Hagler vs Hearns 35 year anniversary

Good post. Hearns started off with the jab and tried to weaken guys to set up his right. I know that the Pablo Baez fight he really sat back and waited for that right. Later he incorporated a left hook to the body more, which I think then opened him up to more counters since he became more offensive minded on the inside after Hagler. Maybe his legs were going more and he had to work the body more. But he did alter his style a little.

I think Hearns leg problem had to do with that huge upperbody he had which was so top heavy compared to his legs. Having a good chin was good, but even Minchillo couldn't do much. You need a little more and Hagler had the southpaw style and was a middleweight for longer. Hagler fought so well in that fight and he gambled well.
It was not brawling I suppose, it matters what is defined as a brawl. I think Hearns when he got older would land and if this punches hurt a guy a little he would go for it and then start being hit and it would turn interesting. His fight with Roldan -Clancy said was an out and out war. It was more when he got older that he got in these ridiculous exchanges just to land his punches. He would be hit because he was throwing so much and get countered yet usually win because he was always somewhat faster than his opponent, even faster than Virgil Hill and that was a boxing style sort of like Olajide a year before.. Barkley stayed close and didn't allow him to pick him apart, but that was a stylistic thing, very different from someone like Chavez who did that to Rosario in 1987 by thinking about it. Actually as far as landing when Tommy was throwing-even Andries landed as Tommy was throwing- it was lucky Tommy took that punch in round 2 in 1987, but at times his fights when he got older got into these exchanges where he was hit unnecessarily. He liked throwing so much he would leave himself open at times.

He did not employ brawing with Duran you are right, but he did leave himself open and Duran hit him a couple of times with good rights and Tommy had to regroup, and then resume. As for Marvin, Marvin threw so much that Marvin was arm weary by round 3.. And I still think Hagler was tired in round 3, and had Tommy had the stamina to go another couple of rounds Hagler would have been swelling up and exhausted. The jab would have been the problem past round as it was landing well in round 3..But Tommy was all but finished in round 3.

 

Yeah, I agree, strong upper body but extremely skinny legs to hold up that upper body when Tommy got to middleweight.
I don't agree with you about Tommy getting into needless exchanges. I thank the boxing heaven's Hearns wasn't defensive minded, because if he was, his fights would have been dull and he would not have been an attraction.

 

That is a good point. It is true.. Tommy being defensive might not have been as memorable for all of his fights. I have thought many times about how had Tommy knocked out Marvin with that first right hand, people would have dismissed Marvin and it would have hurt the era. The era of the fab 4 was helped by that fight, as the other fights by the other 4 helped also. It is amazing how 4 guys being linked makes a fight like this help the legacy of Leonard and Duran etc, but it does somehow work like that. Since when time goes by eras seem to replace individual fighters a little. It is sort of not fair how the era of Oscar and Shane does not match up to the fab 4. They were not as different in personality and styles.