Jake LaMotta vs Tommy Hearns

Honestly, I think Hearns has all the tools to beat Lamotta fairly easily. Faster, better technically, much better power, more mobile, taller, reach advantage...Lamotta is more durable but what other advantage does he have over Tommy? Hearn's chin wasn't very sturdy, but Lamotta didn't have the kind of power to seriously trouble Hearns. He'd apply the pressure no doubt, but Hearns could handle it with his reach and mobility. Hearn's awesome body punching would also slow Lamotta's advances down considerably.
If anyone has the power to stop Lamotta it's Hearns, and he had the skills to box to a decision if he needs to.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that when I posted.
However Ray won the other 5, and that's a pretty convincing statistic to me. Not to say that Hearns was quite as good as Robinson, but he was a helluva boxer and puncher, which is a pretty rare combination.

 

But Also Several Of The Wins Over Jake Were Close And Contraversal I Think Jake Would Have Caught Hearns In The Late Rounds

 

Hearns by close decision ,but his ribs wouldnt want a rematch.

 

Lamotta crowds him and makes it tough, Hearns was great but no S.R.R., Jake takes it

 

Hearns by decision if he boxes and stays disciiplined-
Lamotta by late stoppage based on durability and pressure-
I can't decide.

 

I have all the respect in the world for the heart and guts of Jake Lamotta, but in all fairness, Hearns just has way too much to offer him. Stylistically this is a bad matchup for Jake. Although he did manage to upset a prime Robinson once, I'm not sure that I'd bet money on him to pull off the same kind of miracle again.

Hearns by late round stoppage or a wide decision.

 

Jake in the late round because Hearns had problems with pressure fighters( Barkley) and Jake was a way better fighter than Barkley

 

Lamotta fought 5 very close fights with SRR and the 6th was jake being an idiot. he would apply pressure like crazy to hearns and Lamotta was only knocked off his feet 1 time in 106 bouts so i dont think hearns, for all his power, is really gonna hurt jake. hearns started out as a light welterweight as an amateur and fought at light middleweight and middleweight for most of his professional career. although he did defeat andries and hill he wasnt a natural light heavy. jake however, started fighting as a light heavy and moved down to middle as a pro to have a size advantage. he also fought several over-the-weight bouts and had many light heavyweight pro fights. he even stated that his best fighting weight was around 170 lbs. he's bigger, more durable, and has a much harder chin. im picking jake by a close UD.

 

I wouldn't put too much stock in what happened in either of the Barkley fights as a measure of how he would do against La Motta. The truth is that in the first bout Tommy was schooling Barkley and on the verge of stopping him when he got complacent. In the 2nd fight Tommy was basically a shot fighter but still looked several classes above Barkley when he opened up.

I think Hearns really has too many tools for La Motta to deal with. Tommy could box for 15 rounds without presenting too many counterpunching opportunities (ask Wilfred Benitez about that) and of course we all know he could punch. I see a late stoppage or wide UD for Tommy here.

 

True, but then again Barkley was a pretty big middleweight, who scaled over six feet in height. Lamotta was what? 5'8 or 5'9 maybe? Ray was 5'11 and he looked quite a bit taller than Jake, and Tommy's 6'2.
Barkley was able to reach Hearns, but could Lamotta, at least consistently?

 

Congratulations :good

You've just won an award for "dumbest post of the day"

Now bearing mind some of the pitiful stuff that gets posted in the GF, you have beaten off some tough competition.

Go back to boxrec with your 28ko's in 30 fights ****, does that make Sugar Ray Robinson a crap puncher because over the course of 201 (?) fights, he only finished with about a 54% ko percentage

 

I think that LaMotta would stop Hearns, especially if their bout is scheduled for 15 rounds. Hearns was by far the better boxer, but those weak/skinny legs of his wouldn`t hold up over a long distance fight. Tommy could punch like a mule`s kick, but he wouldn`t be able to discourage Jake from working his way in and pounding his body to shreds.

It is almost impossible to keep fighters like LaMotta at a distance because they are the type of rare fighters who will take your best shots, shrug them off, and still keep pressing forward.How can you keep fighters that take your best shots at distance? The hit but don`t be hit model of boxing does not apply to these warriors, at some point you will have to stand your ground and trade.

You have to outbrawl them over the distance, even if your outboxing them in spurts. Hearns will give angles and box, but LaMotta won`t allow it for too long. Even Sugar Ray Robinson, a better boxer than Tommy and far more durable had to fight large portions of their bouts on the inside because Jake took his jabs, right crosses and left hooks and came in anyway and pounded on his ribs to slow him down and make him more stationary as the fight wore on.

If boxing history has shown us one thing, it is that if you are willing and able to take the punishment, you can get inside on anybody (look at Frazier, Basilio, etc). I see LaMotta using the same approach that Hagler did when he fought Tommy, bore your way in at all costs and take the best right hands Tommy will throw your way to break him down mentally and physically.

Work over Hearns` ribs when in close quarters to weaken those twig legs of his and make him more stationary, and once his legs have tired and he has slowed down considerably, start going upstairs with more regularity. Tommy was nowhere near durable enough to last in a dogfight with someone as tough and physically strong as Jake. LaMotta would get inside on him one way or another, and he would rough him up in close and sap his strenght with his mauling tactics and bodyblows.

If the fight is scheduled for ten rounds, I think Tommy can get the nod although he might be holding for dear life towards the end... but in a twelve or fifteen rounder he gets stopped. I loved Tommy and have great respect for him and his abilitys and always enjpyed watching him in action, but Jake is just too strong, too tough and too relentless for Tommy to handle. Skilled fighters who could take what Tommy could dish out and keep pressing him will always pose a lot problems for him and likely stop him inside the distance.

LaMotta KO13 Hearns