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Marvin Hagler has mocked Tyson Fury ’s claim that he is ready to turn his world heavyweight title clash with Deontay Wilder on Saturday night into a repeat of one of boxing’s greatest fights.
Hagler’s famous three-round war with Tommy Hearns in Las Vegas 35 years ago remains the benchmark against which all subsequent world title showdowns have been judged.
The 65-year-old American laughed off Fury’s invitation to Wilder to “meet in the middle of the ring” and “make it a Marvin Hagler versus Tommy Hearns type of fight”.
Speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Berlin, Hagler said: “He can try it, but there is not a chance of that happening.
“Ever since I retired and even today, everybody still talks about that bout like it was yesterday, but it is more than 30 years ago.
Show all 100 1 /100The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Edwin Valero (27-0) beats Antonio DeMarco, in another display to prove his worth as one of the most destructive fighters in the sport. The Venezuelan would later take his life in prison after being arrested for the murder of his wife
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 David Haye would wipe out Audley Harrison in a total mismatch to leave the hype surrounding the fight as just that
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Sergio Martinez celebrates after knocking out Paul Williams in their Middleweight Championship fight
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Amir Khan knocks down Marcos Maidana in their fiery contest, with the Briton prevailing on points despite later weathering a storm
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Floyd Mayweather punches Shane Mosley on his way to victory, though he would survive a brief scare in the second round when his legs buckled after a clean shot from the veteran
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Manny Pacquiao is seen on the giant screen of Cowboys Stadium as he is interviewed after he won against Antonio Margarito
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2010 Antonio Margarito's eyes puffed up after his beating at the hands of Pacquiao - the eye injuries never healed and would eventually force him to retire
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2011 Wladimir Klitschko outboxes David Haye to settle their grudge match
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2011 Carl Froch lunges in but is unable to consistently land against Andre Ward, who claimed the Super Six championship alongside the lineal super middleweight title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2011 Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocks out Victor Ortiz after the American turns his back
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2011 Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocks out Victor Ortiz after the American turns his back
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2011 Nathan Cleverly and Tony Bellew in their first grudge match, with the Welshman prevailing
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2012 Carl Froch on his way to wiping out Lucian Bute in Nottingham
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2012 Manny Pacquiao lays face down on the mat after being knocked out in the sixth round of his fourth fight with Juan Manuel Marquez
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2012 Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez exchange shots in the fourth installment of their rivalry
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2012 Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. exchange punches during their WBA super welterweight title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Carl Froch is knocked down in the first by George Groves during their IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight bout
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Carl Froch bombards George Groves during their IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight bout before a controversial stoppage hands The Cobra the win
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Ruslan Provodnikov lands a punch into the head of WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley at The Home Depot Center in their classic slug fest
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Gennady Golovkin knocks down Curtis Stevens in the second round during their WBA Middleweight Title fight at The Theater at Madison Square Garden - in what was one of the many displays to demonstrate his ferocious power on the way to a dominant reign in the middleweight division
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Anthony Joshua celebrates his victory on his debut against Emanuele Leo after turning over following his gold medal at the 2012 Olympics
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a left to the face of Robert Guerrero in their WBC welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2013 Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a right to Canelo Alvarez during their WBC/WBA 154-pound title fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena - the American would break down and pick apart the bigger, younger Mexican
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Kell Brook lands a punch on Shawn Porter in their IBF Welterweight World Championship fight at StubHub Center
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Kell Brook and his corner react after hearing the decision over Shawn Porter in their IBF Welterweight World Championship fight at StubHub Center
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Billy Joe Saunders emerges victorious in a close decision over Chris Eubank Jr - one of the biggest grudge matches of the year
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Wembley hosts Froch vs Groves 2 in one of the biggest British fights of all time
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Carl Froch knocks out George Groves during the IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight Title Fight at Wembley Stadium
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 George Groves is knocked out by Carl Froch at Wembley in front of 80,000 fans
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Marcos Maidana pushes Floyd Mayweather Jr. to the limit in their first fight - though the American would emerge victorious on points
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Vasyl Lomachenko celebrates during his WBO Featherwieight world title bout vs Gary Russell Jr. - becoming the fastest world champion in the sport's history by clinching the belt in just his third fight
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2014 Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a right to the face of Marcos Maidana, makes adjustments and wins more decisively in the rematch
