Stick a chin on Tommy

[darwoody]

Having seen The Ring's list of The Greatest 80 Fighters of the Last 80 Years, I felt that Thomas "Hitman" Hearns was criminally low at 67 on the list. Considering he knocked out Duran(5), outboxed Leonard(9) twice and went to war with Hagler(17) I feel he should be a lot higher(although I admit I am a fanboy). The only weakness I can see is his chin, so where would he rank and how would his career have been different if God had given him whiskers?
Your thoughts please.

[Bill Butcher]

If Hearns had a chin like the other 3 of the fab 4 had then he would probably have beaten them all head to head because his reach, speed, power & ability to throw flurries were devastating not to mention his boxing skills.

The only way to get him outa there woud be to the body but Id imagine that anyone from MWT downwards is gonna sustain too much damage by the time they get in to the body of Tommy.

Give Tommy Lamotta`s chin & Hearns v Robinson @ 147 might be for more than greatest welterweight of all times... it might be for best fighter ever p4p.

[Unforgiven]

He probably would have been unbeatable.
But no fighter has everything, that's why no fighter is unbeatable.

I agree, 67 seems too low.
There have been hundreds of great fighters over the last 120 years or so though, so being 67th is no minor feat.

[darwoody]

Originally Posted by Bill Butcher

If Hearns had a chin like the other 3 of the fab 4 had then he would probably have beaten them all head to head because his reach, speed, power & ability to throw flurries were devastating not to mention his boxing skills.

The only way to get him outa there woud be to the body but Id imagine that anyone from MWT downwards is gonna sustain too much damage by the time they get in to the body of Tommy.

Give Tommy Lamotta`s chin & Hearns v Robinson @ 147 might be for more than greatest welterweight of all times... it might be for best fighter ever p4p.

Thanks Butch I agree. Even with his dodgy chin 67 seems very low to me.

[redrooster]

Originally Posted by darwoody

Having seen The Ring's list of The Greatest 80 Fighters of the Last 80 Years, I felt that Thomas "Hitman" Hearns was criminally low at 67 on the list. Considering he knocked out Duran(5), outboxed Leonard(9) twice and went to war with Hagler(17) I feel he should be a lot higher(although I admit I am a fanboy). The only weakness I can see is his chin, so where would he rank and how would his career have been different if God had given him whiskers?
Your thoughts please.

Then all he'd need is some ribs to match. He couldn't take it to the body either that's partly why Hagler got him out of there quickly

[darwoody]

Originally Posted by redrooster

Then all he'd need is some ribs to match. He couldn't take it to the body either that's partly why Hagler got him out of there quickly

Dont forget the broken hand in the first round.

[natonic]

I'd rate him ahead of Tito Trinidad (and Tito is one of my all-time favorites). Some other names I'd put Tommy above: Pedroza, Galaxy, Olivares (29?), and I don't see how you could rate Aaron Pryor 32 spots higher than Hearns.

[rekcutnevets]

It may have made Hearns the best ever. He probably would have won a real Cruiserweight title, and probably campaigned as a heavy.

[fists of fury]

Hearns ranks 67th while his contemporaries are all top 20? That's a joke if you ask me.

[Holmes' Jab]

Originally Posted by fists of fury

Hearns ranks 67th while his contemporaries are all top 20? That's a joke if you ask me.

Agreed. It's very harsh.

[Holmes' Jab]

Hearns with a granite chin would have been virtually invinsible; especially at WW.

[My dinner with Conteh]

Tommy's Top 30 for me. Still, a chin wouldn't solve everything. His stamina wasn't great either.

[janitor]

Give Hearns an iron chin and Sam Langford starts to look frighteningly plausible.

As it is he gets sold a fair bit short.

He is one of only three welterweights in history ever to defeat a fighter who held the lineal light heavyweight title, the other two being Barbados Joe Walcott and Mickey Walker.

Just thought you ought to know.

He is basicaly 1-1 against Leonard and the only member of the fab four who beat Duran the way a fighter from a higher weight class should.

[PowerPuncher]

He didnt have a hard chin because he was a tall skinny kid fighting at 147. If he was naturally stronger and had a better chin he wouldnt be able have the advantages of height/reach which made him special. Its like saying what if he had his cake and ate it - you cant have both

[fists of fury]

Originally Posted by janitor

Give Hearns an iron chin and Sam Langford starts to look frighteningly plausible.

As it is he gets sold a fair bit short.

He is one of only three welterweights in history ever to defeat a fighter who held the lineal light heavyweight title, the other two being Barbados Joe Walcott and Mickey Walker.

Just thought you ought to know.

He is basicaly 1-1 against Leonard and the only member of the fab four who beat Duran the way a fighter from a higher weight class should.

Nice post.

I think the boxing gods looked at Tommy, thought: "Oh shit, we created a monster here!" and decided to compensate by giving him a crappy chin.

Well, it wasn't THAT crappy but with a really solid beard he'd have been disgustingly powerful.