Interesting Hagler Story

Steve Kim is tweeting about boxers and promoters. He has asked fans to think about the common scenario: you pay a fighter a big signing bonus. You pay him so he can box. He fights with you for a few years. Then he dumps you before you ever recoup your investment.

Which is often the case.

Then he mentions a story about a fighter at the other end of the spectrum:

Steve Kim:

Now, before I depart for Wild Card, a story on the opposite end of the spectrum about the great Marvin Nathaniel Hagler

Hagler's old co-managers the Petronelli's, when the real money was flowing in, were willing to take a cut of their percentage

And they even told Bob Arum to help them in that regard. As Hagler signed his last deal with Top Rank, when asked about the Petronelli's..

Marvin merely said to Pat and Goody,"Hey, we made it this far together, went through a lot. Lets not change our deal

and Hagler never wavered. And when the Petronelli's wanted him to take the Leonard rematch and offered to cut their $ again

Hagler said angrily,"Damn it, if I ever fight again, you guys are taking your 33% and that's it!!!' He was a different breed

Thats loyalty. In business no one has this anymore. Everyone would rather fuck each other over for money because of greed. Hagler and his management team were probably very close.

Diego408 wrote:Thats loyalty. In business no one has this anymore. Everyone would rather fuck each other over for money because of greed. Hagler and his management team were probably very close.

Marv was one of a kind for sure.

Things are going to balance themselves out eventually. The money is going to run dry for these spoiled, over paid chumps. Only a matter of time if boxing doesn't get it's shit together before networks like HBO and Showtime just say fuck it. That the medicre ratings are not worth the headaches, and either cut boxing completly, or reduce the budget to slightly above FNF level.

GrantZilla wrote:

Diego408 wrote:Thats loyalty. In business no one has this anymore. Everyone would rather fuck each other over for money because of greed. Hagler and his management team were probably very close.

Marv was one of a kind for sure.

Things are going to balance themselves out eventually. The money is going to run dry for these spoiled, over paid chumps. Only a matter of time if boxing doesn't get it's shit together before networks like HBO and Showtime just say fuck it. That the medicre ratings are not worth the headaches, and either cut boxing completly, or reduce the budget to slightly above FNF level.

it would be bad but i think that it would be good for boxing to self destruct and then reconstruct.

Wish I could work with Marvin. LOL He sounds like a really smart, nice guy.

Funny, he wasn't a selfish person but still has most of his money and is living like a king in Italy. There's a lesson in that somewhere.

Great, great fighter. Maybe the greatest MW champ ever.

They don't make boxers like they use to.

Ali wrote:They don't make boxers like they use to.

Ali, even back then most big name fighters were selfish. Leonard dropped Dundee after the Hagler fight because he wanted a raise. I think Dundee wanted $100,000 which was nothing to Ray but it got Dundee fired. That doesn't make Leonard a bad guy. That's what 99 percent of boxers would've done. Hagler was just a gem.

Frank wrote:

Ali wrote:They don't make boxers like they use to.

Ali, even back then most big name fighters were selfish. Leonard dropped Dundee after the Hagler fight because he wanted a raise. I think Dundee wanted $100,000 which was nothing to Ray but it got Dundee fired. That doesn't make Leonard a bad guy. That's what 99 percent of boxers would've done. Hagler was just a gem.

True but I was talking in general about boxers from that era.

Who trained Leonard after that ?

Ali wrote:

Frank wrote:

Ali wrote:They don't make boxers like they use to.

Ali, even back then most big name fighters were selfish. Leonard dropped Dundee after the Hagler fight because he wanted a raise. I think Dundee wanted $100,000 which was nothing to Ray but it got Dundee fired. That doesn't make Leonard a bad guy. That's what 99 percent of boxers would've done. Hagler was just a gem.

True but I was talking in general about boxers from that era.

Who trained Leonard after that ?

I know his face but not his name. He wasn't a very good trainer at all if you ask me.

One more comment about the Marvelous one.

Some people might look at Marvin's title defenses and say that he took on a lot of nobodies until the Welterweight Superstars (Hearns, Duran Leonard) made themselves known.

The reason Hagler had no viable challengers in the MW division is because he cleaned them all out before he became champ. Willie "The Worm" Monroe, Cyclone Hart, Eugene Watts, Sugar Ray Seales and Bennie Briscoe were all defeated by Hagler before he became the champ. Make no mistake about it, they would've beaten all the natural Middleweights Hagler defended his title against, but Hagler beat them out of the sport one way or another.

The exception "may" be Bennie Briscoe. Though Hagler was his last fight, Bad Bennie was not at his best that night because of a career of fighting top Middleweight fighters. Bennie was still good, but not the Bennie of old. I don't think it matters. Hagler would've beaten the best Bennie had to offer and believe me, that's a helluva statement. You say that in Philly, and you just might get yourself into a fight.

