Thomas Hearns vs Chris Eubank at 160

OK.

 

I don't think Eubank's odd whiplash of smooth precision and pure slop matches up well with Tommy at 160.

One of Eubank's biggest flaws was his inability to fight comfortably on the front-foot. He just didn't seem to be able to set himself effectively for punches without overextending and losing balance when forced into that mode for long, and he'd become frustrated and more hittable. Hearns can win this fighting his usual level of aggression too, but I think if he keeps things slightly more cautious than usual then he would be a nightmare for Eubank to land his counters on.

Eubank will need to knock him out with one of those sharp right-hand or uppercut counters to win. He certainly hit hard enough to hurt Tommy, but highly unlikely he'd suddenly turn things enough with single punches, and, as said, he just doesn't follow up well enough in stalking mode to finish off Tommy if he gets him in trouble. Nor does he have the same ranginess as Barkley that allowed Iran to take advantage of Tommy's too open defensive style with long punches while they were fencing at ring-centre. His other big weakness was stamina, though that manifested more at 168 over the second half of his reign, but he's still not likely to be able to stay active and come on strong enough in the later rounds.

There's more chance that Hearns scores a shocking knockout win at some point than Eubank doing more than dropping/staggering him a few times, imo. Most likely outcome...Hearns comfortable UD, wins the majority of the rounds, probably after being hurt enough to play it safe. At 168 I can see it being more like Leonard vs Hearns II, but that's likely a best case scenario for Chris - he could still lose widely in a boring fight if Tommy keeps it tight.However, Eubank would bring a lot of the same well-schooled boxer-puncher issues for Hearns as Kinchen did, only with more precision and finesse. Plus, that bizarrely sloppy, hilariously telegraphed overhand right he would occasionally unload with while rarely ever landing it against defensively savvy fighters would actually be an unpredictable threat for the upright, open Hearns. Then again it's the sort of thing that could see Eubank's face horribly caved in with a counter right hand.

ultimately Eubank's offensive approach isn't the best here. He's at his best when countering and turning a slower opponent off the back foot, or planting in front of them with that Don Curry "no wasted motion slip and counter sharpshooter" approach and baiting out counters/combinations before repositioning. That's no good against a rangier, faster, harder hitting opponent that you're going to struggle to close down and finish when you do land. His reflexes, upperbody movement and glove/blocking defence were very good at his peak, so he'd be tough for Hearns to land consecutively on with combinations, but that never bothered Tommy; he was always able to control fights with just the jab and one-two if need be.

 

Hearns would beat the Hell outta Eubank.