In Retrospect - Tommy Hearns

[Hawkins]

Where does Thomas Hearns belong in boxing history? No doubt he was great. And being a native of Michigan he was always one of my favorites growing up.

There is no denying his talent, punching power and fearlessness. But the question remains - where does he belong? He was never a true world champion in an division - belt holder, yes but not lineal champion.

He beat alot of great fighters but when he truly stepped up against the elite (Hagler & Leonard) he was beaten. Then we have the two losses to Iran Barkley. True Tommy had started to slip a little by then but I think he had more than enough skill to defeat Barkley. He never faced Mike McCallum, although he had ample opprotunity after McCallum KO'd Curry and it was much rumored but Tommy elected to go after another belt.

I go back and forth on it personally. I want to rank him amongst the pound for pound best but I don't really know in what perspective to do it in. He is another fighter that is vastly overrated and underrated at the same time.

What is your opinion on the matter?

[ROSS CALIFORNIA]

I think he was one of the greatest offensive fighters ever, no doubt. If he had had an iron chin, I think his chances of winning some of those bigger fights would have been good. I also think he did better at the lower weights because of his reach advantages and power. I'm sure he would have blasted a lot of guys out of there before they had a chance to test his chin. I would definitely place him in the top ten from welterweight to middleweight but just where is hard to say.

[-CANE-]

He is very hard to rate. One of my favourites. On the down side he failed against greats like Leonard and Hagler and the losses to Barkley don't help either. But he won belts in multiple divisions which counts for something and the win against Duran is one of the greatest in history. Maybe JR. Middleweight was his ideal weight division but the bigger names were in the other divisions. I think he adopted the wrong tactics against Hagler, after blasting out Duran who had just gone 15 hard rounds with Hagler he obviously thought he could do the same to Hagler. Hearns had the ability to outbox Hagler whether he could have done it for 15 rounds we'll never know. But Hearns was the only man who outboxed Leonard until getting stopped.

The trouble is where to rate him. Welterweight he was great but not an all time great, Middleweight he was very good but not great and JR. Middleweight he was awesome but not there for long. It's a hard one and I just can't say where to rate him and how high.

[Hawkins]

He is very hard to rate. One of my favourites. On the down side he failed against greats like Leonard and Hagler and the losses to Barkley don't help either. But he won belts in multiple divisions which counts for something and the win against Duran is one of the greatest in history. Maybe JR. Middleweight was his ideal weight division but the bigger names were in the other divisions. I think he adopted the wrong tactics against Hagler, after blasting out Duran who had just gone 15 hard rounds with Hagler he obviously thought he could do the same to Hagler. Hearns had the ability to outbox Hagler whether he could have done it for 15 rounds we'll never know. But Hearns was the only man who outboxed Leonard until getting stopped.

The trouble is where to rate him. Welterweight he was great but not an all time great, Middleweight he was very good but not great and JR. Middleweight he was awesome but not there for long. It's a hard one and I just can't say where to rate him and how high.

The trouble is the losses to the two true elite fighters he faced. Duran is an elite an all-time great but it kind of subdues the victory because at the higher weights he isn't the same fighter. Hearns beat Benitez as well.

If he had beaten either Hagler or Leonard it would be much easier. Sometimes I feel bad for maybe downplaying him, but those losses hurt him. He just had too much of a tendency to turn a fight into a brawl. Once you hit him he went to war, not unlike Holyfield.

Anyways, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has trouble ranking him.

[hemichromis]

hearns had one fatal flaw; his chin he had EVERYTHING else:
heart, power, speed, boxing skill and reach

he would have won the first fight with leonard if it wasn;t for his chin

he could have won the fight with hagler if he had a better chin, although by boxing slugging with hagler won't work cause he has a head of stone!

i rate him 5 or 6 in best middle-ish weights (154-168)

wasn;t he the only fighter to win belts at 5 different weights?

surely thats enough!!

[Hawkins]

wasn;t he the only fighter to win belts at 5 different weights?

surely thats enough!!

To me thats kind of where he gets overrated. Sure he won 5 belts, but never was a true world champ in any one weight class.


Lets see..for the belts he beat (going from memory here so I may be wrong)

Pipino Cuevas
Wilfredo Benitez - (if Benitez had taken the sport more seriously he could have been one of the best ever)
James Shuler/Juan Domingo Roldan - Both held a middleweight belt when beaten by Tommy.
Dennis Andries - Skipped out on a fight with McCallum to take this fight, which kind of hurts him IMO
James Kinchen

Out of all of these title holders not one was a true world champion.

Like I stated, out of 5 possible career defining fights he won 1, lost 3 and drew 1.

He got KO'd by Leonard in the first fight.
He destroyed Duran.
He got destroyed by Hagler.
He got a draw with Leonard (altho I think he did enough to win)
He got dismantled by Barkley in the rematch (I include this because it was a chance for him to show that the first fight was a fluke and redeem himself)

To me the losses to the elite fighters kind smudge his overall legacy.

[BROOKLYN CESAR]

He stopped Duran and many people think he is an atg so Tommy is in there also!!! He Lost and Drew with SRL thought to be the greastest fighter of that era!!! And IMO he beat SRL in their rematch!!! Even SRL admited he lost the rematch!!! He Fought MMH in what is considered by many the GREASTEST FIGHT EVER!!!

Unlike so many boxers nowadays tommy fought with his heart and wanted to beat the best!!! He put his place in history on the line!!! He will go down as a Legend even though he was beaten in his two biggest fights of his career he showed the heart and the will of a lion in both these history making fights!!!

Welterweight Legend and FAB 4 SUPERSTAR!!!

[Krucial]

if duran woulda kept his wba jm title
hearns woulda been named lineal