Hearns body attack: please read before voting

[New England]

gave an A -


there are better builds to have when you're looking to body punch.
for one, the rest of your punches (your jab, right hand,) will not get the proper extension when you are that close if you are that tall.
second, given tommy's height, he's looking at a ton of distance to cover to get his shots to his opponents body / liver and that leaves plenty of space for him to be countered

there's a reason you see lots of tall guys dispensing with body punches
hearns had the handspeed and a good enough jab coming in to get away with it by making them think twice about countering his body shots.

it's also counter intuitive for a bigger man to want to be so close, but again, if you can punch like that and break a guy down you can get away with it.


i'd say his left hook was his third best punch
best was obviously the right hand
followed up by the jab
and then the hook

[Shawmajicman]

How would you rate Tommy Hearns as a body puncher? This isn't about how often he went to the body but how effective he was when he did. Vote and discuss.

I Agree
The Hitman Hearns was a wicked Body puncher and his skills worked for him with the exception of the Iran Barkley fight.

[GJC]

I'd much rather get tagged in the head with a good shot than the body by anybody let alone Hearns. A well placed body shot is more painful than anything else in boxing, especially the liver shot which feels like someone stuck a knife in you and twisted it.

Don't forget to cast you vote Jeff!

When he did go to the body he was top notch think maybe he neglected body shot a bit as he used to go for quick wins. Body shots generally count more in the later rounds. He had a great career but I think he could've done even better boxing and waiting for opportunities rather than forcing the fight at times.

[GJC]

gave an A -


there are better builds to have when you're looking to body punch.
for one, the rest of your punches (your jab, right hand,) will not get the proper extension when you are that close if you are that tall.
second, given tommy's height, he's looking at a ton of distance to cover to get his shots to his opponents body / liver and that leaves plenty of space for him to be countered

there's a reason you see lots of tall guys dispensing with body punches
hearns had the handspeed and a good enough jab coming in to get away with it by making them think twice about countering his body shots.

it's also counter intuitive for a bigger man to want to be so close, but again, if you can punch like that and break a guy down you can get away with it.


i'd say his left hook was his third best punch
best was obviously the right hand
followed up by the jab
and then the hook

Think this covers it very well, couple it with Hearns buying into the big right too much and you have it. Think with fighters generally that when they are coming up if they find a very effective style they stick and don't develop other skills. Tyson not improving his inside work would be another example for me.

[BattlingNelson]

I Agree
The Hitman Hearns was a wicked Body puncher and his skills worked for him with the exception of the Iran Barkley fight.

I Got to agree that Hearns had some wicked bodywork and for pure offense he's an A. Problem is, as the Barkley fight proved, that his defense when going to the body was somewhat lacking. Thats in essense what puts him below the truely elites of the discipline.

[jabsRstiff]

His left hook to the body was lightning fast (all of his punches were), and definitely could do damage. He didn't really "work" the body like McCallum, Chavez, etc, but when he went to to the body it was a thing of beauty.

His left hook to the body is an "A+" in my book.

[jabsRstiff]

Another Kronk fighter had the single most lethal left hook to the body I've ever seen.......Gerald McClellan.