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Andy Lee is floored for the first time by Billy Joe Saunders during their WBO World Middleweight title fight at the Manchester Arena - it would see Saunders win the world title for the first time
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte exchange shots in their grudge match, before AJ emerges victorious by a destructive knockout
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Anthony Joshua is held back by the referee as he knocks Dillian Whyte down in the seventh round during the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title contest at The O2 Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas hosts the fight of the decade as Mayweather finally takes on Pacquiao
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr. proves too sharp for Manny Pacquiao and outclasses the Filipino, who would later complain of a shoulder injury
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr., hugs Manny Pacquiao after winning the fight of the decade on points
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a left at Andre Berto, his opponent for his supposed retirement fight, a one-sided contest that saw Mayweather, again, prevail on points
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko grapple during their tactical battle
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 James DeGale celebrates becoming the first British fighter to win Olympic gold and a world title after defeating Andre Dirrell to land the IBF world super middleweight title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Tyson Fury outlands Wladimir Klitschko to win the IBF, IBO WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2015 Tyson Fury and his team celebrate a huge upset over Wladimir Klitschko
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Carl Frampton outclasses Scott Quigg in a high-class all-British world title fight
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Carl Frampton celebrates after emerging victorious in his World Super-Bantamweight title fight vs Scott Quigg
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Amir Khan proved too quick for Canelo Alvarez initially in his own gamble at the middleweight limit
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 But just like Golovkin vs Brook, Canelo caught up with Khan and flattened him in the sixth round to retain the WBC middleweight world title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Gennady Golovkin bizarrely took on the undersized welterweight world champion Kell Brook at the middleweight limit - predictably he was too strong and battered Brook, leaving him with a broken orbital bone, which would haunt him to this day
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Anthony Joshua is ordered back to his corner by the referee as Charles Martin hits the canvas, it would lead to a stoppage win for Joshua and his first world heavyweight title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Anthony Joshua celebrates with the belt and his team after defeating Charles Martin for the IBF World Heavyweight title fight at The O2 Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Sergey Kovalev pushed Andre Ward very close in the first fight between the light heavyweight superstars - he knocked Ward down in the second and many believed he did enough to win, but Ward got a razor-tight decision (114-113 x 3) amid much controversy
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Andre Ward celebrates after grinding down an exhausted Sergey Kovalev to stop the Russian in the 8th round and settle their grudge match
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Tony Bellew stops Illunga Makabu at Goodison Park to spark wild scenes of celebrations
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Tony Bellew celebrates with his corner after winning the world cruiserweight title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Roman Gonzalez beats Carlos Cuadras as the Nicaraguan legend becomes a four-weight world champion by capturing the WBC super flyweight belt
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Anthony Joshua destroys Dominic Breazeale to defend his IBF World Heavyweight Championship
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2016 Anthony Joshua blasts out Eric Molina to defend his IBF World Heavyweight Championship
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Leo Santa Cruz takes revenge by outpointing Carl Frampton in their rematch for the WBA super world featherweight title
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Floyd Mayweather Jr. lands on UFC champion Conor McGregor as boxing met MMA in this colossal event that saw pay-per-view records shattered
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Gennady Golovkin exchanges blows with Canelo Alvarez but is controversially not awarded the decision over the Mexican - instead being forced to settle for a draw
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 David Haye absorbs punishment from Tony Bellew after Achilles rupture mid-fight, with the Liverpudlian triumphing by stoppage
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 George Groves makes it fourth time lucky to finally win a world title after knocking out Fedor Chudinov to win the WBA Super-Middleweight World Championship
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Anthony Joshua hits the deck in his thrilling fight with Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Anthony Joshua celebrates knocking down Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Referee Phil Edwards steps in to stop the fight in the 10th round to hand victory to Anthony Joshua and ensure he defends his IBF and WBA Heavyweight world titles against Carlos Takam
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2017 Kell Brook is outhustled by Errol Spence Jr, who grinds down the Briton to stop him and capture his IBF world welterweight title at Bramall Lane
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Tony Bellew celebrates after triumphing in the rematch against David Haye
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Josh Warrington punches Carl Frampton on his way to defending the IBF World Featherweight Championship
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Oleksandr Usyk knocks out Tony Bellew during the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine World Cruiserweight Title fight at the Manchester Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Anthony Joshua walks to the ring prior to his heavyweight unification bout with Joseph Parker
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Anthony Joshua celebrates victory after unifying the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Oleksandr Usyk celebrates with the Ukrainian becoming the undisputed cruiserweight world champion by winning the World Boxing Super Series with victory over Murat Gassiev in the final
