UFC commentator Joe Rogan grew up in Massachusetts, and like every combat sports aficionado in The Bay State, was inspired by Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who died on March 13, 2021, at the age of just 66.

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I drew this piece of Marvin Hagler way back in 1983 when I was 15. I remember watching a TV profile on him where he was running on the beach in the dead of winter shadow boxing and screaming WAR!

They showed his maniacal dedication to training and fight preparation, and it had a massive influence on me. I would think of him when I was tired and was considering stopping. I would imagine what he would do and it would always fill me with energy.

When I heard he died yesterday I was stunned. I was such a massive fan all my life, and every now and then I’ll go to YouTube and watch some of his classic fights. The other day I watched his victory over Mugabi, and it was every bit as epic as I remembered.

They don’t make many human beings as incredible as Marvin Hagler. He was truly one of the greats. RIP

Here’s the fight Rogan referenced above. It’s epic. Marvelous Marvin Hagler was epic.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was The Ring magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America Fighter of the Year, twice, and was Boxing Illustrated magazine’s Fighter of the Decade (1980-1989). Hagler was the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, successfully defending the title twelve times, the third-longest unified championship reign in boxing history. A physician once said Hagler could not be knocked out, due to the size and strength of his muscle, an opinion borne out by having been knocked down only once in his professional career, and even that is disputed.

There are no quotation marks around the word Marvelous, as Hagler changed his name legally. He was, truly, Marvelous. 

Details of the cause of death have not been released at this time.