Marvin Hegler poses on the red carpet with his wife Kay Hegler at the Sportsman of the Year Awards Ceremony hosted by the Lawries Foundation in Berlin, Germany on February 17, 2020 AFP Yonhap News
Marvin Hegler, known as the’wonderful boxer’ and considered the strongest middleweight champion in professional boxing history, died on the 14th. Age 66.
The Associated Press and other foreign media reported that Hegler’s wife, Kay Hegler, said, “Today, unfortunately, my beloved husband died unexpectedly at his home in New Hampshire. I am sorry to make a very sad announcement,” he said, citing an article posted on Facebook. The exact cause of death is unknown.
Hegler was born in May 1954 in Newark, New Jersey, USA, as the eldest son of six siblings, and in accordance with his mother’s teachings, “Don’t fight others,” he started boxing by choosing a ring rather than a street fight. At the age of 18, he reached the top of the National Amateur Championship in 1973 and started professional boxing in earnest.
After defeating Alan Minter in 1980, he won the World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) Middleweight Unified Champion, and then reigned as the world’s strongest for about eight years at the middleweight. In 1983, he unanimously won Roberto Duran, and in 1985 he defeated Thomas Hearns with a third round KO.
Hegler was undefeated for 10 years with 36 wins and 1 draw until 1986. Such a match-making spirit was shown on the ring, and most of the games ended with KO, and no matter how much he was hit, he never had a KO loss, so his nickname was Marvelous, or a marvelous boxer.
Marvin Hegler (left) faces a battle of the century with Sugar Ray Leonard at a special ring at the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, USA in April 1987. AP Yonhap News
However, Hegler’s 1987 battle with legendary boxer Shugerei Leonard was before his retirement. At the time, Leonard thoroughly outboxed and wandered around the ring, and when the opportunity came, he attacked repeatedly, while Hegler consistently pursued until round 12, throwing punches, but lost the decision. After defeat, Hegler asked for a rematch, but Leonard refused to accept it, and eventually retired at the age of 32.
Hegler left a career of 62 wins (52 KOs), 2 draws, 3 losses, and 12 middle-weight defense. It was selected as the Boxer of the Year by the American Boxing Journalists Association in 1983 and 1985, and the boxing magazine’Boxing Illustrated’ ranked it as the best boxer of the 1980s.
After retirement, Hegler also appeared in action films and walked as an actor. In 1993, he entered the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Park Kwan-gyu reporter [email protected]
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