Marvin was DIFFERENT than most fighters in a LOT of ways. He was as competitive and passionate about fighting as anyone I have ever known. He took his career SERIOUSLY in a way fighters today dont seem to for the most part. He was NEVER overweight and NEVER out of shape. EVER!
Marvin had a tough childhood. He lived through the Watts Riots as a child. He struggled to make it as a young father in a country that was still plagued by blatant racism. When he got his shot in the sport of boxing, he UNDERSTOOD how blessed he was to have the chance to make money at it. He also understood how easily he could lose it all and was determined NOT to. He got his break, from a couple Italian white guys who were, in Marvins words, "the first white men I had any real dealings with one on one". They owned a construction company AND a boxing gym. The Petronellis were always honest, straight, loyal, and above board with Marvin. They loved the guy and thier loyalty and love was returned. There were never any negotiations about money. They simply said "whats fair?" and each side was happy just to be there and get whatever that "fair" was. No fights, no arguments, no ego and no GREED.

Mavin was a sweetheart of a guy most of the time, but in the weeks leading up to a fight he got down-right mean in camp. Goody and Pat were the only ones that could really be around him without fear of getting thier heads bitten off. Marvin was a guy who could NOT have tolerated the multiple championships that we have today. He would have made a LOT of strap holders very happy because he would have signed to fight them WHATEVER the terms JUST to prove to them (and himself) he was the BETTER guy.

I could tell you stories of Marvin for days, but this one is one of my favorites. Marvin was a guy who had no education in the financial world whatsoever. He relied on being frugal and the advice of VERY few trusted friends on how to handle his money. He was only extravagent when it came to Bertha. Shortly after he seperated from Bertha, Marvin placed a phone call to (get this) Emmanuel Steward to ask his advice about making a large purchase and the wisdom of doing it. (yes, Emmanuel and Marvin became very close). After getting the details, Emmanuel told Hagler to go ahead and make the purchase, he was quit sure Marvin could afford it. Manny grinned when he told me the story. What was the major purchase that Hagler ( a guy who just made 7 million a few weeks before) wanted to make sure he could afford? A sprawling Mansion on prime real estate? Perhaps an Office tower in some metropolitan area? A tropical island? Nope. Marvin was checking to make sure he could safely handle the purchase of a new Cadillac.

Almost forgot. Harold Lederman swears that Bennie Briscoe "chased" Hagler around the ring and a young Bennie would have chased him out of the ring. I forgive his error though, Bennie was one of his favorites..............

boxinglawyer wrote:
Marvin was DIFFERENT than most fighters in a LOT of ways. He was as competitive and passionate about fighting as anyone I have ever known. He took his career SERIOUSLY in a way fighters today dont seem to for the most part. He was NEVER overweight and NEVER out of shape. EVER!
Marvin had a tough childhood. He lived through the Watts Riots as a child. He struggled to make it as a young father in a country that was still plagued by blatant racism. When he got his shot in the sport of boxing, he UNDERSTOOD how blessed he was to have the chance to make money at it. He also understood how easily he could lose it all and was determined NOT to. He got his break, from a couple Italian white guys who were, in Marvins words, "the first white men I had any real dealings with one on one". They owned a construction company AND a boxing gym. The Petronellis were always honest, straight, loyal, and above board with Marvin. They loved the guy and thier loyalty and love was returned. There were never any negotiations about money. They simply said "whats fair?" and each side was happy just to be there and get whatever that "fair" was. No fights, no arguments, no ego and no GREED.

Mavin was a sweetheart of a guy most of the time, but in the weeks leading up to a fight he got down-right mean in camp. Goody and Pat were the only ones that could really be around him without fear of getting thier heads bitten off. Marvin was a guy who could NOT have tolerated the multiple championships that we have today. He would have made a LOT of strap holders very happy because he would have signed to fight them WHATEVER the terms JUST to prove to them (and himself) he was the BETTER guy.

I could tell you stories of Marvin for days, but this one is one of my favorites. Marvin was a guy who had no education in the financial world whatsoever. He relied on being frugal and the advice of VERY few trusted friends on how to handle his money. He was only extravagent when it came to Bertha. Shortly after he seperated from Bertha, Marvin placed a phone call to (get this) Emmanuel Steward to ask his advice about making a large purchase and the wisdom of doing it. (yes, Emmanuel and Marvin became very close). After getting the details, Emmanuel told Hagler to go ahead and make the purchase, he was quit sure Marvin could afford it. Manny grinned when he told me the story. What was the major purchase that Hagler ( a guy who just made 7 million a few weeks before) wanted to make sure he could afford? A sprawling Mansion on prime real estate? Perhaps an Office tower in some metropolitan area? A tropical island? Nope. Marvin was checking to make sure he could safely handle the purchase of a new Cadillac.

good story. i always like a good humility story because its rare to see someone who isnt greedy.