Which year did T.Hearns begin to decline?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mark ant, Oct 31, 2020.



  1. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    The East coast writers in publications like KO magazine,World Boxing magazine ,NY Post etc had been writing about Tommy declining from around the Dewitt fight and were not impressed with the 1987 showings.

    In reality the Andries win looks very impressive in hindsight.

    I think Hearns chin progressivly deterioted before our eyes after the Hagler fight..the Andries fight he took 2 or 3 hail mary left hooks indeed was floored and had his knees buckled but shrugged them off...the Roldan fight his chin was depreciated further but he handled that right...the other deteriotion in this period was his defence...he was becoming increasingly swashbuckling ignoring his defence....i also saw a slight speed drop off...he was actually doing a number on barkley before the kayo.

    I also feel barkley would have come back to conclusively knock out benn ...only that occasion he was denied the chance by an incompetent referee
     
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  2. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    I think he began to decline every time he got hit.
     
  3. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Barkley didn`t land much before the KO, but Hearns looked vulnerable and slow from the start.
     
  4. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Hearns beat Andries easily but looked slow and basic in that bout.
     
  5. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Just as well he didn`t get hit much by Benitez then, due to his amazing skills.
     
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  6. Gudetama

    Gudetama Active Member Full Member

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    @mark ant Sometimes difficult to to keep up with your threads (as you start 1 million per day!). But, just for fun, juxtapose this one, with one of your recent others ('Who should rank higher, Hearns or Salvador Sanchez?).
    Now, think about it... you are asking when Hearns started slipping... the concensus is when? After 1981-2, or before? Let's say Hearns died in 1981-2... that would put him around age 23 (same as Sanchez at tragic early death). Would that change your opinion (on the comparison)?
    Just food for thought.
     
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  7. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Yes it would change my opinion on Hearns dying at 23 after losing to Leonard and not destroying Duran and beating Benitez in one of the best scientific chess matches of all-time, certainly nothing to sneeze at.
     
  8. greynotsoold

    greynotsoold Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Look for his body punches. And, the thing about Hearns, is that he didn't take them well. It didn't take more than a few to take his legs.
     
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  9. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    He looked quite explosive from where I was standing and he never looked so ripped and impressive
     
  10. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I think your interpretation of reality in this thread bears scrutiny...Barkley was no snail...Hearns was inflicting a horrific beating upon Iran's person with fast precision slashing punches....his overconfidence resulted in keeping his chin out..and Barkley provided a definitive answer where Hearns last vestiges of prime ended ...June 1988
     
  11. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    His hand speed was slower.
     
  12. Titan1

    Titan1 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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  13. Jamal Perkins

    Jamal Perkins Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Id agree it was....definetely from his welter and light middle days...but still very fast and explosive at LH and MW......i remember as a teenager watching his later fights with srl and michael olajide at smw and noticing a sizeable loss in speed from 1987...but 30 years on i can appreciate he was in with 2 quick guys and was still faster than the vast majority of the division.Ray looked slow too in the 2nd fight.

    But against Duran in uno mas the hand and foot speed was back.....i think basically both were tensed up.

    I felt vs Virgil Hill in 1991...Hearns for one last time the fastest he"d been since 1986....what did u make of hearns speed in that fight Mark?
     
  14. William Walker

    William Walker Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I find this tough to determine, cuz to me, Hearns was like Patterson, his peak was difficult to pinpoint cuz he was always beating good fighters, yet losing on an occasional basis. Personally, I thought Hearns declined in 1988 w/ his close affair w/ Kinchen and his loss to Barkley. However, Hearns continued to register good performances during the 90s, like the SD loss to Barkley and the win over Nate Miller.
     
  15. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    I didn`t think Hearns was changing positions that quick v Hill, but yes Ray had slowed down a lot by `889, Hagler even mentioned this while commentating on Ray`s rematch with Tommy.