Did Hagler face a peak Hearns?

There you go again changing your tune, convicted by the same in your words.

Leonard's chin or Hearns' chin? It's like being asked if you'd rather be shot or hanged.

 

He looked better and more fearsome below 160lb only because he was fighting smaller men mostly. As he got closer to his natural weight (which should be 160-168lb) he began to struggle, as he could no longer just overpower his opponents. No longer a fearsome KO-artist, more fragile, etc, etc. Same as Bob Foster was before him, whenever he met men of his natural weight (cruiserweight) he struggled or got KTFO-d.

 

Well golly gee

Your views on his natural size are obviously opinion based only. Hearn's could have easily fought 154 for his whole career but went looking for greater challenges and rewards. Foster made 175 for his whole career whenever he wanted. I find your natural weight claims rubbish to be honest. Hearn's and Foster were both great fighters 147/154 and 175 and had unbelievable power at these weights, they would not have had such power, success and greatness if emaciated or drained. What was Jeff Chandler, a natural welter? Breland a natural 160? Tall and thin doesn't = not your natural weight.

 

What on earth are you waffling about?

Closer to his natural weight?? He was fantastic below 160lb, could have stayed there, and elected not too. Its pure conjecture to say that his natural weight is 160-168...

 

Exactly. Tommy could have stayed at 154lb and never met Hagler or Barkley and may only have had the one loss on his record. He could have reigned for years at light middleweight with the only true test being Mike McCallum. He could have chosen the safety first route but Tommy didn't. Like the true warrior he was he sought out new challenges and sought to face the best men at higher weights. That Hearns sought out Hagler and dared to face the undisputed middleweight champion of the world, arguably the most dominant champion in the world, speaks volumes of the man.

The truth is though that Tommy's natural fighting weight did rise as he got older, as happens to all men. However, IMO Tommy could have stayed at 154lb for as long as he wanted. He was never really a proper light heavyweight or super middleweight and you can see that he was softish in his midsection at those weights. At the end of his 'proper' career 160lbs is probably where he sat most comfortably but 154lb would have been easily doable with some discipline.

 

the one ting that always got to hearns was overtraining he overtrained for the leonard fight,the 2nd barkley fight....and hagler.

his legs were not there.and when haglercame foreward like a steamtrain,hearns couldnt run fast enough. and not just that he broke his right hand in the first.

so you got a welterwieght who is tired already, got a broken hand and fighting one of the greatest middlewieghts of all time

 

Bernard Hopkins was fighting below 160lb for over a decade. This doesn't mean he's a natural middleweight. Same with hearns. Just because he managed to diet and dehydrate himself to 147 or 154, doesn't mean he was a natural welter or light middle by the time he met Hagler or any time after. It is usually a good thing to look at fighter's weight in non-title tune-up fights where he doesn't have to make certain limit, what weight he comes in is the one he feels suits him better.

 

Well, Hopkins was originally a lightheavyweight.

 

And Hearns often fought as a light middleweight even before he won the welterweight title, and as a middleweight before he won the light middleweight title.

 

Considering what Hopkins did at 160 i'd say it was his best fighting weight, which is close enough to the term "natural" for me. Natural for you seems to be what they walk around at untrained. Most of the fights you mention aren't trained for as efficiently as bigger events.

 

Natural for a boxer is the weight he can get down to without too much struggle, with usual training course, and where he doesn't feel weakened/fatigued at the weigh-in.

 

154 for Tommy.

The End.

 

Source? Interview or anything?

 

According to Senia's standards, I will go with 154 as well.

 

Hagler himself was on the way down. He beat the best middleweight Tommy Hearns that could have been.Tommy was not a middle he beat lesser fighters at that weight or inexperienced ones.The only good win he had at middle was Roldan.