Why did Tommy Hearns fight Hagler's fight?

Very true. I remember Gil saying when it comes to Hearns when he throw his opponent should throw, when he doesn't they should throw. Almost like Tommy loved the offense too much. Tommy knew how good Roberto's chin was, so when he knocked him out it went to his head a little and he thought well I knocked out Roberto I can do the same to Marvin. Different style and weight a little higher. But Tommy's style for the knockout and Marvin going for the knockout made for this unbelievable fight. I sometimes think if you had all fighters come out like Tommy and Marvin did in 1985 most of those fights wouldn't get out of round one. Angelo Dundee said he was surprised it made it to the end of round one.

 

I have a hard time believing that leg massage story. Tommy fought 41 times before Marvin and they didn't massage his legs before those fights and give him weak legs? All of a sudden one of the biggest fights he had and biggest in the 1980s comes up and they massage his legs. I love Tommy but this leg massage stuff never meant much to me, even if it was true. That wouldn't matter. Tommy let some guy massage his legs and then pays the price. Where was Emanuel during this important time when his fighter is getting ready for the fight. With Ray and Duran it might have worked, but intuitively people could tell Hearns loved to go for broke for some reason and brawl and land and if he were pushed into a corner he fought back like with Ray and other fights. And Marvin was tired at the beginning of round 3. As Leonard said on the HBO broadcast Marvin was arm weary, and he was exhausted. People don't talk of this because Tommy was even more exhausted, but had that been Ray or Duran in there they could have kept up the pace. Not hit Marvin as hard or done as much damage at that point, but they were just different styles. Marvin gambled and won.

 

Only if the ringside physician had immediately stopped the fight upon checking that cut, but he didn't want to be physically dismembered by thousands of enraged and cheated fans.

 

Marv only wanted Tommy's body and got it. That's where Tommy legs weakened so quickly.

 

After what Tommy did to Cuevas and Duran, it never occurred to him that somebody could simply charge through his best shot and have it break his right hand instead. Marv may have had the best chin in boxing history. After all those bouts and all those blasting shots from the likes of Hearns and Cyclone Hart, he actually moved to Italy and learned Italian well enough to be a successful action movie star in that country, eventually speaking English with an Italian accent. That's insane. (During his career, he couldn't even pronounce Vito's last name correctly.)

I don't think he was gambling that much. He saw what SRL did to Tommy's body late in their WW unification bout, and knew Hearns was vulnerable there. Forced Tommy to fight 12 rounds in the first three minutes. This wasn't Leon Spinks tearing after Coetzee in round one. Marv was a veteran who knew what he was doing, and with SRL seemingly completely out of the picture at that time, this was MMH's legacy bout. He threw everything into it and was never the same. The only thing left was to go after Monzon's record of 14 defenses. (In fact, Hagler did technically post the most official defenses of the Undisputed MW Championship, but we all know Carlos was the true MW King during the WBA custodianship by Rodrigo Valdez.)

 

Mugabe and Hearns left him with not too much more. Mugabe was a war of attrition where MMH absorbed everything the Beast could unload in the Ugandan's greatest performance, without taking a backwards step.

In the corners, while Angelo Dundee is screaming to SRL, "That's it! That's it! Be my MAN!" and keeping the increasingly fatigued Ray continually hyped up, the Petronellis were being the church mice which Angie very appropriately always was with George Foreman. If Pat and Goody had given Marv the same sense of urgency, they might have lit that fire under Hagler which he badly needed just then. Marv always loved and revered them, kissing their coffins at their funerals in 2011 and 2012. In previous bouts, he talked about listening to them between rounds.

SRL-Hagler may have been Angelo's best performance as a corner man, always keeping his charge pumped up when he needed it. Inspiration between rounds ought not to be underestimated.

Hagler never gave Manny Steward the chance to do that with Hearns. By the time Tommy returned to his corner before round two, the damage was already done. Then, the cut occurred, and Hearns was doomed before the bell ending the round. It wasn't just Tommy who never had a chance, but Manny had no opportunity between rounds to offer any assistance when it mattered. He couldn't say "Go after that cut!," before Hearns was down and out.

 

I agree the story is hard to swallow but this is Manny and he seemed to be usually a straight shooter ... I don't remember Hagler so tired but I'll check it out again from that lens ...

 

Marv gassed late in his draw with Antuofermo. Vito ran five miles every day though, and had lungs like beer kegs.

 

Not to mention that handsome profile.

 

I agree Marvin had stamina questions about himself ... if you watch his first Fully Obel defense he almost punched himself out ... He was cautious against Vito, Duran and Leonard ...

 

Meanwhile, Monzon famously smoked while training, as Locche smoked between rounds. (I call El Intocable "Nicotino Roacche"...)

 

Hagler was on his chest from the get go,he had no chance to box.

 

OUTSTANDING post! Honestly, this is one of the best I've read on the entire Classic Boxing forum! BRAVO!!

The only thing I might add is that I think there was a healthy dislike brewing between these two during the pre fight buildup and I think Hagler (like Duran against SRL in their first bout) was FANATICALLY focused and hell-bent to show Hearns he was the tougher badass!! It ultimately boiled down to that!!