I honestly think Tommy wins a early stoppage or UD. Ray cannot retire for 2 years and come back and beat Hearns who is at his best. If Kevin Howard knocked down Ray, what would Tommy do.
Hearns isn't flattening Leonard ever. I would pick Tommy to win, but it would have been a razor tight affair. Neither of them would ever blow the other one away.
it is true, somehow these two guys never would easily beat the other guy. They both could punch and counterpunch, so if one thing didn't work for either they would try another, and the other guy would adjust. That is why their fights were so good, you saw many different styles in the two fights they had. Many changes in momentum with them. I don't think I saw fights where the momentum changed as much during the fight as those 2 fights.
I just don't see Leonard beating Hearns at JMW. Hearns was just undernourished enough for him to take in '81, and just dented enough by Hagler and Barkley for him to compete with in '89. In 84, Hearns may well have stopped Leonard. TKO.
Considering both men are both equally as great on a head-to-head basis as they are in regards to legacy and accomplishments,I would never make either a solid favourite,regardless of whether they fought at 147 or 154,over one another.When you match two great,elite fighters against one another,at a weight where both men are comfortable - more often than not,it's a pick'em fight. This notion that Thomas Hearns improved so dramatically based on him moving up a single weight class is a ridiculous one.If Hearns had improved in the three years since losing to Leonard,it was based on further in-ring experience and having participated in a fight like the one that he had with Leonard. Hearns was great,and he was capable of beating any fighter in history from Welterweight to Middleweight - I just tend to think that Ray Leonard wouldn't make a complete mockery of himself like Roberto Duran managed and would give a more credible showing,regardless of the result.
This one could always go either way, but I'd say Hearns. You can't rule out a stoppage, however a close but clear decision is more likely.
Hearns mops the floor with Leonard this time. At this stage of his career, Tommy had never been better, punching apart Duran, Hutchins, & Shuler in unbelievably swift N brutal fashion. there is simply no competing with the reborn Hitman at his peak. Hearns by KO in 3 I like Leonard's chances with Gavilan tho SIDENOTE: anyone suggesting that Ray lasts the distance in a close one does not believe that themselves and is born out of sentimentality
Hearns was at his peak here, so I pick him to stop Leonard along the way. I think Ray will do better than Duran, but not by much.
If Leonard comes out directly from a 2 year retirement, Hearns wins. If he had moved up to 154 and kept active, Leonard wins. Please get rid of any notions that Hearns was anything but closer to his prime than Leonard when they met the second time. Still, Leonard could well have won that had it been over 15.
