Hard to believe nearly 30 years ago ,Thomas "hit man" Hearns scored one of the greatest knockouts ever against the great Roberto Duran,a man who was never knocked out with his mighty right hand in the second round:bbb!! His reputation as The HIT MAN was again secure!!
I still marvel at that result ! Like most,I made The Hitman favourite for that one,but I did n't forsee the quick and devastating end.
Amazing fight, amazing result. I remember watvhing this on Saturday afternoon's "World of Sport" at the time. The fight took place on the Friday night and I managed to keep away from the result (pre-internet days, this was easier to do!!!). Dickie Davies & Jim Watt were in the ITV studio & Jim Rosenthal did the commentary - I bet Reg Gutteridge was gutted to miss this one!!! I watched this with my Brother who whilst not a major boxing fan was always in awe of Duran after Montreal - just called him "The Animal"! When Duran got sparked we just sat there is stunned silence with our jaws on the deck! Just unbelievable, we thought NOBODY could do that to Duran. It was the talk of the pub that night....none of my mates could believe it either... Great days, great days...
The great Hagler Hearns fight was soon to follow.Was really dissapointed with the result.But Hagler was awesome and Hearns stood jis ground for as long as he could.They were both different fighters that night.Too bad a rematch was on its way but never happened.
Wow , 30 years!!! ' very long time, scary how it goes by so fastatsch.. I remember watching that fight, and almost feeling sorry for Duran while he laying face first on the canvas.... No way in hell would Hearns have been able to do that to the Duran of Montreal..:-(
It was the greatest shocker of the decade, even bigger than Sandoval-Chandler, & Leonard - Hagler. I couldnt get over it. Tommy looked so well muscled and so BIG! he was so fast with an offense that had been bottled up for so many years, he exploded all at once on an unexpecting Duran. Poor little Duran I think the only result that tops it is Douglas Tyson
Hearns would have always knocked out Duran. Duran never dealt with speed well and Hearns hit harder than Leonard or Benitez or anyone Duran ever fought. Duran would have been face first in Montreal. This was Thomas Hearns. The greatest right cross in history.
Thomas Hearns was a great legend. Underrated in someways. The guys he fought and beat. Cuevas,Benitez,Hill, Duran. And the first three he took thier titles from them. Duran was champion of the WBA when Tommy knocked him out. Roberto Duran didn't know how to deal with a guy that fast and sharp. Thomas punched a little harder than Leonard or Benitez or Hagler.
he was underrated. His losses to Leonard and Hagler really hurt him, when he is just as great as both of them, and I think above Hagler. He has a better resume than Hagler and moved up and won titles in many divisions. Divisions Hagler never had the guts to move up to like 175.
Hagler at 30 years - past his prime, snuffed the younger faster man at his peak, in just three never stopped. never floored, and beat more top ranked fighters, defending his title 12 times against top ranked contenders Hearns never turned back one top ranked contender.
