Who would win this light-middleweight tournament? THOMAS HEARNS MIKE McCALLUM WINKY WRIGHT TERRY NORRIS Please vote and explain.
I think Hearns stops Norris, easy. I think Hearns would win a PTS decision over Winky with the majority of his punches hitting Winkys guard but Winky not being able to outbox Tommy. I think McCallum would win a PTS decision over Winky. McCallum would stop a game Terry Norris late in the fight. So the two left over from any type of match arrangement are McCallum and Hearns. I think Hearns outboxes McCallum early, then The Body Snatcher takes the middle rounds with some ferocious body punching. They fight with heart for the championship rounds, and Hearns walks onto a punch in a similar fashion to Don Curry did. Hence my choice, Mike 'The Body Snatcher' McCallum.
The reason I don't see Hearns stopping McCallum is because in his JMW days he was beset with hand problems. Even without hand problems, seeing how McCallum responded to being under fire from none other than Julian Jackson makes me think Tommy wouldn't stand a chance either way. McCallum had much more pop at JMW as well.
Hearns beats McCallum more often than not, shuts out Wright or gets a stoppage at some point and destroys Norris in two or three rounds. McCallum beats Norris late in a good fight and comfortably outpoints Wright in a fight where he gets tagged quite a lot. Wright vs Norris could either way imo.I'd be rooting for Winky.
Both Hearns and McCallum probably stop the other two, though Winky has a decent shot at surviving the distance. Hearns/McCallum is basically 50/50, depending on whether or not McCallum can close the distance comfortably and often enough to put in good inside work. Even then, he typically wasn't the kind of inside banger or pressure fighter that a guy like Chavez was unless the opponent was within range all night, which Hearns's height, reach and skill would make it very difficult to be. I could see both fighter's gaining the edge, depending on what strategy either fighter uses, but I'd edge it to Hearns.
McCallum,I agree. Hearns stops Norris easy, wins a squeaker over Wright. McCallum beats Hearns, by decision or late stoppage...
That's about right. Hearns certainly had the power to KO anybody on a given night, however, McCallum's body assault could pose insurmountable problems for Tommy...and his chin.
Norris doesn't belong in this equation. He was nowhere near as good as the other 3 who should be in the HOF. Norris had a terrible chin and it would have betrayed him against all 3.
Even Wright? Hearns and McCallum would expose anyone with even a hint of a weak chin, especially Hearns. But Winky I dont know. I think Norris chin was quite average compared to the rest of his game which was quite solid but it did hold up against a variety of contenders for close to 8 years. He was knocked out by Jackson..really its Jackson though, he could knock out just about anyone. And he dropped the ball once against Brown...A decent welter titlist, with a good punch on him. I cant see Winky stopping him...I would favour Norris to outpoint him to tell you the truth..With Mike and Tommy sending him to sleep no later than the midrounds.
