Brockton-born New York Times bestselling author and award-winning investigative journalist Dave Wedge will pen the definitive tale of middleweight boxing champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler in a new book for Hamilcar Publications titled Blood & Hate: The Untold Story of Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s Battle for Glory.

“Dave is one of the premier nonfiction storytellers in America today, whether he is writing about the Boston Marathon bombings, Deflategate, the Whitey Bulger saga, or his most recent bestseller about biker subculture, Riding with Evil,” said Hamilcar publisher Kyle Sarofeen. “His unrivaled journalistic skills and passionate writing style, coupled with the fact that he grew up in Brockton during the Hagler era, will ensure that this book is the definitive story of one of the all-time greats not only in boxing, but in sports history. It’s a perfect fit for Hamilcar and we look forward to sharing this incredible, never-before-told story.”

BLOOD & HATE will, for the first time, tell the riveting and inspirational tale of the unbreakable bond between undisputed middleweight boxing champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler and his trainers, Goody and Pat Petronelli, and their march to victory in one of the most racially-charged championship matches in history—Hagler’s first title fight in 1980 in England against Alan Minter.

Hagler gets some advice from trainer/manager Goody Petronelli, left, with co-manager Pat Petronelli in background, during the epic Thomas Hearns clash. (Photo by Jim Wilson/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The book will tell the story of Hagler’s escape from riot-torn Newark to Petronelli Gym in Brockton, Massachusetts, where the stone-faced young fighter was trained into a contender by two middle-aged, white Italian World War II vets with underwhelming credentials but endless heart. They slowly built a triangle of trust—Marvin the fighter, Goody the trainer, and Pat the businessman—and became a family as they fought corrupt boxing forces while Marvin prepared for his long-awaited title shot in an ugly, race-fueled championship bout in England. Minter, a Brit, was backed by the white supremacist National Front, and infamously boasted that “no Black man” would take his title.

Hagler celebrates before things turn very nasty. Photo from The Ring archive

Hagler was pelted with cans and bottles at the conclusion of the fight and run out of Wembley Arena in one of sports history’s ugliest moments, captured in one of boxing’s most iconic photos.

Now, the full story of what transpired will finally be told by Wedge, a former Boston Herald investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author of 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption with Casey Sherman, The Last Days of John Lennon with Sherman and James Patterson, and Riding with Evil: Taking Down the Notorious Pagan Motorcycle Gang.

Wedge is a Brockton native with deep ties to the city’s tight-knit boxing community and the national sports media. His visceral and direct writing style will bring to life the gritty streets of Newark and Brockton, as well as the fierce and corruption-riddled 1970s–’80s middleweight fight scene, and bring readers inside the historic, bloody title fight in London.

“This is a story I was born to tell,” Wedge said. “Growing up in a proud, blue-collar city like Brockton, with such a rich boxing history and fighting spirit, made me who I am today and prepared me well to take on the challenge of writing such an important story. I’m honored to be able to tell this story of one of the most iconic and inspiring sports figures of the last century, Marvelous Marvin Hagler.”

The book will be released in early 2025 via Hamilcar Publications.

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