The referee waves the fight off. A new champion is crowned, the former stands in his corner whilst his team try and stop the blood that is gushing from his face. And then, the beer cans and bottles come flying in.
It’s a dark day for British Boxing, and for sport in general, the boos rain down as a nationalistic Wembley Arena crowd is stunned as their new beacon of hope is dethroned in emphatic fashion by the brilliance of one Marvellous Marvin Hagler.
In a difficult period for the United Kingdom, Crawley middleweight Alan Minter became a brief and unlikely new sporting hero. A bronze medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics and a record of 36-6 didn’t suggest that Minter was anything more than a good journeyman fighter, however the dawn of a new decade was to be the making and subsequent breaking of his sporting career.
Minter travelled to Las Vegas in March 1980 to face WBA, WBC and Ring Middleweight champion Vito Antuofermo in what was to be a gruelling 15 round contest. A tight split decision in favour of Minter gave Britain it’s first middleweight world champion in nearly 20 years and for the first time saw his fame reach a national and international level.
After an eighth round stoppage of Antuofermo in the rematch three months later, Minter turned his attention towards the no.1 ranked challenger, 26 year old Hagler. Little did he know that it was to be the beginning of the end for his professional career.
The date was set for 27th September at the aforementioned Wembley Arena. Controversy reared it’s ugly head in the build up to the fight as Minter was quoted as saying “No black man is going to take my title”, naturally infuriating not only Hagler, but the black communities in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Having lost a world title shot to Antuofermo in controversial fashion the previous year, the bookmakers had Hagler as the underdog, but despite all the blatantly biased interviews conducted by the British press he remained calm and collected, like a cold blooded assassin waiting for his moment to take out his target.
Hagler was the first to walk to the ring, as the partisan Wembley Arena crowd booed throughout. Minter followed to a truly incredible reception, to the extent I have never seen before or since. It was to the average Joe sitting at home a magnificent display of national pride towards one of it’s premier athletes, however to quote the great Henry Carpenter “Wembley Arena was reeking, not so much of nationalism, but had a decidedly rancid smell of racialism”.
After the National anthems were played and the two men introduced, the bell rang and the fight finally commenced. The Brit came out strong in the opening moments but very soon it became abundantly clear that Minter, notorious for being susceptible to heavy cuts, was not able to handle the raw power and savage nature of Hagler’s shots. 90 seconds in and Minter was cut below the left eye, something Hagler would gladly take advantage of as the fight progressed. Many who tell this story tell only of a dominant Hagler win with Minter hopelessly outclassed. This is not the case. Throughout the first two rounds both fighters traded powerful shots, with Hagler rocked on more than one occasion to the roar of the deafening pro Minter crowd. With his face cut in several areas Minter made a decision that would ultimately cost him his status as a World Champion.
The third round started with Minter once again coming out all guns blazing, one last desperate attempt to try and stop Hagler in any way he could. However by this time the cuts were so deep and the bruising so severe that he could barely see at all. Hagler started to land with power shots at will whilst still dealing with the odd shot coming his own way. With a minute and fifteen seconds remaining of the third round the referee directed Minter to his corner for his cuts to be tended to and moments later his trainer shook his head and that was that. The fight was over, Hagler the new champion of the world.
Within moments of the decision the canvas was littered with shards of broken glass and unopened beer cans. The Hagler team retreated to their corner, shielding the new champion from the barrage of objects being thrown in his direction. He was eventually escorted back to his dressing room by the police under heavy cover, whilst in the opposite corner, Minter lay under a thick white towel which was turning a deep scarlet colour by the second. On his exit from the ring a couple of minutes later he was given one last stirring ovation by the crowd, but it couldn’t detract from the ugly scenes that had just taken place.
In his post fight interview Hagler once again came across cool and calm, praising Minter for his attitude and bravery in the ring, but rightfully ending by stating that he had been soundly beaten by the better man. In the opposite dressing room Minter cut a forlorn figure as he talked through what had just happened, his eyes and cheeks still bathed in a thick red coat of blood and bruises. Minter took a gamble, he knew that with his face in the condition it was in, he had to go for it, to try and end it early. Hagler was far too good to be dragged into that sort of game. He waited patiently for his time to strike, and he did so emphatically.
Hagler would go on to make 12 successful defences of his middleweight titles, fighting some of the sports most legendary figures, most notably Roberto Duran and the famous three round violent slugfest known since as “The War” with Tommy Hearns in 1985. Hagler would retire in 1987 after a close split decision loss to Sugar Ray Leonard, ending with a tremendous record of 63-3-2.
Minter would never be the same fighter after the loss to Hagler. 2 further losses in his 3 fights since, the last to fellow Brit Tony Sibson who would later challenge unsuccessfully for Hagler’s crown in 1983. He retired in September 1981, less than a year on from the ugly scenes of the Hagler fight, and only a month after his 30th birthday. His name is remembered by boxing fans on both sides of the pond, but equally as much for his prior achievements in the ring as it is for that fateful night on 27th September 1980.
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