Hagler Retains Title With Eighth-Round TKO

If it was a fight, the Boston Garden crowd of 8498 seemed oblivious to the fact that there were two participants. They chanted "Marvin, Marvin, Marvin," when Venezuelan challenger Fulgencio Obelmejias entered the ring and continued to chant all through the night.

They chanted with good reason.

Brockton's Marvelous Marvin Hagler successfully defended his world middleweight championship Saturday night with a technical knockout over Fully Obel.

Hot Seat

The end came 20 seconds into the eighth round with Obel hanging over the ropes and taking a ferocious beating. It was Hagler's first defense of the undisputed title since he took the crown from Britain's Allen Minter last September.

Hagler was the aggressor from the opening bell. He moved steadily forward, bobbing and weaving just enough to avoid Obel's awkward hooks. Once inside his opponent's longer reach, Hagler would throw five or six punches in combination.

And after each flurry the crowd would again break into its chant, "Marvin, Marvin, Marvin."

The lone knockdown came in the sixth round when Hagler sent Obel to the canvas for the first time in his career with a crunching left hook. The challenger got up quickly and survived the rest of the round after taking a mandatory eight count from referee Octavio Meyran.

"Give Obel a lot of credit," Hagler said after the fight. "He took a lot of punishment."

Hagler's victory brought his record to 52-2-2. Obel, who was the number-one contender going into the fight, suffered his first loss in 31 bouts.

The Smart Money

Hagler's next defense will be in the spring, probably against former champion Vito Antuofermo. After that, a multi-million dollar showdown with either Sugar Ray Leonard or Thomas "Hit Man" Hearns is almost certain.

In a preliminary to the title fight Bobby Simms, Hagler's half-brother, remained undefeated with a second-round knockout over Baltimore's Bill Harrington.