Hagler Breaks Nose; Title Fight With Mugabi Is Off

Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s defense of his middleweight boxing title against John Mugabi on Nov. 14 at Las Vegas has been postponed indefinitely because of a broken nose that Hagler suffered Tuesday night while sparring at his Palm Springs camp.

Joe Carnicelli, a spokesman for the promoter, Top Rank, Inc., said that an examination at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage also revealed that Hagler has symptoms of a ruptured disk in his back.

The Nov. 14 card at Caesars Palace also included Thomas Hearns’ match against James Shuler. Although a spokeswoman, Debbie Munch, said in Las Vegas that the entire card was off, there were reports late Wednesday that an attempt was being made to salvage a Hearns fight. Home Box Office, a cable-television network, reportedly wants Hearns to fight Mugabi instead of Shuler.

Hagler received the broken nose from a head butt during the second round of a sparring session with Zachary Hewitt, a 22-year-old junior-middleweight with a 21-3 record and 14 knockouts.

“I thought it was my blood,” Hewitt said of the small amount of blood resulting from the head butt.

“I’m very disappointed,” the 31-year-old Hagler said in a statement issued by Top Rank. “I was just getting into my training program and then this happened.

“I felt really good going into yesterday’s workout, and then I got butted. “I’ve heard of this happening to other fighters, but this is the first time it’s ever happened to me.”