YES or NO, had Hearns rematched Leonard in 1982 at lmw, would Tommy have won??

I believe Tommy stops Leonard at 154.

 

I tend to think not

The reason for this is that i believe that leonard would be able to take hearns punches, the 1st fight proved that to me, also the fact that the 1st fight also showed leonard could not outbox hearns so if they had rematched in 82 i don't think he would have tried to, i see leonard setting the pace fast and attacking hearns and looking to take him out almost from the get go instead of from the 6th round onwards like in the 1st fight.

If leonard fights like that i think he would take hearns again, possible a little quicker, maybe around round 11 or 12

 

It's possible Tommy could have won, but i doubt the weight change would have much to do wiht it if he did.

 

Agreed.

I agree with Mantequilla as well, the difference in weight would've had little to do with it. The minor difference in ability would've had more to do with the fact that if they were to fight numerous times, likely both fighters would win a few.

 

You made the poll public, did you not?

 

No. I think being that it would be in '82 is a huge point. First, the difference between 12 and 15 rounds between these two is dramatic. If their second fight was over 15 rounds I think Ray would've stopped Tommy again. Also, if it's in '82 that means Tommy doesn't have a lot of time to recover from Leonard shattering him physically and mentally in the fall of '81. I might give Tommy the edge over 12 rounds in '84 at 154, but not over 15 in '82. I realize not all the organizing bodies adopted 12 rounds at the same time so don't kill me on semantics.

 

I'll go with Leonard again.

Many people feel the first fight showed that Hearns was really the better fighter but simply failed to follow through. They believe in a rematch, Hearns would have the experience needed to box all the way to the end.

But I always looked at it the opposite, that Leonard was the better fighter who made the mistake of waiting on Hearns too much, but his class still came through at the end. I think in a rematch, Leonard better knows what he has to do and stops Hearns even sooner.

Also, people think that Hearns was at his best at 154, based largely on the Duran fight. But in fact prior to the Duran fight, he actually seemed less explosive at the weight (possibly the result of bad hands) and fighters like Benitez, Minchillo, and others were able to go the distance with him.

 

I think Tommy wins especially at 154, especially with Leonard's retina problems (and possibly some of his fighting spirit temporarily lost hence retirement). If Leonard is forced into a fight because of financial problems then I think he gets beat. Hearns has more experience, still the same stylistic problems, more stamina, more hungry than Ray and at weight more suitable to himself

Lets not forget Hearns won the rematch anyway

 

The fight would be reasonably close for about 12 rds because of several things..... SRL would test Tommy`s heart & conditioning much earlier than in 81 due to what happened in 81... Tommy learned to hold more when in trouble... Tommy would be worried about going for the kill as he fears SRLs ability to hurt him... Tommy could still box well enough from distance to prevent SRL from coming thru him.

Rds 13-15, when both men are exhausted & it becomes a battle of will, heart, mental strength, conditioning & pure inner toughness... thats when Ray Leonard shows why historically there will always be a gap between these 2 ATG legends... Ray can take Tommy`s punch better than vice versa & would be more willing to die in a fight than Hearns... 15 rds is were this would show IMO.

If Ray didnt stop him in rd 14 or 15, I think he takes a hard fought UD by sweeping ALL of the champ rds, maybe even scoring a 10-8 in one or two of them.

Leonard wins at any time in their primes as long as its a 15 rd fight - which it would be in the early-mid 80s.


Botswana :smoke

 

If the fight were the end of 1982 and not the beginning of 1982 Tommy would have won. I think he would have won by decision similar to how he beat Benitez.

 

Leonard still would have won, maybe on a close UD in a thrilling fight.

 

hearns by decision