After his huge win over Hearns, Marvin was enjoying the limelight. He was doing a number of national commercials, and appearing on all the talk shows. He signed to fight WBA junior middleweight champ John ‘The Beast’ Mugabi in November of 1985, but the fight was cancelled when Marvin hurt his back. Mugabi was a powerful puncher who had become popular on NBC with his knockout wins, and decided to move up to middleweight to challenge Hagler for his crown, and the glory that would come with it.
The new fight date was set for March 10th at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I again went to the Spectrum in Philadelphia to watch the closed circuit broadcast of the fight. I had a front row seat on the floor, bought my program and settled in on the action.
It was damp and rainy in Vegas that night as the fight began. Mugabi was strong and landed consistent hard punches on Hagler, but never really hurt him. Marvin kept constant pressure and by round 11, the challenger was visibly fatigued and stopped by a volley of punches by the champ. It was certainly a credible performance, and Hagler said he was the toughest opponent he ever faced.
Sitting ringside that night was Sugar Ray Leonard. In just a few months time, he would start talking comeback, and his eyes were set once again on Marvin Hagler.
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