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Terence Crawford is one of the stars of the latter half of the decade and beat Jeff Horn to cement his legacy as a three-weight world champion
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas hosts the highly anticipated rematch between GGG and Canelo
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Gennady Golovkin punches Canelo Alvarez in their rematch
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Tyson Fury taunts Deontay Wilder in their dramatic first fight, with the Briton barely beating the count after a thumping knockdown from Deontay Wilder in the 12th round, with the judges deeming it a draw
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Anthony Joshua dispatches Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium to defend his WBO, IBF and WBA world heavyweight titles
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Callum Smith is seen celebrating his victory against George Groves during the World Boxing Super Series Super-Middleweight Final
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Kosei Tanaka becomes the fastest ever fighter to win titles in three weight-classes (matching Vasyl Lomachenko), having accomplished the feat in just 12 bouts with victory over Sho Kimura in Nagoya
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2018 Canelo Alvarez celebrates after being handed a close and somewhat controversial points decision over Gennady Golovkin
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 James DeGale looks on as Chris Eubank Jr celebrates winning their domestic grudge match - it would prove to be DeGales final fight as he hung up the gloves subsequently
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Deontay Wilder battered Luis Ortiz in their rematch to enter 2020 on form and ready for his rematch against Tyson Fury
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Naoya Inoue of Japan celebrates his win over Nonito Donaire of Philippines after their World Boxing Super Series bantamweight final at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Josh Taylor celebrates victory over Regis Prograis during the World Boxing Super Series Super-Lightweight Ali Trophy Final at The O2 Arena
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Logan Paul and KSI exchange punches during their pro debut fight at Staples Center in Los Angeles as the YouTubers capitalised on their fame in a fight that could alter the shape of the boxing landscape forever
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Errol Spence Jr and Shawn Porter go to war in their welterweight unification bout, with the former prevailing in the classic to add the WBC title to his IBF belt
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Three-weight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko shows respect to fellow Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell after prevailing in their WBA, WBO, WBC Lightweight World Title contest in London
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Manny Pacquiao throws a right at Keith Thurman on his way to becoming a four-time welterweight world champion
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Artur Beterbiev smashed Oleksandr Gvozdyk to unify the light heavyweight world titles and continue his brutal run, extending a 100 per cent knockout ratio
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Canelo Alvarez knocks out Sergey Kovalev to win a lesser version of a world title at light heavyweight with a brutal knockout
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Anthony Joshua knocks down Andy Ruiz Jr in the third round during their IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Garden
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Andy Ruiz Jr celebrates his seventh round TKO victory against Anthony Joshua
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Anthony Joshua outpoints Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch to reclaim the world heavyweight titles
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Anthony Joshua poses for a photo with the IBF, WBA and WBO World Heavyweight Title belts after beating Andy Ruiz Jr
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Teofimo Lopez flips in the ring after defeating Ghana's Richard Commey by TKO during the second round of an IBF lightweight boxing match in New York
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Daniel Dubois continued his meteoric rise by displaying his crushing power to dispatch Kyotaro Fujimoto at the Copper Box Arena before Christmas
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Daniel Dubois made a claim to emerge as one of the brightest prospects of the 20s
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 In a year where the lines between boxing and entertainment became blurred, Tommy Fury returned to the ring from his time on reality TV show Love Island with an easy, one-round win over unknown journeyman Przemslaw Binienda
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Jermell Charlo defeats Tony Harrison to reclaim the WBC World Super Welterweight Championship at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California
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The decade in boxing in 100 glorious pictures 2019 Julio Cesar Chavez Jr disgraced himself once again, coming in overweight and then quitting against Daniel Jacobs at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona
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“The boxing world has changed a lot – there are a lot of young fighters around today and it is very nice that they recognise that I am still around.”
Fury’s bout with Wilder is the latest high-profile rematch of the type Hagler claims he was denied when he retired after his loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1987.
Both fighters continue to provide conflicting accounts of who was to blame for the second fight never happening, and ultimately Hagler walked away from the sport for good.
“I wish that rematch would have happened,” recalled Hagler. “I wish he would have given me the same opportunity that I gave him.
“That was the difference with Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz, and I think that’s the way champions should be, but it didn’t happen that way for me, so I continued to go on with my life.”
Hagler insisted predicting the outcome of Fury’s rematch with Wilder is futile given the unpredictable nature of the Briton’s character.
“It’s going to be a strange type of fight because Wilder has got a good right hand and is a little awkward, but with Tyson Fury you can’t figure out where he’s coming from,” he said.
“He wants to be a showman and he wants to be a champion, and you never know who is going to get into the ring.”
PA
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