Leonard vs. Hearns: The Rematch

Leonard vs. Hearns: The Rematch

Thomas Hearns got a moral victory in his long-awaited rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard in 1989. But it wasn’t the victory he wanted. And one, what many felt he richly deserved. Years later, even Leonard admitted his great rival should have had his hand raised.

Leonard was down twice but had Hearns in desperate trouble on two separate occasions. But the Detroit native had learned the art of survival and somehow avoided what he experienced in 1981 when Leonard stopped him in 14 sensational rounds. Hearns was ahead on the cards. He bitterly complained about the stoppage. But he took the controversial decision eight years later with grace. Despite only getting a draw with Leonard, he had proved his point.

Leonard was 33, Hearns was 30. Both were past their best. But even in decline, they served up a fight that at least served up a gentle reminder of their brutal first meeting eight years earlier. It was, in many ways, a lesser version of their 1981 war for the undisputed welterweight title. Heavier, and slower, their once formidable skills had eroded over time. The clock had ticked past their prime.

Hearns had been in too many wars. Leonard was older but seemingly the fresher fighter with far fewer miles on the clock. In and out of retirement, avoiding the ageing fights that his rival had faced over the years. Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Iran Barkley had both stopped Hearns. Juan Domingo Roldan very nearly did. There were big question marks over his chin. A deeply worrying fight last time out against James Kinchen added much evidence to that theory. Many said Hearns was a ‘shot’ fighter and would fold the minute Leonard landed clean. Despite his protests, Leonard must have thought that also. The look of his body said power and not speed.

Just 48 hours before the fight, Hearn’s brother Henry was charged with murder. There were ominous signs leading up to the fight. A Leonard victory seemed a formality.

But Leonard offered sympathy to his old rival at the weigh-in.

“I totally lost my edge when I went to Tommy to express my condolences.” An excuse or reality. Only Leonard knows the truth.

But Hearns was resolute in his mindset, telling Bob Arum. “This is not going to affect me. Look, I’m here to do a job, I’ve been waiting eight years to knock this guy out.”

Leonard was the strong betting favourite, but he had to climb off the floor to stop the Canadian Donny LaLonde in 1988 in his previous fight. That win earned Leonard the WBC super-middleweight and light-heavyweight titles. One fight, two world titles. Leonard had power in different ways.

The odds seemed heavily in Leonard’s favour. But for Hearns, this fight had a different meaning. The WBC and WBO super-middleweight baubles on offer in truth carried little meaning.

“I woke up this morning, and my mind was clear. Ray wasn’t haunting it anymore.” The words of Hearns post-fight. They highlighted perfectly what he was thinking pre-fight.

“Eight years of pain, with a little monster following me around.” There was talk about Hearns wanting revenge. His post-fight words indicated it ran a little deeper.

“I’ve never gotten over that loss. I think about it every day. Sometimes, I think I hate him. You have no idea how that man has weighed on my mind.”

The early rounds saw Hearns control the range, Leonard, looking bulkier, slower with an eye on power over speed, struggled to close the distance. By round three, Leonard found himself on the floor. But two rounds later, he was near victory. Hearns looked out on his feet, Leonard battered him all around the ring. Make no mistake, the bell saved him. The sluggish start Leonard had made was now a thing of the past.

The following rounds were close. Both finding success. Many say Hearns found more of it. Leonard was down again in the 11th, but the bell saved Hearns again in the 12th. The ‘Hit Man’ held on for dear life. It wasn’t pretty. But he survived. At the final bell, the general consensus was that Hearns had gotten his revenge. But those with the most powerful of pens decided otherwise.

The Las Vegas crowd chanted “Bullshit! Bullshit!” It changed nothing. The judges couldn’t split them. Two of them scored it 113-112. One for Leonard, one for Hearns. The third had it level at 112-112. Their reading of the fight left no daylight.

The crowd may have booed. And heavily so. But Hearns was balanced, even though many wouldn’t have blamed him if he had lambasted the three scoring officials. I interviewed the legendary broadcaster Al Bernstein several years ago about Hearns’s rather subdued post-fight reaction. Bernstein offered this explanation:

“The interesting thing for me is the reaction from Tommy afterwards. He was not as outraged as everyone wanted him to be, and I think there were several aspects to that. First, he had achieved everything he wanted to achieve to a certain point, he knocked Leonard down twice and he had come through the fire, he thought he had won the fight, ‘They can call it whatever they want but I have done my business here’.”

It was no robbery. It was close, nothing more. Another myth in boxing that grows in delusion over time. I couldn’t make a case for Leonard winning. But I can for the draw. Just.

The demand for a trilogy was high, but it never happened. Maybe in some ways, it was finished business. Did Hearns really need another fight to prove his point? The Kronk fighter was probably denied a rightful victory. But in a different kind of way, he found what he needed.