Alan Minter had the reach to make Marvin Hagler work his way inside. Instead, he traded with him at Wembley Arena on September 27, 1980. Hagler stopped him at 1:45 of the third round to become middleweight champion, but the tactical mistake that decided the fight was visible long before the stoppage.
Minter was a southpaw with a jab and a home crowd behind him. His best chance was to keep Hagler at the end of his punches, move after throwing, and make the challenger reset. That would not have guaranteed victory against a fighter as skilled as Hagler. It would at least have forced Hagler to solve a problem.
Minter gave him a simpler one.
