How did Hearns pummel Duran so mercilessly

He hit him! Seriously, Duran had almost no physical advantages going into the fight. What he did have was ring intelligence, great head movement and an excellent inside fight game. However, the ability to use those skills was all predicated upon Tommy not making good use of his physical attributes and skill set. Well, the Hit Man caught Duran early and it was all over from there.

 

Speed and power. Either are problematic but combined and even a doofus has a chance, nevermind a guy like Hearns.

 

Lack of speed for an older Duran primarily.
I don’t think the outcome would be exactly the same a few years earlier, certainly it wouldn’t be so quick or brutal.
A declined slower Duran vs a bang in prime Hearns was never going to end well for Duran

 

Hearns was a h2h monster @ 147-154, especially vs. any1 5'8" or under. I'm not sure any1 Duran's height beats him h2h @ 147-154.

 

He did.
Some say it would’ve been just the same at welter in 1980 but I don’t think it would at all.
Hearns wasn’t as strong at welter but Duran was a different beast and would’ve matched him for speed.
Durans punches had no effect on Hearns when he did fight him, and he did land a few decent punches. He’d be wobbling Hearns with those if they’d fought at welter. He hurt Leonard and Leonard had a better chin than Hearns.
Whether or not Duran could’ve beaten him I don’t know but It’d be a cracker

 

Far too tall and long, a complete missmatch, Hagler was only 5'9 so it was easier for Duran to get near him, there's no wayweight cold stand a chance against a powerpuncher with a 78 inch reach, Tommy was throwing bombs from a safe distance, it looked like a man fighting a boy.

 

Leonard didn't have Tommy's reach or power, Duran could hurt Ray just as much as Ray could hurt Duran but he couldn't get near Tommy, it was suicide.

 

Every great fighter has at least one stand out performance.
Thatwas Tommy Hearns

 

Hearns' greatest victory.

 

I remember when that fight happened, I thought Hearns would beat Duran, but by a decision. When I heard he won by a ko in the second round, I thought it must have been because Duran suffered a really bad cut. Then I found out what really happened, and I was shocked!

 

Hearns literally outmatched Duran in every dept.

I’m not saying Duran fully recovered after the horrendous first round but I thought that he did collect himself somewhat between rounds.

There was moment in the second round when Duran paused for a moment, studying Hearns as if wondering “How am I supposed to fight this guy?”

Roberto even landed a solid right on Tommy’s chin in the 2nd round as I recall but Hearns was so intensely focused it didn’t faze him at all.

Before too long in the 2nd round, requiring only one or two direct hits from Hearns, Duran was started on his one way slippery slope again.

 

Id like to add that in the Hearns biography, Emmanuel Stewart said they knew Duran was heavy before the fight and that is why they pushed for the fight.

So if we believe Manny, and there is no reason not to, Duran was drained before the fight....

 

Several factors were at play that may have made it one sided.

Hearns may have been at his very best weight class. He was good in many divisions up to even 190 but he seemed to fit into 154 perfectly. His legs were stronger and he was still bigger than anyone.

Hearns had his right hand back to full strength. I believe he had surgery and it didnt fully heal until that time.
Just from a viewing standpoint it doesn't appear Duran had a gameplan... he was standing up almost straight as if he would try to outguess Hearns. I would think he would've wanted to get underneath the incoming missles.
Hearns height, its not something alot of fighters want to contend with. It would've taken the very best version of Duran to have a chance of getting past Hearns reach.

Look what Hagler had to do. That wasn't how Marvin fought. He wasn't a Joe Frazier or Bennie Briscoe. Hagler was a technical boxer.

Hagler adopted the mindset of someone in combat and made peace with it before storming Hearns beaches. There's easier ways to make a living, easier fighters to face than Hearns.