Marvin Hagler
On September 27, 1980, in his 54th professional fight, Marvin Hagler knocked out Alan Minter in the third round at Wembley Arena in London to become the undisputed world middleweight champion — a title so long denied him that he was pelted with bottles by a rioting crowd and rushed from the ring without his belts. A southpaw from Brockton, Massachusetts, trained his whole career by the Petronelli brothers, Hagler had been a top contender for years while champions avoided him; as Joe Frazier reportedly told him, he had "three strikes" against him — "you're a southpaw, you're black, and you're good." His first title shot, against Vito Antuofermo in November 1979, ended in a widely disputed draw that let the champion keep the belt. Once Hagler finally won it, he held the middleweight title for nearly seven years and twelve defenses, beating Roberto Duran and stopping Thomas Hearns in the celebrated 1985 "War," before losing a contested 1987 decision to Sugar Ray Leonard. In 1982 he had legally changed his name to "Marvelous Marvin Hagler."