Hagler vs Antuofermo I This Thursday On Versus

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 2, 2007) — This Thursday! January 4, at 9 p.m. ET, VERSUS (formerly OLN) will kickoff the new year by televising the sixth installment of “Fight Night: Top Rank’s Legends of the Ring,” hosted by Michael Buffer. January’s episode will feature the rarely-seen first fight between VITO ANTUOFERMO defending his world middleweight title against the legendary MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER, November 30, 1979, at Caesars Palace..

It looked like Hagler would be the new middleweight champion after the 10th round, but a funny thing happened to Hagler on his way to the 11th round … he got cautious and stayed that way. Whether he or his corner was nervous about going the full 15 rounds, Hagler pulled back, seemingly trying to save himself for the later rounds, thus letting the defending champion, Antuofermo, back into the fight. Antuofermo, despite the controversy, did a good job of bulling and bustling. Hagler boxed nicely and sharply but Antuofermo’s hustling made it too close, producing a Draw. It was after this fight that Hagler went into his “Destruct & Destroy” mode which produced sixteen consecutive victories, 14 of them by knockout, including Antuofermo, in their June 13, 1981 rematch at the Boston Garden .

“Fight Night: Top Rank’s Legends of the Ring,” will air during the weeks between the live events of “Fight Night” and will feature classic bouts from Top Rank’s extensive library, dating back to 1966, many which have not been seen since their original airing. In addition to seeing the fight in its entirety, each episode will also include the back-story of each fight as it happened — plus many will be enhanced to include interviews with the contenders, pre-fight press conferences, the weigh-in, and behind-the-scenes banter between the participants.

“Fight Night: Top Rank’s Legends of the Ring,” made its debut on August 3, with the 15-round Muhammad Ali- Oscar Bonavena NABF title fight, which took place on December 7, 1970. The series has also aired Ali-Ken Norton I, “the broken jaw fight,” from 1973, Ali-Joe Frazier II from 1974, the George Foreman-Tommy Morrison WBO heavyweight title fight from 1993, and the comeback fights of Roberto Duran featuring his 1983 rumbles against former world champions Pipino Cuevas and Davey Moore. Other classic fights scheduled to air this year include:

* Hearns vs. Barkley I & II
* Arguello vs. Mancini
* Carbajal vs. Gonzales I & II
* De La Hoya vs. Brehahl
* De La Hoya vs. Chavez I & II
* Mayweather vs. Hernandez
* Morales vs. Barrera I
* Toney vs. Jones
* Arguello vs. Escalera I
* Hagler vs. Leonard
* Hagler vs. Mugabi
* Leonard vs. Hearns II
* Leonard vs. Benitez
* Duran vs. Barkley