Harder still to believe hearns not only had moved up a weight (again) to take it, he fought most of the fight having broken his right hand in the first.
Hearns was the business.
While remaining super-welterweight (light-middleweight) champion, Hearns ventured into the middleweight division to challenge undisputed middleweight champion Marvin Hagler in 1985. Billed âThe Fightâ (later known as âThe Warâ[citation needed]), this bout has often been labeled as the three greatest rounds in boxing history. The battle elevated both fighters to superstar status. Hearns was able to stun Hagler soon after the opening bell, but he subsequently broke his right hand in the first round. He did, however, manage to open a deep cut on Haglerâs forehead that caused the ring doctor to consider a stoppage. The fight, however, was allowed to continue at this point, with the ringside commentators remarking on the fact that, âthe last thing Hagler wants or needs is for this fight to be stopped on a cut.â The battle did go back and forth some, but Hearns was unable to capitalize on his early successes against Hagler. As a result of breaking his right hand, Hearns began to use lateral movement and a good jab to keep Hagler at bay as best he could. This tactic worked fairly well, but in the third round Hagler staggered Hearns and managed to catch him against the ropes, where a crushing right hand by Hagler knocked Hearns down. Hearns beat the count but was clearly unable to continue and the referee decided to stop the fight. Despite the loss, Hearns garnered a tremendous amount of respect from fans and boxing aficionados alike. Considering the popularity of the fight and the level of competition, a rematch seemed to be a foregone conclusion and was highly anticipated, but it never took place.
Hearns quickly made amends by dispatching undefeated rising star James âBlack Goldâ Shuler with a devastating first-round knockout in 1986. One week after the fight, Shuler was killed in a motorcycle accident. Hearns presented the NABF championship belt to Shulerâs family at his funeral, saying he deserved to keep the belt as he had held it longer than Hearns.
Hearns was my dadâs favourite boxer of all time. He went to see Hearns v Leonard 3 in las Vegas and I still remember him coming home from it. He brought back the poster from the fight and itâs framed and still on my bedroom wall at home. Hearns was so exciting.
I absolutely love hearns.
The punch that ended Duran
He fought everyone and anyone. Repeated head trauma over decades. He was in some wars.
He had the perfect frame for a boxer âŚdid he have a lot of troubles outside the ring in his prime ?
A warrior and a true fighter. Far cry from Mayweather.
50-0. 5 weight world champion.
Who did Mayweather duck in his career?
Fought lads in their prime. All comers. Was too brave for his own good.
*49-0, McGregor doesnât count.
Absolutely.
Same as, excitement he brought was off the charts. Chin wasnât the best though
Kind of hard to know, as he was usually in against the best contender. He took them all on. He ended up having to sell his memorabilia as he have so much money away. I hate to see it.
Like something from Rocky. Not a block to be seen
Watched it again there. Literally unbelievable. Youâd roll your eyes if there was a round like that in a Rocky film.
He fought everyone he shouldve fought bar Margarito who Floyd rightly suspected was a cheat. I think Floyd was the finest of his generation, a destructive puncher at his natural weight and broadly, the Floyd ducker/cherrypicker thing is overstated, however he managed who he fought and when very carefully.
Shane Mosely and Cottowere past their best. Pacquaio was past his best.
Marquez was dragged up in weight, Canelo (win is really underrated) dragged down.
I think the Corralles and Castillo wins are really excellent and he wouldâve beaten anybody he faced at any time anyway. Hatton was a good win too, he beat Malignaggi more easily than Cotton did afterward. Commercially the De La Hoya win changed everything and he became about the 0 then.
A modern day great, inverted the pyramid in getting paid like nobody ever before and not allowing himself to be fucked with by promoters.
It could be argued Mayweather was also past his best when he fought guys like Marquez/Pacquiao. The fucking thing is lazy.
Glas likes to throw it at a five weight world champ like FMJ but oddly enough thinks Golovkin was fine not to step up a weight class.
Paul Williams and Margarito would likely be the only questionable ones I can think of but as you said Margarito was exposed as a cheat and Williams didnât have the status as most boxers avoided him at welterweight.
Itâs amazing how the narrative was Mayweather was the guy ducking people when Pacquiao was going around fighting everyone at catchweights.