BERKS BOXING CORNER
By: Dean Berks
27th Aug 2024
James Hagler Jr. knows the weight and expectations his family name brings with it. When your grandfather is one of the greatest middleweight champions in history and one of the finest fighters of all-time, then the bar will, unfairly, be set to a ridiculous height that will be extremely difficult to reach.
His parents were more than aware of the pressure this would bring and steered their son away from the ring, directing him towards football, with the goal being to see him aim for a career in the NFL.
After grandfather Marvin had controversially lost to “Sugar” Ray Leonard, the defeat devastated not just him but his relationship with his family too. He went deep within himself, pushing everyone away, until he made a complete break and moved to Italy.
It was his ex-wife Bertha who held the family together. When James father, James Sr., started boxing, he did so to seek positive recognition from his own dad. He was a very talented amateur who was on the cusp of Olympic qualification, but he stopped boxing when he realised that the support he craved from Marvin would never come.
With boxing ingrained deep within his DNA, James Jr. felt the lure of the ring too strong to ignore. He had been taught the fundamentals from a young age and was a natural southpaw. At age 24, he had his first amateur bout. Between 2015-2019, he fought 10 bouts, winning 7 and losing 3, before deciding to turn professional.
He knocked out Michael Widmer in the first round on his debut in December 2019. But the pandemic put his career on hold for over a year, and he didn’t box again until March 2021 when he outpointed Clarence Brown over four.
A disqualification loss against Juston Stills when the referee halted proceedings due to Hagler’s repeated holding, put the first blot on his record. It was a strange decision as Hagler was controlling all of the action up to that point.
He outpointed fellow novice Heitor Mangaravitte Senra over four on his return but was then out of action for a year due to outside of the ring issues.
Then, on 20 May 2023, he suffered the harshest of learning curves when he was knocked out in three by Leonardo Ladeira. That was his most recent fight.
Like his grandfather, though, James is seeking to avenge that loss. First up, he is back in action in Nigeria on 26 October. After that, the fighter from Georgia wants Ladeira again.
Even though he has boxed at light-heavyweight, Hagler sees himself settling at super middle. He’s also aware that he needs to be more active to help gain any real momentum.
Hagler knows that the boxing world of today is a very different one than the one his grandfather fought in. Where his grandfather had to wait seven years and over fifty fights to become world champion, many of today’s fighters are achieving this in under twenty.
With that in mind, he knows it’s time to really get his head down and go to work. Especially if he wants to hear the words “Hagler” and “champion” in the same sentence. Is Grandad watching? Only time will tell.
