Boxing legend&nbsp;Marvin&nbsp;Hagler, the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, died on Saturday at age 66, his wife said.

In a posting on the famed fighter's Facebook page, Kay G.&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;said her husband passed away at the family home.

"I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous&nbsp;Marvin&nbsp;passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire," she wrote. "Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

"Marvelous"&nbsp;Marvin&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;fought from 1973 to 1987 and delivered some of the epic bouts in a golden era of the sport, finishing with a record of 62-3 with two drawn and 52 knockouts.

The southpaw's most heralded triumph came in a 1985 matchup at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas against Thomas "Hitman" Hearns that lasted only a tick over eight minutes but was regarded as a classic.

After a first round filled with power punches in which Hearns suffered a broken right hand,&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;suffered a cut to the head early in the second.

A ringside doctor examined&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;in the third round and the fight went on.&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;wobbled Hearns with a powerhouse right and sent him to the canvas moments later, Hearns rising only to collapse into referee Richard Steele's arms.

Hagler&nbsp;won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association middleweight titles in 1980, stopping Britain's Alan Minter in the third round at London's Wembley Arena, and added the International Boxing Federation's inaugural title in 1983.

Hagler&nbsp;defended the undisputed crown 12 times, including a 15-round unanimous decision victory over Panama's Roberto Duran in 1983 and his final triumph, an 11th-round knockout of unbeaten Ugandan John Mugabi in&nbsp;1986.

"Marvelous&nbsp;Marvin&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;was among the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted," legendary US promoter Bob Arum said. "He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparallelled determination.

"He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly," Arum added of&nbsp;Hagler, a member of the middleweight division's "Four Kings" of the 1980s along with Hearns, "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Duran.

Over a decade from 1976 to 1986,&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;went unbeaten with 36 wins and a draw.

Named Fighter of the Year in 1983 and 1985 by the Boxing Writers Association of America, he was named Fighter of the Decade in the 1980s by Boxing Illustrated.

He carried a 16-fight win streak into what proved to be his final fight, a showdown with Leonard in 1987 at age 32.

Leonard, coming off three years of retirement at age 30, captured a controversial 12-round split decision and launched his return to the ring as&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;- angered by the scoring -- bid farewell.

After stepping out of the ring,&nbsp;Hagler&nbsp;pursued acting and a career as a boxing commentators. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

Boxing legend Marvin Hagler, the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, died on Saturday at age 66, his wife said. In a posting on the famed fighter's Facebook page, Kay G.

Boxing legend Marvin Hagler, the undisputed middleweight champion from 1980 to 1987, died on Saturday at age 66, his wife said. In a posting on the famed fighter's Facebook page, Kay G. Hagler said her husband passed away at the family home. "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," she wrote. "Our family requests that you respect our privacy during this difficult time." "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler fought from 1973 to 1987 and delivered some of the epic bouts in a golden era of the sport, finishing with a record of 62-3 with two drawn and 52 knockouts. The southpaw's most heralded triumph came in a 1985 matchup at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas against Thomas "Hitman" Hearns that lasted only a tick over eight minutes but was regarded as a classic. After a first round filled with power punches in which Hearns suffered a broken right hand, Hagler suffered a cut to the head early in the second. A ringside doctor examined Hagler in the third round and the fight went on. Hagler wobbled Hearns with a powerhouse right and sent him to the canvas moments later, Hearns rising only to collapse into referee Richard Steele's arms. Hagler won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association middleweight titles in 1980, stopping Britain's Alan Minter in the third round at London's Wembley Arena, and added the International Boxing Federation's inaugural title in 1983. Hagler defended the undisputed crown 12 times, including a 15-round unanimous decision victory over Panama's Roberto Duran in 1983 and his final triumph, an 11th-round knockout of unbeaten Ugandan John Mugabi in 1986. "Marvelous Marvin Hagler was among the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted," legendary US promoter Bob Arum said. "He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparallelled determination. "He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly," Arum added of Hagler, a member of the middleweight division's "Four Kings" of the 1980s along with Hearns, "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Duran. Over a decade from 1976 to 1986, Hagler went unbeaten with 36 wins and a draw. Named Fighter of the Year in 1983 and 1985 by the Boxing Writers Association of America, he was named Fighter of the Decade in the 1980s by Boxing Illustrated. He carried a 16-fight win streak into what proved to be his final fight, a showdown with Leonard in 1987 at age 32. Leonard, coming off three years of retirement at age 30, captured a controversial 12-round split decision and launched his return to the ring as Hagler - angered by the scoring -- bid farewell. After stepping out of the ring, Hagler pursued acting and a career as a boxing commentators. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.

