“Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, a former middleweight boxing champion and icon of the sport, died Saturday. He was 66 years old.
A cause of death was not immediately clear when his wife, Kay G. Hagler, posted a confirmation on Facebook.
“I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire. Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time. With love,” she wrote in a post on his verified fan page, signing her name.
Marvin Hagler was the undisputed middleweight champion of the world for seven years beginning in 1980. He lost his title only when Sugar Ray Leonard came out of retirement in 1987.
Online, tributes to the athlete poured in as sports accounts posted videos of some of his most iconic fights.
Boxing promoters and sports agents Kalle & Nisse Sauerland tweeted a heartfelt tribute that read, “If reports are true we are lost for words to hear the of the loss of our all time favorite boxer Marvelous Hagler – for us the greatest Middleweight who ever lived.”
Sports broadcaster Jim MacKay wrote, “The man they called Marvelous trained in Brockton, one of the reasons it is called the City of Champions. The undisputed Middleweight Champion from 1980-1987. True Boxing Legend. RIP.”