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British middleweight world champion, who had the mis-fortune of defending his title against an up and coming US boxer... Marvin Hagler... he got battered
I remember that as one of the 1st fights I paid any real attention to apart from the big boys, Hagler was an absolute beast that night, Minter was just a mask of claret.
Im not one to speak ill of the recent dead but Minter wasnt really a nice guy.
The Hagler fight was one I remember well,as much for the Minter fans disgusting pelting of the ring with bottles and chairs after Marvin had cut him to pieces. It sent boxing back years.
Minter came into the ring accompanied by Union Jacks waving and much Rule Britannia waving and singing in utter disharmony. Previously he has said he didnt "want to lose my title to a black man"-and this to Hagler,one of the most vicious boxers ever. Big mistake.
Marvin spent the ten minutes of the fight basically cutting Minter wherever he could and was merciless like you wouldnt believe. The crowd ructions meant they had to take cover from the baying crowd and were lucky to get out of it unscathed.
Minter,like the clown he was,asked for a rematch!. Hagler ,of course wanted fook all to do with him and went on to much bigger things..
Im not one to speak ill of the recent dead but Minter wasnt really a nice guy.
The Hagler fight was one I remember well,as much for the Minter fans disgusting pelting of the ring with bottles and chairs after Marvin had cut him to pieces. It sent boxing back years.
Minter came into the ring accompanied by Union Jacks waving and much Rule Britannia waving and singing in utter disharmony. Previously he has said he didnt "want to lose my title to a black man"-and this to Hagler,one of the most vicious boxers ever. Big mistake.
Marvin spent the ten minutes of the fight basically cutting Minter wherever he could and was merciless like you wouldnt believe. The crowd ructions meant they had to take cover from the baying crowd and were lucky to get out of it unscathed.
Minter,like the clown he was,asked for a rematch!. Hagler ,of course wanted fook all to do with him and went on to much bigger things..
[Post edited 11 Sep 2020 10:19]
I was about 12. My mum had taken my brother and me on a trip to London (she found some offer I think) and we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Swiss Cottage. She also got tickets to see "The King and I" and the Palladium"-with Yul Brynner as the King. That was the night of the Minter-Hagler fight. We got a cab back and could hear the cabbies on the radio- basically warning none of the black cabs to head up to Wembley as it was carnage. Bottles flying everywhere, brawls, cabs getting smashed up.
I suppose in life it’s fair to say it’s crucial as to whom you choose to antagonise. For Minter to even think for a second Hagler would not be anything other than ultra motivated is madness.
These were bad times socially and this appalling evening and bloke typified the zeitgeist.
I was 30 and had just started a new career with a new wife too .
Minter had a big drink problem too and wasted his hard earned money.
He always believed he was robbed at the 72 Olympics on a very dubious decision by judges who gave the decision to a west German. He won the bronze instead of a probable gold.
"British middleweight world champion, who had the mis-fortune of defending his title against an up and coming US boxer... Marvin Hagler... he got battered"
Marvin Hagler was hardly "an up and coming US Boxer" he was 26 years old and had fought over 50 times and for a World Title by the time he met Alan Minter in 1980. A very dangerous switch hitter.
Up to this fight, Minters career had included a several 15 Round fights, including a Domestic Trilogy of 15 round wars against Kevin Finnegan. He'd had one hell of an hard career .
Basically boxing politics had stopped Hagler being a World Champion prior to this fight. It was well known Minter cut badly during fights, taking nothing away from Hagler, ( one of my all time favourites) his head was in Minters face for the duration of the fight, saying that, Minter shipped a hell of a lot of punches too. Hagler was a class act, and proved that by holding the title for a record time. He is still a class act today outside of the ring.
Minter is / was very well respected in boxing circles and would attend all the regional boxing dinners for new / old fighters even up until his death. Also he did a lot of charity work. Hagler had no beef with Minter, at a dinner he presented Minter with a huge photo of himself wearing all his belts, British, European, WBA & WBC. RIP Alan.
Was Hagler the guy who used to shave his head three days Or so before he fought so it was hard and all bristles when he went in to the ring ? When working inside his head was apparently seriously painful On his opponents body due to the hard growth. I seem to recall something along those lines.
Was Hagler the guy who used to shave his head three days Or so before he fought so it was hard and all bristles when he went in to the ring ? When working inside his head was apparently seriously painful On his opponents body due to the hard growth. I seem to recall something along those lines.
Not sure if Hagler used to do that but one guy who didn't shave for 3 or 4 days before a fight was Jack Dempsey -Tyson later copied this along with the plain black leather boots and short back and sides.
Was Hagler the guy who used to shave his head three days Or so before he fought so it was hard and all bristles when he went in to the ring ? When working inside his head was apparently seriously painful On his opponents body due to the hard growth. I seem to recall something along those lines.
The Minter camp insisted that Hagler shave his beard off pre-fight, an obvious concern relating to Minter's cut history and the American using his stubble in clinches to his advantage.
Hagler's team came back and pointed out that they would be keeping a very close eye on the work of Minter's cuts man, the Californian expert Jackie McCoy. He had been used by Minter in his two previous world title fights, insisting they would have Minter stripped of his title if any unknown substances (other than one part water to 1,000 parts adrenalin) were applied to his face during the fight.
Do not know whether it is true or not but Hagler's amazing ability for taking a punch was said to have been down to having an extremely thick skull, blessed with a few extra mm's of bone thickness that some say gave extra protection.
Maybe same way physiological-advantage to that of a muscular short thick neck giving a superior shock absorber effect, lessening the chance of a knockout blow.
Here is the guy who was hit by the hardest of heavyweight punchers of his era and still stood, a fighter famed more for his incredible toughness than his boxing skills
The Minter camp insisted that Hagler shave his beard off pre-fight, an obvious concern relating to Minter's cut history and the American using his stubble in clinches to his advantage.
Hagler's team came back and pointed out that they would be keeping a very close eye on the work of Minter's cuts man, the Californian expert Jackie McCoy. He had been used by Minter in his two previous world title fights, insisting they would have Minter stripped of his title if any unknown substances (other than one part water to 1,000 parts adrenalin) were applied to his face during the fight.
I thought I recalled something. Currently reading up on Dave boy green, by hell did we have some fighters back then.
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