Tommy Hearns became a world champion for the first time, knocking Pipino Cuevas' out in the 2nd round. This content is protected
And you still have people saying he was green at that weight. One of the most incomparable fighters in history.
Defense, power, speed, technique, experience, maturity. The better question is what wasn't he better at?
Hearns never had good defensive skill. His defense was his control of range. He faced smaller opponents at 147, so where is he gonna hold a bigger edge? 32-1 with 30 KOs at Welter. 7-0 with 4 KOs at Jr. Middle. He filled out a bit and likely gained strength, but that’s negated by the fact that his opponents did, too. Gaining muscle mass doesn’t make you faster. Just the opposite, in fact. Unless you were weakening your body to a significant extent by weight draining. Hearns wasn’t. Not for long, anyway. Show me examples of his improved techniques. He was more experienced and mature at Cruiserweight than Jr. Middle. Did that give him an edge?
His body was more physically mature at 154. His frame got bigger. I don't mean packing on muscle mass. He got bigger, stronger, faster, meaner. Most of his victims at 147 were cans.
I’ll just dismiss the “meaner” bit. He moved up in weight, so yes, it’s natural that he would weigh more at 154 than 147. Thank you for that. I’m sure he gained a bit of strength and his frame was a bit sturdier. Again, these things get negated when you move up in weight against opponents who are stronger and sturdier than you were previously facing. In other words, it isn’t terribly relevant. I’ve never seen footage that led me to believe he was faster after moving up. Defies common logic, really. He was always very, very fast. As for his opposition, do you really want me to pick out of my pool of 33 fights and go tit for tat with you and your pool of 7?
If it's irrelevant then why does Pacquiao punch so much harder at 126 than he did at 112? Why is he so much tougher at 126? Why does does Hearns punch harder at 154. Why is he tougher at 154? Why is Jones Jr. punching so much harder at 168 than at 154?
Because he was a grown, healthy man at 126. He was a malnourished teen at 112. I don’t really agree with either of those things. We’re actually in the middle of arguing about it right now.
