Marvin opened 1982 with a one round knockout of ‘Caveman’ Lee on March 7th. It was the first and last time he would ever fight in Atlantic City.
Talks of a fight with Thomas Hearns culminated with an agreed date of May 24th. After his loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in September of 1981, he wanted to jump up two weight classes and challenge the much bigger and stronger Hagler.
I thought he was crazy, and would get knocked out. A broken finger cancelled the fight, and it was rescheduled for two months later on July 12th. Hearns pulled out of that date too, and I really believe he realized he had bitten off more than he could chew. Hagler was livid because he had trained for 4 months with no payday, and who could blame him. Hearns dropped back down to super welterweight, and it would be October before Hagler would fight again.
In the meantime, his eyes were set on Sugar Ray Leonard, who had gone into retirement in May after suffering a detached retina. But by fall, Ray was hinting he would return for a big money fight with Hagler. If it happened, it would be the biggest fight in the sport, bar none.
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