BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Hundreds of people came out to honor one of Brockton’s most famous residents Sunday, celebrating the life of boxer “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler.
Hagler, who died in March at the age of 66, trained in Brockton and became one of the world’s most dominant athletes in the 1980s, winning 12 middleweight boxing titles. At a memorial ceremony at Rocky Marciano Stadium, boxing champion Bernard Hopkins praised the city for nurturing Hagler.
“Thank you first for giving us the boxing world and people that love his work and love the way he represented the sport,” Hopkins said.
ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith also praised Hagler at the ceremony.
“To see the multitude of great, great fighters in this beautiful, beautiful sport that we know as boxing, I consider Marvin Hagler to be one of the greatest boxers we’ve ever seen,” Smith said.
City officials named a street after Hagler last month and will build a statue in his memory as well.
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