Hagler Hearns 2

Why do you say "Hearns was the better fighter over Hagler" ?

 

The Shuler punch was probably better, but the difference is that he was fighting James Shuler. I don't see Marv getting hit that clean across the jaw (he didn't the first time after all) and if he did I'm not so sure even that would be enough to sleep him. Anyway the fact that you take that one instance in the first round where Hagler literally charged into a Hearns right hand, blinked, and then continued to press the action as an indication that Tommy would knock him out in a rematch is ridiculous. Massive Hearns fan too but bias aside, Hagler isn't getting stopped concussively by the Hitman. Ever.

 

Tommy's ablity to take his punch and boxing skills up different levels and still dominate. The man won titles from Cuevas at 147, Benitez at 154 and Hill at 175. Stopped Duran when Duran was champ at 154. etc. As for Virgil Hill, that is like Hagler beating a top fighter at heavyweight who was 5 years younger and was undefeated. Wouldn't happen. Hagler won the fight, but I always thought Hearns opposition and ability to fight moving up in weight and winning multiple titles made him more iconic than Hagler and higher quality. Moving up in weight does prove something if you fight the higher quality and prove something. Hagler never did.

 

I don't know if I agree. The punch which Hearns landed on Marvin was not Tommy's best leveraged punch and it rocked Marvin. It was fast and hard and a nice punch but it was not a typical Hearns punch. In round 2 even with Tommy exhausted he still was picking Marvin up and down, and in round 3 at the beginning Tommy started to land right hands, even being so exhausted by that point he couldn't do anything. The one thing is that Hagler did not have good defense against Hearns, and that is not a good thing. Hagler did fight a good style, but he took punches to give.

 

The key in your post their MAG is Hearns being exhausted after ONE round.

he didn't have the stamina and wasn't getting away with hanging his chin out in the air at middleweight.

 

he didn't fight his fight. He fought reckless. Hagler was not exactly fresh either, but he was the more natural guy backing up Hearns. Hagler was too easy to hit and swelled up quickly in the first fight, for me to think he would beat Tommy easily in a rematch or at all. And his lack of motivation to sign a rematch makes me think he knew something

 

This is a song we've heard from you many times before. If it applies to your favourites, it's fine to use. If it applies to those you have disdain for, it's just "excuses, excuses".

 

no it is a fact,although credit to Marvin for making Hearns fight the way Marvin wanted him to. In the Leonard/Duran 1st fight, Leonard decided to fight that way. The point I make about the Hearns fight is that Marvin could not have fought that intense a fight in a rematch and put it all together like he did for Hearns in the first fight. It would have been a much more calm slower paced fight, and that means Hearns would have been able to pick him up and down more like he liked to do. But it would have been tough. For Ray in the rematch, all Ray had to do was decide to use the ring and his legs and he won easily. Tommy would have never outclassed Marvin the way Ray outclassed Roberto in the next 2 fights he fought him. I think I explained my point well.

 

I think weight-jumping is overrated. Especially when a fighter fails to dominate in any one division. Sometimes fighters move up because they can't beat the guy in the lower division.

I believe Hagler was greater than Hearns.

 

Not in Hearns case. He was undefeated at 154 and moved up to fight Hagler and other guys. And at 168 he moved up to fight Hill, who was undefeated. I respect your opinion. I still would have liked to see Hagler have to use his boxing skills to beat a guy like Spinks or Qawi. It would have been fascinating to see him outbox Qawi, which I think he would have . Marvin did have a 75 inch reach

 

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