Could Hearns have ever beat Hagler?

By the way, I wanted Hagler to retire after Mugabi. He took too many clean shots in that fight. His face suffered swelling. He struggled when he should have dominated. Mugabi was really a smaller version of Obel. The early 1980s Hagler would have taken Mugabi apart. It was a great fight because we saw an aging all-time great battler taking on an exciting young fighter, but it was so telling about Hagler's future prospects. At the time, Hearns was on track for a rematch (he blew Shuler away in the preliminary). I was concerned about Hagler accepting a rematch with Hearns.

 

I think if Thomas made the cut worse and survived for 5 or six rounds, he may have made Marvin panick and do things out of character and maybe stole the show by composing the way the latter half of the fight went.... It was a closely made match at the time, and remember Thomas had some serious fire power too...

 

Yes, I concur. Although, the irony of this whole thing was, even though Hagler did dominate, he lost. Everything he took from Tommy hastened his decline....i.e., pyrrhic victory.

 

Thyis Board is very tribal ... lots of interior fueds and longstanding battles ... I love it !

 

Whilst there's NO QUESTION that there's an agenda on the mend for someone here, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the wars caught up with Hagler.

As per the topic at hand? No. I don't think Hearns could've beaten Hagler. I don't think Hearns could outbox Marvin and as we saw, he couldn't out slug Hagler. Still doesn't diminish how great Tommy was.

 

I think a Hearns boxing would have had an outside chance of stopping Hagler on cuts or getting a decision. The odds are against him however.

 

Didn't Hearns break his fist against Hagler?

 

Yes. I think it was in the first round...if memory serves me right.

 

Tommy was physically capable of out boxing Marvin. However, Tommy was psychologically incapable of staying out of a war.

 

To say Thomas Hearns could not beat Hagler is not true and I see many people saying this. Hearns was an all time great as great as Hagler and he fought more greats than Hagler and beat several. I am not sure Hearns could have outboxed Marvin the way Marvin fought, but Tommy could have knocked out Marvin had he not broke his hand. Hearns showed he could hurt Marvin. So that right there tells you he could knock him out. I think a rematch Hearns would have probably won.. I always thought that. By 1st or 2nd round knockout. Marvin was a little too open for Hearns. That is why he had to war with Hearns.

 

Mag1965.

"Tommy could have knocked out Marvin had he not broke his hand."

Why? I think John Mugabi at 154 arguably hit harder than Hearns and he never dented Hagler, and that fight went 11 rounds not 3.

Tommy would not have knocked out Marvin if not for his broken hand. Tommy couldn't KO Leonard, why Hagler? Who had dropped Hagler in that point in history? Don't talk about the unofficial one.

"Hearns showed he could hurt Marvin."

"Marvin was a little too open for Hearns."

Marvin sure as hell showed he could hurt Hearns even more. It was Hearns who was more open, it was Hearns on the ropes getting murdered on the inside.

 

I always look at Hearns-Hagler in 2 scenarios.

Either it goes the way it actually did, both guys trading, both big power but Hagler's better chin see's him through as he knocks Hearns out early.

Or it goes similar to the first Leonard fight, ie Hearns out boxes him but probably always gets worn down and stopped late on while ahead on points.

 

Yes I believe that Hearns had more snap than Mugabi. Mugabi hit Marvin with an uppercut in round 5 or 6 which was good, but Mugabi was already arm weary by that point. Tommy in my mind was the harder puncher early and hit Marvin with a bigger punch. Marvin actually was hurt with Hearns and was not with Mugabi.
Tommy did show he could hurt Marvin, but if he broke his hand on that punch he hurt him with it shows he could have kept hurting him, although breaking it means maybe he would have broke it again. But yes he could hurt Marvin.
Tommy could not hit Leonard clean in 1981. And the Hearns who fought Hagler was more experience than the one who fought Hagler, just not natural at the weight.
Tommy had no trouble hitting Hagler even when Tommy was exhausted. Had Hearns fought a more measured fight and put leverage on the right hand I can see him stopping Marvin. I didn't think this years ago but now I do.
Hearns fought a stupid fight, but that was Marvin's gameplan. But if you really think Marvin could have been that pumped up in the rematch I am not sure. That type of committment only comes around one time. Fact is Hearns and Marvin started liking each other more after thier fight, so the anger Marvin had toward Tommy would not have been there, and that is a big part of his game plan. All the prefight stuff worked in his favor.
I never said the Roldan knockdown was legit, but I do think if a man could have stopped Hagler it was Hearns. Hearns stopped Duran and was the first man to do it. Stopped Cueves when no one could at that point. Shuler. I think Hearns had the right hand to do the thing no one else could.
Look at Hearns vs. Shuler. He was bigger and looked strong. I am just saying it would have been a different and slower fight and that favors Hearns after 1986. As a matter of fact, when Tommy signed to defend his 154 pound title in June of 1986 against Medal, I was upset since I thought had he kept fighting at 160 then he would have been solid in the Hagler rematch. I thought that sort of hurt all the work he made with bulking up.
The Mugabi fight was exciting, but John did not have the experience to get his big punches in. So the fact of who hits harder does not matter if Mugabi could not get the punches in. Hearns forced Hagler to fight that style because Marvin knew he would be hit. With Mugabi he was being hit on the top of the head and on the arms. Big difference. Marvin had to force the issue with Hearns and get him out of there early.

 

The rematch would have been slower and Hearns would have been stronger and worked on his inside power. Hearns knew he could not outbox Marvin from the get go. They said so at the time. Hearns was going to box but be physical and try to hurt Marvin and swell him up and then box and win on TKO. Tommy still wanted to knockout Marvin and stop him and thought he could. Hearns problem was he always looked for the knockout.. Had he boxed and used his jab he would have won some fights he lost probably.

 

I agree. Hagler put is all in that fight mind spirit everything and he won, but the damage he took sort of took his remaining fighting spirit. Sort of the price he paid for getting that win. I do not think he could have done it again with that same motivation.