Марвин Хаглер дөрөвдүгээр раундад Уилфорд Скипионыг хүнд цохилтоор буулган авч, дунд жингийн аваргын бүсээ амжилттай хамгааллаа.
Тулааны өмнө Уилфорд Скипионы дасгалжуулагч Кенни Уэлдон аварга Марвин Хаглерыг “энгийн боксчин” хэмээн тодорхойлж, түүнийг хамгаалалт болон ойрын зайн тулаанд сул гэж шүүмжилсэн нь Хаглерыг улам хурцалжээ. USBA-ийн аварга, WBC-ийн чансааг тэргүүлэгч, WBA-ийн чансааны №2 Скипион өмнө нь хэзээ ч нокаутад орж байгаагүй ч энэ удаагийн тулаанд Хаглерын хүчирхэг довтолгоог зогсоож чадсангүй.
Эхний раундаас эхлэн Хаглер санаачилгыг гартаа авч, гурван раундын дараах байдлаар шүүгчид 30-27-оор түүнийг илүүрхэж байсныг тэмдэглэсэн байна. Дөрөвдүгээр раундад Скипион баруун гараараа хэд хэдэн цохилт оноосон ч Хаглер шууд хариу барин, баруун дэгээ болон зүүн гараар дараалан цохиж өрсөлдөгчөө олсонд тултал нь шахаж, улмаар хүнд цохилтоор рингэн дээр унагав. Шүүгч Фрэнк Каппуччино тооллогыг дуусгахад Скипион тулааныг үргэлжлүүлэх чадваргүй байлаа.
Энэхүү ялалтын дараа Марвин Хаглер WBA, WBC болон шинээр байгуулагдсан IBF холбооны дунд жингийн аваргын бүсүүдийг нэгэн зэрэг эзэмшсэн анхны боксчин болсон юм. Тэрээр 1.25 сая долларын шагнал хүртсэн бөгөөд нийт амжилтаа 57 ялалт, 2 хожигдол, 2 тэнцээ болгон ахиулж, 48 удаа өрсөлдөгчөө нокаутаар ялсан амжилттай байна. Тулааны дараа Хаглер өрсөлдөгчийнхөө их занг шүүмжилсэн бол Скипион түүнийг жинхэнэ аварга гэдгийг хүлээн зөвшөөрчээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Scypion’s trainer, Kenny Weldon, had spent the buildup describing Hagler as a “simple fighter.” Weldon claimed the champion could not fight inside, could not operate while backing up, and depended on circling to his left.
That was a bad scouting report and an even worse motivational tactic. Hagler took every word personally.
Scypion entered with the USBA middleweight title and rankings of No. 1 with the WBC and No. 2 with the WBA. He had earned his opportunity by defeating Frank “The Animal” Fletcher three months earlier. The 24-year-old challenger had also never been stopped. None of that helped him against Hagler.
Late in the opening round, Hagler landed a counter left that sent Scypion staggering backward across the ring. Scypion survived, but the punch established who owned the night. Hagler continued landing combinations to the head in the second and third while Scypion struggled to trap him.
Judges Joe Cortez, Larry Hazzard and Stuart Kirshenbaum each had Hagler winning 30-27 after three rounds.
Scypion finally landed a couple of right hands during his best spell in the fourth. Hagler’s response was vicious. Fighting southpaw, he cracked Scypion with a right hook to the chin and followed with a left. Scypion fell backward into the ropes near his corner, where Hagler unloaded hooks and short combinations until the challenger pitched forward to the canvas.
Referee Frank Cappuccino completed the count. Scypion offered no serious attempt to rise before it ended.
“He froze when we started trading punches,” Hagler said afterward. “He’s got a big mouth. I wanted him down at my feet.”
Scypion kept his explanation shorter: “He’s the champion.”
The bout was wrapped in sanctioning body foolishness. Hagler wanted a traditional 15-round fight, while the WBC was pushing 12-round championship contests following the death of Duk Koo Kim. The WBA and WBC declined to fully sanction the defense but continued recognizing Hagler unless he lost. The newly formed IBF sanctioned the contest and installed Hagler as its first middleweight champion.
Hagler earned $1.25 million, while Scypion collected $325,000. More importantly, Hagler became the first fighter to hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF middleweight titles simultaneously.
He improved to 57-2-2 (48 KOs), then defeated Roberto Duran over 15 rounds that November. Scypion fell to 26-4 and never received another world title opportunity. The night belonged to Hagler, who answered a week of cheap talk with four rounds of controlled destruction.
