Prime Zale. What did Hearns do at middleweight to make you favour him? Beat Shuler and DeWitt and get knocked out by Hagler and Barkley. I might go as far as saying it was the hitmans worst weight.
Zale wasn`t as skilled at in-fighting as Hagler and Hearns put up a better fight v Marvin than Zale would have if Marvin charged at him the way he charged at Hearns, Tommy had more power and better hand speed than Zale and would knock him out the same way he knocked out Roldan.
Zale late, nothing against Tommy, but Tony is the wrong guy for him to be getting into a shootout with. Hearne would have some success early, but would get worn down for the championship round stoppage, like somewhere around the 13th.
Interesting fight. Zale was tough as nails and the kind of guy that could wear a guy out with his pressure. Tommy was not at his best at 160 but still hand a cannon for a right hand. I could see Tommy catching Tony at somepoint with that right hand with a KO win for Hearns as a likely senario. If Tony could handle that power I see him grinding Hearns down over 15 rounds. Gun to my head I will pick Tommy but Zale was no joke.
Throw Zale in with a 154 Tommy, his peak weight, and he gets KTFO'd. That come forward style doesn't work against Hearns, and I doubt Zale has the ability to get inside and work his hooks without being hit hard. After 4/5 rounds he can't keep taking Hearns shots and a lengthy combo finishes off the Man of Steele.
This is a fight that would certainly sell. Zale is one of the hardest one punch hitters in the history of the Middleweight division. Look at the state of the guys he chinned. Spark unconscious in really weird collapsed shapes. Tony was gettable though. Rocky Graziano, who was a very basic Fighter, knocked Tony out in their second fight. Hearns' huge advantage here is his range. Tommy probably hit just as hard as Zale when his hands were healthy but he hasn't got to get in Zale's range to throw. Absolute gunfight. Never a chance of it going past 4 and I'm going to say that Hearns gets to Zale with a long right.
The Man Of Steele, Tony Zale was a tough fighter who engaged in wars against Rocky Graziano, and lost to the late great Marcel Cerdan on Sept 21 1948, by TKO 11. Tony was a very relentless fighter who took pride into causing an opponent distress with his brutal body punching, setting them up for the end, and he did have great endurance. Thomas The Hitman Hearns has destroyed many an opponent with his strong long left jab, setting them up for his paralyzing right hand. He was defeated by Sugar Ray Leonard on Sept 16 1981, in a welterweight title unification bout, WBA / WBC, by TKO 14, after building up a slight lead. He was stopped by World Middleweight Champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, on April 15 1985, by KO 3. Tony's trainer, Ray Arcel, advises Zale to employ a savage body attack to Hearns exposed ribs, causing him to be short of breath and fatigue.They also advise him to watch the right hand and to not let him breathe.Emmanuel Steward tells Tommy to protect his body and to try to end it early, by looking for an opening to land the right hand that made Pipino Cuevas do the Lambada before sending him to dreamland, in 1980. Tony, following Arcel's instructions, bobs and weaves landing to Hearns thin rib cage. He ties up Tommy, as he tries to land the right hand. The fight then extends into the middle rounds with Hearns ribs look very red and raw, and Zale's face looks as if it is a pound of hamburger meat, his left eye looks like has been inflated by a hand pump. In round 14 Tommy is trying to protect his ribs, leaving himself open for a right hand that drops Hearns for a mandatory eight count, then Tony rains punches to the head and body, a towel from Steward comes sailing into the ring, the referee then ends the bout.
Zale cops it early, Tommy shooting out that Jab. Maybe a Kd or two in the early round s from the Hit man. But Tony battles on thru and we see Hearns s less effective as Zale goes on the attack. Round about the last few rounds, with Zale behind and his face showing signs of the war, Tony cuts thro Hearns defense and drops him heavily. A knock down later and Tommy's legs are gone and Zale gets the win.