Legendary boxer Marvin Hagler passes away at 66

Filipinos expressed mixed reactions on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao&#39;s decision to come out of retirement and get back into the boxing ring.

Pacquiao, who recently became a Philippine senator, announced on Wednesday he will fight World Boxing Organization Welterweight champion Jessie Vargas on November 5 in Las Vegas.

A boxing trainer at a fitness gym in the Philippine capital was in favour of Pacquiao&#39;s decision.&nbsp;&quot;We all know that Pacquiao has been boxing since he was a kid. He was so used to boxing his body is looking it,&quot; said boxing trainer Jason Olanda.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It&#39;s okay if he wants to continue boxing while doing the duties of a Senator. You only need about three months to train and he can get back to his duties after his match,&quot; added Jeffrey Biron, another boxing trainer.

But for college student Steven Jane, Pacquiao should only focus on either being a politician or a boxer.

&quot;Well, saying that he retired from boxing and coming back, I think he should be straight up to his mind what he&#39;s supposed to do, because right now it kind of seems he&#39;s not really sure what he&#39;s doing, because he said he was going to retire but he&#39;s now coming back, so I think he should really be focusing only on one thing,&quot; he said.

&quot;I&#39;m not saying it&#39;s wrong, but for me, his attention will be divided between his work as a senator and as a boxer,&quot; said Ralph Alvero, a fruit vendor who has watched all of Pacquiao&#39;s fights on television.

Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs), who has won world titles in eight weight divisions, was widely expected to return to the ring at some point. 
 
Pacquiao announced his retirement following an April 9 victory over Timothy Bradley Jr&nbsp;in their third fight, so he could focus on his senate duties in the Philippines.&nbsp;Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippines senate in May, said he will spend the entire training camp in his home country so he can also attend to his legislative work. 
 
(Reuters)

Back home there were mixed reactions to the boxer's decision to get back to fighting after recently becoming a senator

Filipinos expressed mixed reactions on boxing legend Manny Pacquiao's decision to come out of retirement and get back into the boxing ring. Pacquiao, who recently became a Philippine senator, announced on Wednesday he will fight World Boxing Organization Welterweight champion Jessie Vargas on November 5 in Las Vegas. A boxing trainer at a fitness gym in the Philippine capital was in favour of Pacquiao's decision. "We all know that Pacquiao has been boxing since he was a kid. He was so used to boxing his body is looking it," said boxing trainer Jason Olanda. "It's okay if he wants to continue boxing while doing the duties of a Senator. You only need about three months to train and he can get back to his duties after his match," added Jeffrey Biron, another boxing trainer. But for college student Steven Jane, Pacquiao should only focus on either being a politician or a boxer. "Well, saying that he retired from boxing and coming back, I think he should be straight up to his mind what he's supposed to do, because right now it kind of seems he's not really sure what he's doing, because he said he was going to retire but he's now coming back, so I think he should really be focusing only on one thing," he said. "I'm not saying it's wrong, but for me, his attention will be divided between his work as a senator and as a boxer," said Ralph Alvero, a fruit vendor who has watched all of Pacquiao's fights on television. Pacquiao (58-6-2, 38 KOs), who has won world titles in eight weight divisions, was widely expected to return to the ring at some point. Pacquiao announced his retirement following an April 9 victory over Timothy Bradley Jr in their third fight, so he could focus on his senate duties in the Philippines. Pacquiao, who was elected to the Philippines senate in May, said he will spend the entire training camp in his home country so he can also attend to his legislative work. (Reuters)

Philippines boxing legend Manny Pacquiao to return to ring

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