It took Marvin Hagler, who was born in Newark and dreamed of boxing at Madison Square Garden, 64 pro fights to get there, and then he didn’t stay around too long #OnThisDay in 1984. The southpaw middleweight king stopped Mustafa Hamsho in three rounds to make another successful defence of his undisputed title, and the second against the Syrian-born challenger. In the third round, Hamsho butted the 30-year-old champion on the chin. Referee Arthur Mercante’s warning to Hamsho was not good enough for Hagler. “I just decided this referee is out of it,” said the champion. “See, you can’t leave it up to the referee and you can’t leave it up to the judges. There’s only one way how to do it, my way.” Hagler landed a solid right hook to the head that rocked Hamsho on his heels. The challenger was falling backward, but Hagler’s right hand was so quick that he landed another solid hook to the head. Hamsho’s trainer, Al Certo, then jumped into the ring to stop the fight. “He was getting hit with clean shots,” said Certo. “I could see he had no legs. “Let me say, the champion is a great champion. He proved it to me, and I think he proved it to Mustafa. His foot was caught on the canvas when he twisted his ankle, but that’s not an alibi. Hagler’s a great champion.” It was the first time Hamsho, 31, had been knocked down in his professional career. It was Hagler’s 50th knockout, bringing his record to 60-2-2.

The eyes, Chico…