If Hearns had faced Mugabi at light middle?

Really ?? I never see him mentioned on here. His nickname was appropriate imo

 

Cause he's a troll with 3 accounts. Oops.

 

He's been mentioned plenty over the last couple of years. He's probably been overrun by the plethora of heavyweight threads nowadays LOL

 

Who is?

 

I'd go for Tommy ,Mugabi had power and pretty quick hands but he was stiff legged.Hearns jab would keep him honest and at the range that suited Tommy ,3/4 rds stoppage ,but Mugabi drops him if he connects flush ,and then all bets are off.

 

Mugabi was great coming forward but his momentum could often be quite easily disrupted, by anything coming back from his opponent.

A disciplined Hearns, doesn't engage in a slugfest; jabs, outmaneuvers and counters his way to victory.

 

Hearns would hit him early and Mugabi would be stopped early. John took a lot of Hagler's punches, but Hearns punched much harder than Hagler. Mugabi would have trouble lasting more than a few rounds if Hearns landed clean.

 

I think it could go either way

It would be a short war and either guy could take out the other.

Mugabi would definitely have a puncher's chance.

I would favor pre-Hagler fight Hearns to get the job done.

In late '85 or '86 (after Hearns fought Hagler but before Mugabi fought Hagler, or instead of), I'd pick Mugabi.

 

Mugabi kod Curtis Parker in one brutal round. Parker had never been kod before and was only stopped once again - 5 yrs later to a rising Michael Nunn. Yes, excuses have been made on here that Parker was not right for the fight - he had to weigh in at a 156 lb. "catchweight." Still, it was impressive.
That alone is enough to make him a legitimate middleweight contender.

Yes, he lost to Hagler. But he was as competitive as anyone during Hagler's long reign.

He was certainly much more durable than Hearns.

And, Mugabi arguably hit harder at 154 lbs. than he did at 160 lbs.

Hearns was starched by Iran Barkley, who certainly did not punch as hard as Mugabi.

I see Mugabi having a good shot at beating Hearns if we are talking about the matchup occurring after Hearns fought Hagler, but before Mugabi did.

Scratch Medal and insert a Mugabi who has not yet been in a war with Hagler, and Mugabi has a shot.

If this matchup happens before April '85, then I would favor Hearns.

 

Your post makes perfect sense, but, I am a little on the fence. Hearns rebounded from the Hagler loss nicely by decimating James Shuler. Not sure Hearns wouldn't do the same thing to Mugabi.

 

It's certainly plausible Hearns could do to Mugabi what he did to Shuler. But, at the same time, Mugabi would offer more danger than Shuler.

I am certainly not 100 percent confident Mugabi would win, but, at the same time, I feel it is highly myopic to just dismiss him as having no shot - "Oh he was one of the most overrated fighters of the era.." I don't subscribe to that line of reasoning.

 

Wasn't it at 154 when Hearns was having hand problems and there was speculation that he didn't bring his power with him, when he went 12 with Minchillo? He did stop Duran impressively but Sutherland went the route...you can't discount the chance of him blitzing Mugabi but it is far from certain.

At that point, pre Hagler, Mugabi didn't believe he could lose. That belief had to be beaten into him in a very hard fight and Hagler was a harder man than Hearns.

 

It was an impressive win but i'm not sure i'd prop up a fight where Parker had to fight at a catchweight in the 156 bracket as a legit middleweight contest. Parker never before or after fought at this low a weight. Parker was a good tough Philly fighter who couldn't quite make that step up to the next level. Was Parker's excuse legit in the usual sea of excuses from beaten fighters? That's up the the individual to decipher. At the end of the day Parker was not a top 10 fighter when Mugabi beat him regardless.

http://www.cyberboxingzone.com/blog/?p=22110

He was but it was also a fading Hagler. It was indeed an excellent effort but i would bet the Hagler of a bit prior would have made much much easier work of him. Hagler at this stage had lost his sharpness and sting and had to trade a lot more often.

Completely disagree. The only fight Mugabi ever showed much durability in was the Hagler fight. Apart from that his chin was most ordinary and he could also be discouraged. Hearns had more heart and was much more proven. I'm dubious on the Thomas fight claims in which Mugabi out and out turned his back on Thomas. He was up and down like a yoyo against Terry Norris all inside of one round. McClellan also decked him 3 times inside a round. Mugabi was only 30 odd in these fights.

Of course he's going to be excused because hey, that was after Hagler. Well Hearns came back from a heavy knockout loss to Hagler and thrived, ko'ing the number 1 contender in the blink of an eye in his very next fight. He also came back well after the Barkley ko.

Mugabi pre Hagler was knocked silly and saved by the bell against the small light hitting James Green. Not a very good indication of decent durability. I don't think the Hagler fight affected his chin as much as most seem to think.

This can be seen at 12.30. A decent fighter with a bit of power in Green's position would have finished him for sure -

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He hit hard at both weights for sure. This is not in dispute. Boxing is littered with big big hitters that never made it.

He was but Barkley shipped loads more punishment than Mugabi would ever have before getting his home run punch in. Mugabi would have been out of there way sooner given what Iran was taing.

Iran is also a way better fighter than Mugabi. He can both take it and give it and owns a much better array of wins.

Mugabi would have a punchers chance. No more no less.

What seals it for me tho is that Hearns was one of the most dynamic dangerous fights in the first couple of rounds ever to breathe. When did Hearns ever get hurt (excepting the Hagler war for obvious reasons) early in the first couple of rounds of a fight when he was at his sharpest? He was insane in those first couple of rounds. I doubt he lost many of these early rounds anywhere near his best and he was so dangerous. Case point - Duran and Cuevas just for starters. I would rate Cuevas much much more dangerous than Mugabi.

There's that pre Hagler. For the reasons above i think Hearns would decimate him. Hearns instant sheer speed, sharpness, class and accuracy would see that scorching right hand hit home early and it's curtains from there. Hearns KO 1-2.

 

It probably comes off that i am hating on Mugabi but i sincerely stand by all my points above (which i have gone to great lengths explaining) and like most i was excited by the guy when he came on the scene. He was a big puncher and a great story. His fight with Hagler is one of my favorites, irregardless of Hagler fading it was a fine effort. I watch it periodically.

More than happy to sit in the minority view of the forum at this time. A decade back my views would fitted in with the majority view of the forum.