Duran/Hearns the myth

A ton of late money came in on Hearns for the fight. It was the only time I ever saw the solid Duran following that thought he would not win. All the late money was Hearns and a lot of it was for the quick ko.

 

Duran blew up to 205 lbs partying after the hagler payday and rejuvenation ..he says he overtrained purely on losing the weight...and only had 10 days to work on strategic sparring for the fight.
Emannuel Steward felt..although they were friendly than....and now...Duran was almost spooked by Hearns...like Tommy had a hex on him...i agree i think a motivated prepared duran of say the hagler fight makes it a long gruelling fight for Hearns

 

The ballooning up in weighty goes all the way back to his lightweight championship days.

 

Hearns has 3 inches of height and 4 inches of reach on Leonard as well as a jab that is in the conversation for the best ever. He also has the power to knock Duran outcold as we full well know. The comparison is chalk and cheese and trying to say he can handle Hearns speed because he handled Leonard's (once only) doesn't cut it whatsoever.

No he wasn't. Hearns utterly pole axed a superb and rather frightening welterweight in Cuevas pretty much as convincingly as he did Duran. Hearns was a freak of a welterweight.

Well it could hardly be more one sided could it now!

 

Clinton, you're clear as a bell, level headed and as sensible as ever.

 

Hearns was at his best at 154 IMO. He was stronger at that weight, his legs seemed stronger. Hearns was confident taking the fight to Duran from the opening bell. He was a seasoned pro.
The question from the other side is would a 24 year old Welterweight Hearns be able to duplicate that sort of gameplan? He didn't have the big fight experience. Then factor in Duran being at his Welterweight best and yes it's a fight. The outcome is very much in doubt. Maybe Hearns can get him early to mid but if he doesn't how would he handle the kind of pressure Duran brings.

I wouldn't knock anyone for favoring Tommy but with Hearns chin you would go broke guarenteeing Duran doesn't crack it.

 

True. You can get away with some bad habits in your early 20s. Shake them off but eventually it comes back to bite you. By his early 30s years he had abused his body with weight fluctuations.

 

But Leonard was faster than Hearns, and Duran wasn't troubled by his speed. WELTERWEIGHT Duran that is.

Duran of the Hearns fight couldn't handle Leonard's speed either. But he did in Montreal.

Hearns was not at his best at welterweight, far from it. He beats Leonard at Junior Middle. We saw what happened at welter.
Hearns was comparatively, physically weak at welter, and was still developing his game.
Hr beat Cuevas...that doesn't mean he was the finished article, far from it.

 

Hearns loses to Leonard at least 8/10 regardless of weight. So long as it's scheduled for 15, that is.

 

I would have liked to see Hearns get that rematch a year or so later at 154. If Leonard beat there then your statement would hold water. Its just an assumption. Ray beat him one night in a fight he had to pull out of the fire.
Hearns was stronger at 54 and perhaps could have learned from his mistakes in fight 1. For example? Pacing himself better and clinching to rest or when hurt.

 

Leonard was faster than Hearns in combination but in other ways he wasn't. As I've explained at length handling Leonard's speed and Hearns speed are two completely different things.

Montreal was fought at close quarters with a willing participant in Leonard. Again handling Leonards and Hearns speed are two different things as explained.

He was not "far from it" at all. Sure he peaked at 154 but he was a freak at welter. He may or may not beat Leonard at 154 and it's far from carved in stone.

It's no disgrace losing to a guy that is likely the second best 147 in history - and he didn't quit.

Hearns was still developing but what he brought to the table would poleaxe most welters in history. He beat a lot of people despite not being the finished article and there's every chance this unfinished article would pump Duran as well as Ceuvas.

The height, the reach, the speed, the jab and the power. Duran would have to get somewhat lucky for mine....and most others at that.

 

Tommy Hearns was a bit green at 147. Being an awesome offensive force with freakish dimensions not that many fighters could really test him. Leonard won that first fight with experience.

 

So it would be a closer fight then, wouldn't it.

 

Hearns beats Leonard in this hypothetical rematch at 154, he had everything at 154, he didn't have everything at 147.

 

Who truly knows? Could anything not be closer? Did Duran land even two good punches?