A Boxing Memory: Thomas Hearns

A Boxing Memory: Thomas Hearns

If ever a fighter is defined by the fights he didn’t win, it is Thomas Hearns. Hearns had a truly incredible resume in his own right, but the fights with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard seem to cruelly overshadow everything else.

A losing competitor in two of the greatest fights in boxing history is a scant consolation or reward to Hearns. He more than had moments against Leonard in 1981 in their welterweight unification war, and the magic and theatre from that unforgettable fight with Hagler in 1985 will never ever fade. Or be beaten.

The rematch with Hagler never materialised, and when he finally got Leonard to share a ring with him again in 1989, Hearns was denied a win most thought he deserved. The draw wasn’t as outrageous as some will tell you, another great boxing myth, but the Detroit native was still desperately unlucky not to have his hand raised. Leonard was down twice but had two very big rounds himself. But when the decision was announced, Leonard was relieved, Hearns frustrated. Many years later, Leonard conceded he should have lost. More mind games or a touch of the truth, either way, it did little for history.

But there is much more to Hearns than the three fights with his great rivals. A world champion in five weight divisions, six if you include the WBU cruiserweight title. I don’t. But it is there for consideration for those that do.

Like many, Hearns carried on way past the point of no return. There were too many fights taken in his decline, while the resume isn’t tainted or damaged. The body is a different story.

But at his peak, Hearns was a vastly underrated boxer and a truly frightening puncher. Three wins stand out as a demonstration of his power.

The way he destroyed the brilliant Mexican welterweight Pipino Cuevas in two rounds to win his first world title in 1980 still more than stands the test of time. A performance to announce yourself on the world stage if ever there was one. Hearns would later say that was his best-ever win.

There were many battles between the so-called Fabulous Four, an elite band of talent that graced the greatest period in boxing history. Hearns played a big part in those legacy-defining fights. But his victory, his total destruction of the legendary Panamanian Roberto Duran is often overlooked, forgotten even.

Duran in 1984, wasn’t the fire-breathing fighter of old, but he was coming off that brutal demolition of the WBA light-middleweight champion Davey Moore to win his third world title, and an extremely close affair with Hagler up at middleweight. Against Hearns, Duran was a little softer, the old excess had returned. The last person he needed in front of him, was a fighter looking to reignite a career that had stalled since that unforgettable welterweight showdown with his nemesis. Hearns wanted Hagler to show interest once again. Mission accomplished.

Few would have believed Hearns when he said he would knock Duran out in two rounds. He would make a believer of many. ‘The Hit Man’ moniker had been in hibernation. Against Duran, it was awoken.

It wasn’t a fight, Duran was humbled and annihilated in two sensational rounds. The right hand that detonated on the unprotected chin of Duran was one of the hardest punches ever landed in a boxing ring. Hagler took notice.

When Hagler produced his legacy moment in 1985, Hearns needed to produce another statement. The unbeaten former amateur star and much-touted middleweight prospect James Shuler was in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the undercard of Hagler/John Mugabi, Hearns was clinical and frightening. Shuler didn’t see the end of the first round. Surely Hagler would be next. But Leonard sitting ringside, saw something in Hagler to tempt him out of his latest retirement. Hearns would be cast aside. For him, the Hagler rematch was the one that got away. And a probable victory.

Despite the defeats to Hagler and Leonard and the other three less notable defeats on his record, Thomas Hearns was a formidable fighter of his era. Of any era. The good nights, were often very good. He had many. The night he beat Virgil Hill to win back the world light-heavyweight title in 1991, shouldn’t be discarded when we reminisce about the fights with the likes of Wilfred Benitez and others. At 32, the Kronk stalwart but by then under the tutelage of Alex Sherer, was considered over the hill. Instead, he was all over Hill. It was his last great night. But he left enough memories to satisfy even the harshest of critics.