This Day in Boxing History: Marvelous Marvin Hagler TKO 1 Over Sugar Ray Seales

By Dave “Mythical” Siderski

In August 1974, undefeated Middleweight prospects Sugar Ray Seales, a 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, and relative unknown Marvin Hagler squared off in the latter’s backyard of Boston, Massachusetts. Hagler walked away with a unanimous decision victory. Three months later, a rematch was staged, this time in Sugar Ray’s hometown of Seattle, Washington. The fight ended in a controversial draw. Hagler and Seales travelled different paths over the next several years. “The Marvelous One” proved his iron against the likes of Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts, Willie “The Worm” Monroe, Bennie Briscoe, and Cyclone Hart and became the most dangerous contender in the Middleweight division. In contrast, Seales lost to Alan Minter, Ronnie Harris and Ayub Kalule. On February 3rd, 1979, Marvelous Marvin and Sugar Ray [Seales] squared off in a rubber match at the venerable Boston Garden. This time Marvelous Marvin left no doubt, scoring two knockdowns and destroying Seales in just 86 seconds. After proving his supremacy over Sugar Ray, the “Marvelous One” would go on to become one of the greatest Middleweights of all-time, eventually forming a rivalry with a certain other “Sugar Ray”.

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