How did Iran Barkley manage to beat Thomas Hearns twice?

Well,

He showed tremendous heart and then landed a somewhat lucky punch while Hearns was pummeling him in the first fight.

Iran had a great quote after the fight:

"I didn't have time to bleed"

In the second fight, Hearns had no legs and Barkely was able to get inside all night long and smothered Hearn's attacks.

Iran Barkely had average skills and below average defense. He bled a lot.

But, he had HEART.

BTW: If they had fought in '86, I think Hearns would have stopped him.

 

I think some of what would bite Tommy in the Ass was that Kronk Warrior Pride that he has. He had the tools and talent to stink the joint out if he chose to. He would have been remembered differently. It's not who he was. Yea he lost a few but respect and memories he gave the fans. You can't buy that.

 

Some guys just have another guy's number.

Why did Ken Norton (of all people) give Ali fits whereas George Foreman and Sonny Liston couldn't?

Why did Andrew Golota (of all people) give Riddick Bowe hell twice and look like a world-beater at the same time?

How did Jimmy Young appear to beat Foreman Ali and Norton within a year or so, and then lose back to back fights to novice Ossie Ocasio?

That's why they "fight the fights." Anyone can look at two fighters on paper and say "this guy clearly wins." But once they get in the ring, sometimes one guy just poses certain problems to a top name and they don't pose the same problems to others.

 

All this makes Durans victory over Iran simply astounding

 

Because he was that one in a million fighter around at the time with the chin to take the Hitman's best, and the heart and power to return fire until he was victorious.

 

Great thread .great replies all of them.A fascinatingbquestion

Both wins were deserved.

Barkley was tommys vietnam

Barkley was hugely overwhelmed in terms of speed,power and skills in 1988 he took a murderous pummelling....but his heart and his own very underrated ability to box and shift from plan a to a plan b kept him in.no such thing as a lucky shot .iran ko"d him.tommy had been overconfident with his defence and chin for years.that punch made him seem a shot fighter for 2 years....

1992 this time tommy was very unlucky he broke his right hand..it was a razor thin but deserved decision about as close as a uncontroversial decision can get

 

I think he always had a great style to beat Hearns. Hearns liked to hurt guys and then swarm them and Barkley was strong and liked to swing as he was getting hit, which hurt Hearns since Tommy' main weakness was recklessness when he had a guy hurt. In the first fight Tommy had Barkley on the verge or TKO between rounds 3 and 4 or in round 4, either on cut or the bodypunches.. Which hurt Barkley. In the rematch. ? Hearns had slowed down and was not the sharp guy he had been, and Barkley I think improved at that time and had momentum. So Barkley improved and Hearns diminished in the rematch. Either way, Barkley strength and style of throwing in the middle of exchanges hurt Hearns rhythm and was perfect against Hearns. I think Hearns was at his best when he had respect for the guy he was fighting. in the first fight I think he went in there on autopilot and that was just not good enough for a guy who punched hard and had the heart of Barkley. Had Hearns paid attention in the first fight he would have stopped Barkley on a TKO soon and the rematch would not have happened. I will say this. the Barkley first fight changed Hearns. After the first Barkley fight he actually went 12 rounds 5 times in his next 7 fights.

 

In defense of Hearns and Barkley knocking him out in the first fight..Why couldn't the Blade knock him out in the second one? He was bigger and Hearns had a broken hand?

 

Great point.

Once I realized that, I quit evaluating fantasy matchups with anywhere near the bluntness I used to. There's a lot of fights where the winner in real life wouldn't have stood a chance going by popular opinion on a message board.

 

Is there any more room on the Sal Sanchez fan wagon? FYI, RJJ claims Sal is his all-time favorite fighter.

 

This right here. Barkley figured out that he could NOT stay at range and needed to bum rush Hearns to have a chance. As we all know, it worked twice.

 

Sometimes an inferior fighter has the right attributes to beat a superior fighter.

I say inferior because the career arc of the two shows Hearns was definitely the better fighter, but that aside I'd pick Barkley to beat Hearns ten times out of ten.

Ironically I'd pick that version of Hearns to school Kalambay and Nunn.

Benn would have a decent shot against Hearns though. The unpredictable big punchers will always have a shot if he doesn't pick them apart first.

 

Thomas Hearns mentality of trying to blast out everyone in the mid 8O's
caught up to him in the end. Hearns in his previous fight before Barkley first
fight fought for the vacant WBC MW title and put down Juan Roldan 3x in
the first 2 rds before being rocked in the 4th and then coming back to ko
Roldan for the count late in the 4th. Hearns tried the same strategy against
Barkley starting fast before being hit by a haymaker ( Lewis vs Rahman / McCall)
type punch and subsequently was ko.

 

Isn't that the entire trick of defusing a some fighters heaviest shots? I vaguely remember Moore saying something like, he learned that lesson when he was young and his mother/grandmother was trying to beat him with something, a switch or a belt. The trick was to get in close where they don't actually have any space to hurt you, that's the first time he realized it or some such. Pretty hilarious honestly...

 

Dangerous punchers that could get inside Hearns's reach would always be a danger to him, since his defense was sloppy and his chin weak. Tremendous fighter, but his offense was his defense. Those that could get past that was a danger to him.

Cuevas and Duran gave up ridiculous amounts of height and reach. Benitez gave up a fair amount to - too much for a natural counter puncher.

Barkley wasn't nearly as skilled as Duran or Benitez, but he was close to Hearns in size, was able and willing to soak up a lot of punishment to get in his own somewhat crude but powerful punches, and that was enough to take advantage of Hearns's vulnerabilities.