i know most consider this Hearns best weight, do you think he stops Leonard. I still think Hearns wins but Leonard is always there to fight.
If we say Leonard never retires and moved up in 83 or 84 to face Hearns, I think Leonard stops him late again, assuming he's in shape and motivated. Their rematch confirmed to me that Tommy always would have huge problems holding off Ray over 15 rds.
Over 15 Leonard would be more durable. He was just more sturdy than Hearns. Though Tommy did a better job of holding and buying time after that 1st bout
I think it's anyones bout each time they fight, even at 154. Hearns carried the weight more naturally and peaked at the weight. He had learned to clinch and buy time as ETM says. In short he was a slightly better fighter than when he fought SRL. Over 15 SRL might be a slight fave, over 12 Hearns maybe. Everytime they fight it would be Hearns outboxing Leonard and leading on the scorecards and it all depends if Leonard catches him. Ray has to stop him to win, i think this is blatantly obvious. Hearns also had the potential to put Ray in deep trouble at 154 imo but he is extremely hard to put away. He fights well hurt, takes a fine punch, recuperates well and has great instincts. They'd split a trilogy imo.
I'm still not comfortable with their Draw, I thought Tommy had that one .. Don't know if Ray even wanted a 3rd or what happened there, can't remember .. I do think that these 2 were made for each other for just the perfect exciting fights and anything can happen with these 2
Ray has admitted 3 or 4 times publically that Hearns kicked his butt in the second, including with Hearns on coming to share the stage with him. Hearns was sweating for the rubber match bit it was never going to happen.
Did Ray take that 2nd fight 8 years later because he thought Tommy was shot? Hearns jab played a part in SRL's eye issues and his iniial retirement.
Safe to say yes. Instead of a rematch he then went straight to Duran, a much easier proposition at this stage. I think Ray knew he wouldn't beat Hearns at this stage after their fight.
I don't think this goes late at 154. I think Hearns might knock Ray out in 1984. Ray knew not to fight Tommy until Tommy got old, and even then Hearns experience fighting the whole decade really helped him. Tommy had too much passion when he fought Ray where he expended too much energy. if he fought him like he fought Virgil Hill with the jab he would win easily. I really think so. Ray waited to fight Hearns in 1989 for a reason and didn't give him the 3rd fight. Ray knew he didn't want any part of Hearns in the rematch.
It was close, but I think Tommy won that second fight knocking him down twice and being the boss of that one . .With that being said, these 2 were just made for each other for close exciting fights, some of the best.. Ray had the heart of a lion and Tommy was bad a**. Without Rays injury, the 3rd fight is just as close and as good as the first 2 .. imo
I think Tommy could beat Ray every time out if he does not go for the knockout. But you are right, they are evenly matched. What is amazing about their two fights is each guy would take turns winning rounds and having momentum. You do not see fights like that really ever where rounds are exchanged back and forth. Just evenly matched fighters. Perfectly matched.
The prime fight at 147 tells us more than the 168 fight when they were bot past it. Hearns would be a bit more durable at 154 than he was at 147, but Leonard still holds the advantage in intangibles as well as chin and stamina. And even in the second fight at 168, I believe Leonard would have stopped Hearns if it had been a 15 rounder. He had Hearns badly hurt in the 12th round. Yes. Hearns scored two flash knockdowns during the fight, but Leonard had him way more hurt in that 12th round than Hearns had him hurt at any point in the fight. Leonard by late rounds tko.
What we know: At 147 Ray stopped Tommy in the 14th. At a MW/SMW catchweight Ray, who was older and arguably further past his prime, had Tommy in big trouble in the 12th and would conceivably have stopped him if the fight went on for another 3 rds. These facts lead me to believe that a peak Ray likely would have stopped Tommy at 154. That Tommy would have stopped Ray at 154, which he couldn't do to the old version at a higher weight, seems unlikely to me.
I don't think Ray had Hearns hurt in the 12 of the second fight. I think Tommy was exhausted from trying to stop Ray. Tommy sitting back and jabbing wins easily. Ray was tired also. Tommy would have recovered and landed some right hands in the 13th. I don't think the 12th is proof Tommy was almost out. If you look at round 9 Ray rocked Tommy and Tommy came back in 10 and 11 and knocked down Ray in round 11. I give Ray credit. He and Tommy created such even fights.
Hearns was badly hurt in the 12th and hung on 'till the end. Sure, exhaustion was parly to blame. His stamina was not nearly as good as Leonard's.