thomas hearns - virtually unbeatable at 147-154

Hearns lost to Leonard cos he just ran out of steam. In a 12 round fight he would have won.
Wish it were 15 rounds instead of 12.

 

I just don't buy this at all. Thomas Hearns was one of the best outboxers to ever fight at those weights, but it is silly to allow our admiration for an ATG to cloud the fact that his chin was a glaring weakness which could on any given night have let him down against a top-class fighter with a powerful punch.

How can someone who was given spaghetti legs by single shots be termed "virtually unbeatable"? It makes no sense. I rate Hearns very highly and I have enormous respect and affection for him as a fighter and a personality, but I disagree with this myth that is being built up about his unbeatability.

****ing Juan Domingo Roldan had Tommy falling around the place at 160, and was Roldan a better puncher at mw than guys like Julian Jackson, John Mugabi, Terry Norris and Nino Benvenuti were at lmw??? I think not. Tommy was a much better fighter than guys like Jackson, Mugabi, Norris and Benvenuti, but that does not mean they couldn't have got to him on the right night. If he fought all four one after the other, one of them would've caught him at one point IMO.


Brilliant, brilliant fighter - Yes.
Virtually unbeatable - No.

JMHO.

 

Thread title says 147-154, does not mention 160????

 

If Tommy had a chin, he might of been the GOAT.

 

Mugabi, Jackson, Norris and Benvenuti were all excellent lightmiddles. Know your stuff. atsch

 

Hearns would have beaten them all.

 

No fighter is unbeatable.

Hearns was pretty much impossible to outbox granted, but had an obvious weakness with his chin and balance...... of course you had to be able to take his punches in order to be able to land your own......

Aside from Barkley, which was lightning in a bottle IMO, you have to be a pretty special fighter to get the better of Tommy, which Hagler and Leonard were.

 

In individual hypotheticals, yes. He was a much better fighter than all of them, obviously. But if Hearns had actually existed in a division with four big, natural lightmiddle punchers like those four, one of them would surely have done to him what Iran Barkley did later. Hearns was incredible, but he was never unbeatable.

 

No fighter is unbeatable. McCallum at 154 for example could have done it.

 

IMO, punchers would have a much better chance against Hearns than simply other great boxers. But it's not inconceivable that McCallum could do to Hearns what he did to Donald Curry (ie get outboxed for a few rounds before landing a punch that turned the fight on its head). :good

 

I agree, but McCallum was one hell of a fighter and would have a decent chance IMO. McCallum's devastating body punching would have taken its toll in the late rounds. I can see McCallum taking him out in the late rounds while behind on the scorecards.

 

Good points. McCallum was a monumental fighter at 154.

 

I think Berto 2 years from now could take him in his prime at 147.

 

he siad between 147-160 so guys at 160 that you mentioned don't count its hard to tell how they would have fared against him at 160