Is Thomas Hearns a top 10 ATG in any division ?

He's certainly top 5 at 154. He could be argued inside the top 10 at Welterweight, though you'd have to weigh H2H ability heavily to do so.

 

Only at 154. WW is just to deep and he didn´t do enough above lmw to be in consideration there.

 

I have him top 10 at welterweight and top 2 at superwelterweight. top 25 at middleweight. top 20 at SM and top 50 at light heavyweight.

 

How surprising ...

 

most fighters are only top 10 in one divison, and Hearns was great in two and possibly a third. Hard to knock a guy with his resume and opponents.

 

Many people like Bodhi have contradictary biased criteria and pick and choose when to include over the weight fights and when to ignore lack of good performances at the weight. Most people also don't realise how much Hearns actually did at the weight:

Cuevas - obvious win, a champ with 12 devastating defenses all but 1 ending in a KO

Leonard - yes he lost but came very close, as a loss it isn't nearly as poor as many other WW champs

Bruce Curry - arguably twice beat Benitez and became a 140lb champ, Hearns destroyed him

Weston - drew with Benitez and has a win over Antufermo

Shields - decent gatekeeper who was the only man to go 12 with Cuevas, Hearns stopped him

Espada - ex champ destroyed

Those wins by themselves, but you have to lookat how well he performed, he dominated those men and only lost to many peoples no2 all time WW. Then look how he performed against the other WWs above the weight: Leonard (won), Duran (destroyed), Benitez (dominated). Not to mention the other countless wins over top contenders or champions

 

that´s better what those guys did?

Sugar Ray Robinson
Henry Armstrong
Jack Britton
Sugar Ray Leonard
Barney Ross
Mickey Walker
Jose Angel Napoles
Emile Griffith
Ted Kid Lewis
Jimmy McLarnin
Luis Manuel Rodriguez
Tommy Ryan
Barbados Joe Walcott
Carmen Basilio

just from the top of my head and I´m sure I missed some. Sorry, but no. Hearns is a great fighter but not a Top10 ww, perhaps Top20 though. And he isn´t a Top25 mw either. Never made a smw ranking and never went past 25 at lhw, so I guess Top20 and Top50 there is kinda realistic.

And a lmw fight is a lmw fight and not a ww fight and thus shouldn´t be taken into account there. What´s next? Hearns win over Hill should be counted for his ww ranking?

 

if Hearns doesn't have it no one does. His title winning fights might be against the best champions ever beaten to win titles for a legend. Cuevas for his first title. Benitez for his second in the next weight class. Duran was a unification fight had Duran not been stripped of the WBA title. 3 greats right there. Then almost 10 years later beating Virgil Hill who was undefeated and had 10 title defenses at 175, later to have 21 title defenses. That is just on title wins.

No one outboxed Benitez or Hill like Hearns did. No one stopped Duran or Shuler or Cuevas like Hearns did. Sure fighters he fought lost later, and so did the fighters whom Jones or Chavez beat.

 

Defo top ten at 154...borderline top 10 at 147. I think I have him 10 on a day I'm feeling like it.

I think the fact he is one of the best welters I've ever seen on film helps him slip in there...his resume at the weight is weakish given the strength and rich history of the division.

 

Top 3 at lm , top 5 at ww , top 20 at mw , top 10 at lhw . Close thread please .

 

:good

 

You've got a terrible sense of where fighters should rank historically.atsch