Heans could be the fist one to stop Armstrong. His size advantage is huge. On the other hand Armstrong could be able to tire and stop him late if he can take Tommy´s best and get´s by the jab. I strongly lean towards Tommy wouldn´t count out Henry completly though.
Armstrong was stopped at d beginning of his career and was later stopped again by Fritzie Zivic . Walker Smith Jr. carried Armstrong which means he could have stopped him with ease but chose not 2 . Hearns KOd Roberto Duran in 2 and Duran was a naturally bigger man than Armstrong . There is no other way than Hearns winning this by stoppage and there is no way Armstrong lasts more than 13 which was what 1 needed in order 2 stop Hearns late . There is also no way that Armstrong winning this early . All ways lead 2 a Hearns victory by stoppage , most probably early .
It's a shame that Henry was so past it when he fought Mr Smith. Prime for prime,it could have been quite competitive.
As mentioned in previous posts, Hearns has simply too much firepower for Henry to cope with. Mid-Late KO
Stevie,I saw the Armstrong/Robinson fight at MSG in 1943 with my dad. As I have posted before,it was obvious that Robinson "took it easy" on the 31 year old Armstrong,who was his boyhood idol. We in the crowd sensed this ,but never booed Robinson's lack of blistering combinatioins on ol Henry. Robinson then 22 years old towered over Armstrong by 6"inches,and my impression was that his reach, style and sharp hitting would have been too much for Armstrong to overcome,at WW. As lightweights, I would pick Armstrong,as Henry was at his best as a featherweight and LW, while Robinson was a natural WW..... Best two fighters I ever saw together, including the FOTC....Cheers
To say the least. Most impressive fighter I ever saw ringside, followed by pre-plane crash Willie Pep. :good
Would you go along with the thought that Pep was probably the greatest defensive fighter of all time,Burt ?
Who can say Steve? Young Griffo was a defensive wizard,whilst beind drunk,most of the time. I cannot see that any fighter ever was more "elusive",and harder to time solidly,than the Willie Pep I saw in his prime. Pep was the "Houdini" of boxing...
Even at Armstrong's prime, Hearns had too many advantages over him for this to be a competitive fight. I see Hearns beating him handily, most likely by stoppage.
