Boxing Great Marvelous Marvin Hagler Dies at 66
GoLocalProv News Team
Boxing Great Marvelous Marvin Hagler Dies at 66
His wife Kay took to his fan page on Facebook to announce the news on Saturday.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I am sorry to make a very sad announcement,” wrote Hagler. “Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
Hagler was the undisputed middleweight boxing champion from 1980 to 1987, and legally changed his name to “Marvelous Marvin Hagler.”
After his boxing career, Hagler moved to Italy, where he became a well-known star of action films. His roles included a U.S. Marine in the films Indio and Indio 2, and starred in 1997’s Virtual Weapon.
Hagler in Rhode Island
Hagler started off his professional boxing career in New England, beating Terry Ryan at the Brockton High School gym in Massachusetts in 1973.
His first Rhode Island appearance was a win over DC Walker at the Schneider Arena in North Providence in 1976.
He beat Canadian Jim Henry at Brown’s Marvel Gymnasium in 1977, American Bob Patterson at the Providence Civic Center in 1979, and Wilford Scypion again at the Civic Center in 1983 — in a knockout.
Rhode Island musician Mark Cutler met Hagler in Boston.
"Rest In Peace, Marvin Hagler," wrote Cutler. "The Schemers met him in the early ’80s on the set of a 5 All Night in Boston. He treated us real fine and his shoulders were as wide as he was tall."