simply 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.220 tells them a while ago, yeah, I wanted him so 00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:22.000 bad, but I'm over that. He walks away from $15 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.659 million and the ultimate chance to avenge his 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:26.899 most bitter defeat. If we connect this to the 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:29.580 bigger picture, it is a beautiful story of reinvention. 00:16:30.210 --> 00:16:32.309 Hagler didn't sit around dwelling on the past 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:34.950 or letting bitterness consuming. He moved across 00:16:34.950 --> 00:16:37.269 the world to Milan, Italy. Which is amazing. 00:16:37.590 --> 00:16:39.629 He married an Italian woman, he learned the language 00:16:39.629 --> 00:16:42.029 fluently, and he became an action movie star. 00:16:42.210 --> 00:16:45.190 He starred in films like Indio and Virtual Weapon. 00:16:45.429 --> 00:16:48.389 He successfully removed himself from the violent, 00:16:48.509 --> 00:16:51.389 grueling world that had defined his entire existence 00:16:51.389 --> 00:16:54.730 up to that point. He found a lasting peace. And 00:16:54.730 --> 00:16:56.850 he maintained that peace until he passed away 00:16:56.850 --> 00:16:59.730 from natural causes in 2021 at the age of 66. 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:02.649 And even in death, he did things his own way. 00:17:02.809 --> 00:17:05.750 His widow noted that he absolutely hated funerals, 00:17:05.750 --> 00:17:07.730 so there wasn't one. Instead, there was a public 00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:10.069 memorial celebrating his life in his hometown 00:17:10.069 --> 00:17:12.869 of Brockton, Massachusetts. And his legacy in 00:17:12.869 --> 00:17:15.670 Brockton is permanently secured. Just recently, 00:17:15.809 --> 00:17:19.309 in June 2024, the city unveiled a beautiful bronze 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:22.750 statue of him, dedicating marvelous Marvin Hagler 00:17:22.750 --> 00:17:25.119 Park in his honor. It is an incredible journey. 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:27.180 When you look at all of our sources today, the 00:17:27.180 --> 00:17:29.539 core takeaway for you as a listener is so clear. 00:17:29.940 --> 00:17:31.980 Hagler's story is about controlling what you 00:17:31.980 --> 00:17:34.619 can control. He controlled his discipline, his 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:36.940 relentless output, his conditioning, even his 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:39.940 own legal name. He did it in a world that constantly 00:17:39.940 --> 00:17:42.019 threw up roadblocks, whether it was the systemic 00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:44.279 poverty of his youth, the boxing establishment 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:47.220 freezing him out, or a literal crowd throwing 00:17:47.220 --> 00:17:49.740 beer bottles at his head. He forced the world 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:52.630 to acknowledge him on his terms. right up to 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:54.869 the very end of his life. And that leaves us 00:17:54.869 --> 00:17:56.690 with a final thought I want you to mull over 00:17:56.690 --> 00:18:00.349 today. Think about the duality of marvelous Marvin 00:18:00.349 --> 00:18:03.670 Hagler. He was a man who legally forced the world 00:18:03.670 --> 00:18:06.190 to call him marvelous because he demanded their 00:18:06.190 --> 00:18:09.970 respect and validation. Yet years later, he casually 00:18:09.970 --> 00:18:13.130 walked away from a $15 million rematch and the 00:18:13.130 --> 00:18:15.329 chance to prove his superiority to his greatest 00:18:15.329 --> 00:18:18.190 rival. Right. It challenges you to ask, at what 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:20.369 point in your own life does the need to prove 00:18:20.369 --> 00:18:22.269 your greatness to others get replaced by the 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:24.930 quiet power of simply knowing it yourself? That 00:18:24.930 --> 00:18:27.289 internal peace is the ultimate victory. Thanks 00:18:27.289 --> 00:18:28.750 for diving depth with us. We'll see you next 00:18:28.750 --> 00:18:29.029 time.