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| Hagler stalks Sims |
The 12-round championship fight was scheduled for New Years Day 1987 at the historic Boston Garden. It was the first time in boxing history that two brothers would be fighting for a major title. Like a bad car crash, people just could not help but watch.
Hagler came out guns-a-blazing in the 1st and he pounded his younger half brother like an overused sparring partner. Sims was dazed from shots to the head and entered the second round vulnerable to his brother's superior power.
Incredibly, instead of folding in the 2nd, Sims stood his ground and staggered Hagler with an uppercut, the first of several that Sims would sneak in throughout the fight to good effect. Sims also proved there was no love lost between he and Hagler as he went low midway through the round, and received a warning to keep the punches up. Hagler, stupefied that his own brother would not only hurt him but hit him low, came roaring back in the second half of the 2nd and staggered Sims with a powerful left hook.
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| Brother vs 1/2 Brother |
The 4th was dead even as Sims held his own punch for punch against his brother. Hagler won the 5th and continued to build a comfortable lead on the cards. In the 6th, Hagler was warned for rabbit punching as he roughed his brother up inside and won the round easily.
The 7th was a big round for Hagler, who began to really put the punches together. Fatigue began to set in for Sims in the 8th and again Hagler was beginning to tee off on his brother when once again, Sims somehow found an opening for his uppercut and staggered his half brother with it twice to close the round and win it on the scorecards, taking his first round of the fight.
Sims started the 9th tired and punched out. Hagler took advantage and put together a combination that dropped Sims along the ropes more from pure exhaustion than from the actual punches. Still, Sims is badly hurt but family pride pulls him to his feet at 9. Hagler cannot believe it and moves in for the kill, ending the fight fittingly with a devastating uppercut that drops Sims in a corner where is he counted out at 1:56 of the 9th round.
Marvin Hagler retains his title as Undisputed Middleweight Champion of the Family!
Said Hagler afterwards, "I still love my brother but I'll destroy any man who tries to take my title away from me."
Result: Marvin Hagler KO9 Robbie Sims
Scores at the time of KO: 89-83, all three judges.
Time of KO: 1:56 of Round 9
