Unsung 20th Century Fights: Marvin Hagler vs Marcos Gerrard

The phenomenal Marvin Hagler was at the forefront of one of the most famous championship reigns in boxing history on May 17, 1980, when he faced Marcos Gerard at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada.

Hagler already had one shot on the grand stage for the WBA, WBC and The Ring middleweight titles six months ago, but a draw with champion Vito Antuofermo will keep him out of the belt was.

Gerard lost to Sugar Ray Leonard almost a year before his fight with Hagler, but was still considered one of the top middleweight contenders.

Caesars Palace witnessed the cat-and-mouse game of war. Gerard’s strategy was to hit the proverbial pavement by always moving left against southpaw Hagler and letting him pick the spot. Hagler refused to comply and took a hard line, putting up a more patient fight for seven rounds before creating an emergency for Gerald.

Fight

A hungry Hagler was offset by a reserved Gerard who wastes no time in the ring. Hagler began lunging forward with a false hook. He connected in a straight 1-2, causing a false flag knockdown and taking the round against an inactive Gerard.

Hagler’s right hook took Gerald off his feet and his straight left staggered him. In round three, Hagler landed his third low blow of the match, none of which were called by the referee. Gerard took advantage of his sound head movement, but was still tagged enough to get into the 0-3 hole.

The punches bunched up when Hagler pushed. Gerald had a bad (or lofty) habit of dropping his gloves whenever he was tagged or disturbed by Hagler, giving the impression of a lack of respect for Hagler’s fistfighting and power. Transitioned and flicked it quickly to land him three times. Gerard began to panic again, chipping away in the fourth round.

Hagler armed himself with impeccable defense in the fifth round. He crouched his body to deflect downstairs shots and raised his gloves high enough to deflect other punches directed upstairs. Hagler caught him with a convincing right and a straight left. In the next round, Hagler switched stances as the cat-and-mouse chase began to upset him. Gerard was very busy with vicious crosses in the round, going from four to two in Hagler’s favour.

As the commentator wittyly put it, Gerald gave Hagler the tattoo job in Round 7. An uppercut to the navel, a straight right to Moneymaker, and a partially landed Flurry threw him in the round. Dominated Hagler who barely threw in. Hagler covered the ground in Round 8 with a barrage of uppercuts that popped Gerald spectacularly, readying him for a left counter that demanded respect for the Mexican tantalizer.

Hagler then returned to the hook as the fight drew to a close, remembering his jab, and he finished the incident strong while Gerald fizzled a bit. Midway through round 9, with Hagler trapped in a corner, Gerald began slashing his opponent’s head off with the side of his fist, like slamming a table.

In the final round, Hagler whiffed a lot, but landed well enough and closed out the fight with a winning round that closed the door for Gerald, even with a shot in the dark in a draw. I scored fights from 7 to 3 rounds.

Conclusion

Gerald made Hagler’s life very difficult. Normally, we’re used to seeing Marvelous his Marvin pouring it in against his opponents, but Gerald’s exceptional footwork and long reach forced Hagler to fight by his rules. rice field.

Gerald fired a punch, but there was a difference in power. Gerald could match Hagler’s accuracy at close range, but was an outbox at long range. This fight was tactical in nature and did not offer a tremendous amount of non-stop his action. Nonetheless, it was fun to see his two diametrically opposed styles come together on stage.

As previously mentioned, Marvin Hagler went on a 14-game winning streak, taking first WBA, WBC and The Ring titles in his next fight, while snatching his first IBF middleweight championship in a match against Wilford Cypion. , made 12 successful defenses.

Marcos Gerardo fought until 1990 and fought again in 1995. He retired with his record of 71-28-1 (50 KOs). Although various sources dispute his official record, Gerard said that in his career he fought more than 100 times and earned the respect of his contemporaries.