John “The Beast” Mugabi. Photo by Roy Luarca
BRISBANE, Australia—His savage fight against Marvelous Marvin Hagler in 1986 cemented John Mugabi’s legacy as a fierce warrior.
Though he eventually got halted in the 11th round of their world middleweight title unification bout, John Mugabi gave Hagler enough pounding from his dynamite fists that squeezed out some of his fighting juices.
Mugabi, dubbed “The Beast” for his ferocity in the ring, was present during the press conference of “Battle of Brisbane” between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn Wednesday.
Now weighing over 200 pounds and 57 years old, Mugabi, an Ugandan who has settled down here, was there to lend support to Horn.
Naturally, he picked Horn to prevail over Pacquiao.
Mugabi, who was a silver medalist in the Moscow Olympics, said Horn has the power and strength to dethrone Pacquiao.
“Pacquiao is a great boxer but Horn can beat him,” said Mugabi, who wound up with a 42-7-1 record, including 39 knockouts.
Mugabi actually won all his first 25 fights by knockout before being thrown into the fray against Hagler, who was then making his 11th title defense at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.