Sugar Ray Leonard(already did it) and Sugar Ray Robinson are my only two answers. Who else? Armstrongs way too small, Napoles has a good chance but tommy will cut him up horribly, Joe Walcott will be giving up 1 foot in height hearns will wreck him at distance, i dont think griffith has enough tools to get the job done, Ross won't get away from Hearns Jab, Shane can't deal with tall right hand punchers, Oscar might make an interesting go but hearns has just too much tools and firepower, trinidad doesnt have the jaw to survive, mickey walker won't ever make his way inside, Kid Gavilan has a decent chance with speed and chin but gavilan won't be be able to outbox him on the cards, Duran well we know what will happen there, Benitez and Cuevas it already happened, Forrest will be outgunned, Basilio's eye might be torn apart afterward to the point where you wouldn't recognize him, Whitaker was not a natural welter and Hearns has the tools and accuracy to catch him, Curry would be outclassed, etc. Theres a strong reason why I and others rate Tommy Hearns in the top 5 welterweights of all time. His freakish tools combined with his Talent, Speed, and Power made him damm near unbeatable at 147lb, whether or not some of you think he hadnt reached his best yet.
I've always thought more of Trinidad's chances than others to be honest. But i don't really want to get too deep into that one.
I could imagine Basillo wearing hearns down also Mickey walker. These two are really tough and i like there chances of outlasting Hearns.
I agree that Tommy is a brutal matchup for anyone at 147. I do give Napoles, Gavilan, and Griffith (pre-Paret tragedy) a live chance. I think highly of Luis Rodriguez and place him in the same class as the other 3 I've mentioned but I don't think he matches up great with Tommy. I actually give "Montreal" Duran a chance too. I think that version was far superior to the Duran that Tommy ko'd 4 years later.
Yes, Hearns would be a really, really difficult foe for any welterweight. But I do feel some of the guys mentioned - at their best -would have a fair chance against him. Still, a top 5 AT ranking is entirely reasonable. In fact, I feel he deserves to be higher.
I think he is overated at 147. He is special. But he would lose out to the true greats in my opinion. He is inexperienced and tight at the wieght.
Walker would be my man in outlasted Hearns imo. If Walker could take heavyweights, I think Micky would beat Hearns in a good fight.
Hearns was a very underrated boxer.... people just consider him a straight up banger, especially at the lower weights. You just have to look at his fight with Virgil Hill (albeit at 175) to see how he could box.
I'd pick burley to stop him, pretty confident with that pick, obviously the 2 sugars, outside that, no one would i'd rate at 50% or better to take tommy
I agree with SuzieQ and disagree with McGrain and Cobra. Just letting that known. I don't give a rat's ass if he supposedly lacked the intangibles that certain Welters had if he completely outmatches them physically and in terms of the tools he posseses. A guy like Barney Ross stands absolutely NO chance in 100 fights of ever threatening Hearns with anything.
Well forget Barney then; talk to me about how a veteran with MASSIVE skills, great physical tools and enormous amounts of experience, like, say Kid Gavlian, Charley Burley or Jose Napoles lose to a guy who is 1-1 at the highest level.
I agree, Tommy could outbox the boxers and bang out the bangers. A daunting proposition for any of the other greats.