I know he boxed Virgil Hill and others at middle and light heavy that were about the same height. But did he face someone who had a substantial height advantage over good old Tommy?
yes. off memory, I think Hutchins was an inch taller at 154. Barkley same height same with Shuler, then when Tommy went up more he faced some taller ones at cruiser Miller , maybe Grant .. sure I'm probably missing something else or within a half inch or so with the close ones
Iran Barkley 6'1 Michael Olajide 6'1 James Shuler 6'1 Uriah Grant 6'1 Fred Hutchins 6'2 Natr Miller 6'2 All the fighters who were same height or slightly taller I believe.
I’d say Fighting Jim, Murray Sutherland and Marcos Geraldo, who Hearns fought in the earlier portion of his career, were all around 6-foot. Thomas was taller but not by a lot.
So it’s obvious that we’re running with a height of 6’1” for Tommy which I agree with. Back in the day they were listing Hearns as high as 6’2 1/2”. Somewhat of an exaggeration similar to 5’11 1/2” being touted as 6’2” at one point. Thin guys like Tommy and Carlos always give off a taller impression also. From a few photos Tommy appears a touch shorter than Holyfield who’s probably about 6’1 1/2” himself.