BEST I FACED: THOMAS HEARNS

I agree with this. Leonard had an extra gear and offensive level Benitez never had. In so many words, he was more dynamic.

 

Iran Barkley looked like a pretty effective puncher considering Hearns outboxed him almost every second they were in the ring and went 0-2, got knocked down 4 or 5 times, lost his title twice, nbd.

 

Yeah, but, yeah, but. If my aunty had nuts, Mark. I don't get your argument that Leonard would have lost if he hadn't mounted a series of well-executed attacks. Fact is Leonard did land those shots and beat Hearns. Same as he beat Benitez.

@Flash24 said it all in post #10. Wilfred didn't get knocked out due to his excellent defensive skills but Tommy didn't get knocked out, despite being handicapped, because Benitez didn't have the all-round game of Leonard. Sugar Ray might have looked less defensively capable than Benitez against Hearns because he was seeking to win, which he did, and that meant sacrificing some defensive tightness as he went on the attack.

And Wilfred fought an essentially one-handed version of Hearns from round 8. Put a one handed Hearns in with Ray and Leonard beats him even more comprehensively, imo.

 

Slightly off topic but I wanted to point out that, for all the cries of robbery, Tommy was very fortunate that the 12th round (and maybe the 5th or 6th iirc) weren't scored 10-8 for Leonard. In both of those rounds, he had Tommy looking in worse shape than Tommy ever had him looking in the rounds in which he scored the knockdowns. A point deduction from Hearns for holding wouldn't have been unjust, either.

I love Tommy but that was no robbery. Tommy may have edged it but it was close and bore no resemblance to a robbery. Perhaps the biggest single injustice was in not awarding Ray at least one 10-8 round - the 12th imo when he plain battered Hearns who just hung on - which gives him the fight but that would have been harsh on Tommy. Listening to the fight live, I recall the commentary team not being sure who would get the nod.

I would be vey interested to see how those calling the fight a robbery actually scored the fight. I bet it was about 114-112 or 114-113 on their cards too. Hardly fix of the century. I actually thought a draw was fair enough. Tommy certainly seemed satisfied. He was probably just thankful it was a 12 rounder.

 

They were well executed. That left hook to the body in the sixth was a perfect punch. And you don't just knock out a fighter of Hearns' stature by just going for broke at that point in Tommy's career. There has to be a lot of skill involved too. Watch how Ray mixes it to head and body in the 13th. You need more than just handspeed to catch that version of Tommy Hearns. How do you see a fight between Tommy and Meldrick Taylor panning out?

Benitez may have displayed more defensive skill ie your beloved head movement and ability to slip. Had Ray been happy to just survive the distance and not worried about actually winning the fight, he could have made Tommy miss a lot more too. And bear in mind Ray had to worry about Tommy's right hand right to the end. He didn't have the luxury of having to make a one-handed fighter miss for half the fight.

 

In other words, he was more dynamic with an extra offensive gear that Benitez didn't have. How is what you're saying so different to what @salsanchezfan said, that you disagree with?

 

I scored it a draw only because Hearns was credited with those 10-8 rds. I have no issue with anyone who gave the fight to Hearns by a point or two.
But as you said, if Leonard was given a 10-8 rd for the early rd ( I think the 5th or 6th ) when he had Hearns in real bad shape, and the 12th rd where he beat him from pillar to post, Leonard wins the fight.

 

Disagree.

 

Benitez boxed far better against Hearns yet there Ray was soundly outboxing Wilfred.

 

Tyson's power and speed swayed most fights in his favor too. Same with SRR. Same with RJJ.

Speed and power also swayed a lot of sprints in Usain Bolts favor too.

Leonard could also take it a lot better than Benitez.

Any questions?

 

Yet there Leonard was winning round after round against Benitez whilst never having to "go for broke" to win. He also never had to land "those shots" to be way ahead of Benitez because when all is factored in he was a better all round boxer.

 

Hearns was dropped 3 times all up across the two fights. In the first fight Hearns won the first two rounds and was stopped in the first fight. In the second he was actually outpointed so he definitely wasn't dominating almost every second they were in the ring. Hearns took heaps of punches off Barkley in the rematch and actually mounted a little bit of offense late at times tho he was busted up.

 

That "just" was the difference between win and lose. Both against Hearns and against each other. That's a pretty big "just".

Benitez was slicker than Leonard and makes for better defensive highlights, but Leonard was physically and probably also mentally stronger, which is what gave him the Ws. Both would take those over a cool highlight reel every day of the week.