Why was there never a rematch? By far the most entertaining boxing fight I've ever seen. Not a single dull moment. Really wondered how that fight would have ended if Hearns didnt break his hand in the 1st round
Thomas Hearns threw everything he could at him but no matter what, Hagler never went down and stayed on him for the eventual KO. Would you want a rematch against a fighter like that? Also, Hagler retired two fights later and Hearns moved up in weight.
A rematch seemed pointless at the time. If you watch the fight objectively, Hearns was really only effective for about half of round one. After that it was all Hagler. Tommy landed a solid bomb on Marvin....I think it was an uppercut, but I may be wrong....and Hagler just shook it off. It would be hard to picture Hearns being able to do any better than he did in that first fight.
if I was Hearns I would of been scared to death that Marvin didn't go down, he tagged Hagler so cleanly and Hearns could bring it make no mistake. one of the all time great fights ever.
A bit overrated. Hearns was only in it for half a round. The rest was just watching the predator go for the prey. Good questions for ****ysis are: how much did Hagler's low blows effect the outcome, why did Tommy's legs go so quickly, was Tommy overwhelmed by output or the occasion?
In answer to the OP's question, despite the fact that it was an extremely exciting fight, the outcome was viewed as so conclusive that there was no demand for an immediate second fight. Iirc the fact that both Hagler & Hearns then boxed on the same card (v Mugabi & Shuler respectively) suggested that a rematch was being built towards...but once Leonard threw his hat into the ring Hagler v Hearns 2 was dumped. I stand to be corrected but that's my recollection of events.
Always wondered if hearns could have outboxed him. Hearns was done after he broke his hand I guess. His legs went because he got a massage before the fight in the dressing room.
That's a good question...could Hearns have outboxed Hagler? The thing is, after Hearns' blowout of Duran, Tommy forsook the "Motor City Cobra" persona and went into full-blooded "Hitman" mode...I remember the build-up very well and Tommy was convinced he would knock Hagler out...I remember Tommy being interviewed during training and saying "the Motoer City Cobra is no longer with us". Could Tommy have outboxed Marvin? Personally, I don't think so, Marvin was a decent boxer himself with a long reach, and anyway, I think he was too strong, relentless, insistent & durable for Hearns to outbox him for 12 or 15. I think Marvin gets to Tommy however Tommy plays it.
Hearns would not have lasted in the middle weight division. The middleweights had much harder punchers and could take better shots than the lesser weights. That is why he quickly left it after being defeated by Barkley to move up to the heavier but talent less upper divisions of the time.
Sure did a number on Shuler a year later though. A rematch with Hagler would have been interesting.Hearns was filling out into a full middle,and Hagler was beginning to fade.Hagler even admitted himself that Hearns was very dangerous,and He had to rush him,and not give him a chance to get set out there.He sure did.
Why no rematch , after being carried from the ring like a rag doll, i seriously doubt Hearns wanted one.. Hagler was just to Big, strong, physically superior with a HUGE advantage in the chin department..
I wouldn't say Hagler took Hearns's best shots. I think that gets exaggerated. He took some good shots, but Hearns was most deadly when he got distance and leverage on that right hand (Shuler, Cuevas, Duran). The shot that briefly stunned Hagler was a short right, and Hagler recovered quickly. Hearns did land some looping right hands at distance around Hagler's guard, and a couple of quick straight rights, but not that right hand at range with leverage when Hearns was most dangerous. That's not to say Hagler couldn't have taken them, my guess is that he could have, but I don't think Hearns landed his BEST shots. Hagler was smart and turned into a bull and closed the distance on Hearns. Hearns MAY have been able to, but Hagler was smart and took the fight right to him. Hearns was very difficult to outbox from long range, so Hagler turned into a bull and didn't give him that distance he wanted. Hearns couldn't control the tempo nor could he get the distance to get more leverage on his right hand. If Hagler boxed more patiently like he normally did, who knows really...maybe Hearns wins a decision, maybe Hagler still stops Hearns. Hagler still had heavy hands and would still be landing shots. Hearns was no defensive specialist.