The City of Champions will officially pay tribute to one of its storied local heroes this week.
A bronze statue of boxing legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler will be unveiled in a new park along a street named after him, the city of Brockton announced in a press release Thursday.
“Brockton is known throughout the world as the 'City of Champions' because of the incredible and historic athletic achievements of Marvelous Marvin Hagler,” Brockton Mayor Robert F. Sullivan said in a statement. “Marvelous Marvin was a global boxing icon who embodied all of the best qualities of our great city: toughness, perseverance, community and dedication. This statue will stand as a symbol of his spirit for generations to come, inspiring people to always strive to be the best they can be.”
Hagler moved to Brockton in 1969 and trained under brothers Goody and Pat Petronelli, winning 62 bouts, 52 by knockout and losing just three, and held the middleweight championship title from 1980 to 1987, according to city officials.
After retiring in 1987, Hagler moved to Italy and became an action movie star. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993.
Hagler, who legally added “Marvelous” before his name, died suddenly at age 66 in March 2022 at his New Hampshire home, according to city officials.
City officials said the statue will be displayed in the new Marvelous Marvin Hagler Park, located next to the Petronelli brothers' former gym along a newly named Marvelous Marvin Hagler Way. A committee including Hagler's family and friends helped design and select the site for the statue, which was funded with a $150,000 state grant.
Hagler was “an incredible guy,” Sullivan said. The Boston Globe.
“People are going to be amazed when they see this statue,” Sullivan told the paper about the statue. “It looks just like Hagler is throwing a punch.”
The statue will be unveiled at 11 a.m. Thursday during a ceremony next to 28 Petronelli Way.
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