Marvelous Marvin Hagler is considered to be one of the greatest fighters to have ever graced the sport.
Hagler rose to prominence during the late 1970s before he would capture the undisputed middleweight championship in 1980, making 12 successful defences of his crown up until he was dethroned by Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.
He became a member of the iconic ‘Four Kings’ during that golden era, alongside former rivals Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, a legendary quartet of fighters that faced one another at least once during their respective careers.
Although he locked horns with many generational greats during his tenure, there was one man that Hagler didn’t actually end up facing before his retirement in 1987.
In an interview with On The Ropes, Hagler spoke about his interest in clashing with Argentinian legend Carlos Monzon, although a showdown between the pair never did come to fruition.
“I think we fought all the best in the world. I gave everybody an opportunity to dethrone me. But I think that basically, down the line, I would like to have fought probably Carlos Monzon. We had that in the works many years ago, and at the time it wasn’t big money—it was like $250,000. I mean, now, these guys are making millions of dollars. But for me, I thought Carlos was a great champion and I think that I would have created a lot of problems for him.”
Monzon reigned as the undisputed middleweight champion 1970 and 1977, making no less than 14 successful defences along the way. He announced his retirement from the sport shortly after he defeated Rodrigo Valdez for the second time, walking away from the sport with an impressive record of 87-3 to his name.