i think it was considering hearns age, the weight class and Hill was an excellent underatted champion
I wont answer that but: How many lineal welterweight champions have ever beaten a lineal light heavyweight champion? Barbados Joe Walcott. Mickey Walker. Tommy Hearns. Short list!
Hitman's dossier is full of great victories, and certainly Hill was one of them. But in my opinion his victories against Duran and Pipino are way more impressive. Those two KO are in a league of their own
People are forgetting that Hearns was figured to lose to Hill in 1991........ It was a very good upset win for Hearns.......... It was also Hearns' last really serious fight......... Peace........ MR.BILL I have a mid-90s fight with Tommy Hearns fighting some dude named Earl Butler on tape.... Hearns looked okay for his aging bones, but the fight really didn't prove anything.... I think that was the last time I ever saw Hearns fight...... I never saw that 2000 fiasco against Uriah Grant........ Thank Christ........
Was Virgil Hill the best OPPONENT, that Thomas Hearns ever fought? No, absolutely not. But, when we put the WIN into context, a fair argument can probably be made that it might very well have been his best VICTORY, or certainly one of them. Thomas Hearns was well past his prime by 1990, while Virgil Hill was in the peak of his. Hearns was a man who had begun his career at welterweight, while Hill was a natural light heavyweight and the consensus best in the division. He was a heavy underdog in that fight, and not only did he win it, he damn well basically dominated the whole match. Also, as Janitor has already mentioned, he was one of the few to move up from a lighter division and capture a title against a lineal champ. Now, I don't know if I considered Hill the LINEAL champ at the time, but let's just say he was the very best among peers. There was no longer a Michael Spinks lingering around, and men like Jeff Harding and Charles Williams didn't exactly cut the mustard in terms of being the cream of the crop. My answer is not definitive... But, yes an ARGUMENT can be made...
Hearns had a number of big, surprising wins in his career. The Hill one is right up there with them, for the reasons you've said.
If hearns was in his prime at lt heavyweight,I mean it being his best weight lets say,how would a match against Spinks have gone?
I think so yes. It was the manner of the win as much as anything. People have this perception of Hearns as a limited banger with a suspect chin, which in a sense is true, he was a murderous puncher and had a suspect chin, but he could really box. Not many people outjabbed and essentially outboxed Virgil Hill, Hearns was the first to do it, others like Michalczewski and Jones followed, as well as Henry Maske in parts.
But a boxer at 175 is the style that Hearns could certainly hang in there with. What he doesn't need are the tough physical types at that weight. Maske would've been another type style for him. The other thing to consider is that Hill fought a terrible fight and it was his first real high pressure bout. And lots of times guys just don't handle that pressure cooker very well & Hill didn't either.
I think Maske would have had too much for the 1990 Hearns, well the 1994 version at least.... He had an excellent jab and could punch well with both hands, the classical European if you like. He was as fit as a flea as well, no stamina issues at all. Would have loved to have seen Jones, Toney, Benn and Eubank take on the elite Germans of the day.
Wasn't going to happen. Nobody out there is going to put their guy in with a southpaw like Maske unless they have to. And since it really wouldn't be for a lot of $$$ anyway, those fights never did transpire. But Henry isn't a big puncher & that type of matchup suits Hearns at 175. I'd take Henry to lick Hearns because of his defense and southpaw stance. He held those hands up, too. It'd be a more difficult task than Hill. Speaking of Hill, that Maske decision was a puzzler. It was a close fight and usually the house fighter gets all the breaks when it comes to a decision. Hill certainly benefitted from a few of those in North Dakota and I was surprised he got the nod in Germany. I thought it was a draw or maybe Hill by a point.