Who beats Tommy Hearns

Since I don't know the answer I will pose this as a question. At 147 and 154, I think most would agree that Tommy's only real weakness is his chin. Saying that the two Sugar's would beat him is a logical, accurate answer but I am curious about lesser fighters who might be able to beat Tommy simply because they have a devastating punch.

Who were the really big punchers at 147 or 154 who may not be all-time greats simply because they had other weaknesses?

 

I think prime Manny at 147 has a decent chance to get to him later rounds. The Manny around the 2008-2011 timeframe.

 

De La Hoya at 147 is in the running. Unless Tommy can put him down quick (and Oscar has a serious beard, fishnets or no) it's a boxing match and I think Oscar is smarter and with enough pop to threaten Tommy with unconsciousness. Should probably think Hearns is the favorite, but Oscar is definitely in it, imo.

 

The two Sugar Rays at welter. Kid Gavilan would stand a great chance. Maybe Napoles. I will think about the rest.

Light Middle was Tommy's best poundage. I see him getting a decision over Mike McCallum as long as he uses his boxing skills and does n't try to knock The Bodysnatcher out as that would be very counter productive.

 

I doubt if Hearns made welterweight naturally. If they fight back in the day Hearns will have to make weight on the day of the fight, which likely means nighty-night for him against more than who is on the list. Possibly Mayorga even beats him. Even fight. It is a matter of styles.

Robinson
Leonard
Burley
Walker
Gavilan

 

Hearns was making weight on the day of the fight.

 

Sugar Robinson is the only person with certainty that I think beats Hearns at 147. I don't even think Sugar Leonard would have won a rematch had they fought again at that weight.

At 154 maybe Mccallum, maybe Winky (but I wouldn't favor Winky)

 

Mayorga might actually do it. I think he pulls it off 2/10 times.
The style matchup is similar to forrest.

 

A prime Sugar Ray Robinson at 147 lb.

 

He absolutely made weight naturally at 147, why do you think he came in at 145 for the Leonard fight .. He was natural as it gets. He just trained really hard for the fight because he was pumped for it

 

At 147 i'd only actually favor SRR and SRL.

Guys like Gavilan and Burley might be close to evens.

My wildcard is actually Mickey Walker. Somewhat crude but possessing enormous durability, excellent power, stamina, strength and aggression. He could be hit but seldom flush. He might be able to crowd Hearns, stay on him and wear him down particularly with the right ref. I think stylistically he is potentially a very tough out.

Also stipulating 15 rounds makes it a teeny bit more op0en than 10-12.

At 154 i have SRR fave but i'd go close to making SRL evens, especially over 12. Walker still stands as uber dangerous. *Guys like Burley and Holman Williams are obviously great fighters. There's lots of dangers but few i'd make outright fave. Over 15 the odd older era fighter might wear him down.

* When talking mid divisions like 154, 140, 130 etc i dont give two damns whether guys fought for official titles or whether the division was official and recognized when they fought. A guy like Roberto Duran had loads of fights in the 135-140 bracket and i'd personally take him as favorite over anyone in that bracket ever. Guys like Burley, SRR etc are obviously absolute beasts in the 154 pound bracket. Charles is obviously a beast in the 168 pound bracket. I go with common sense and the fact that they actually had loads of fights at these weights.

 

Cuevas at 147, and we know how that turned out. Donald Curry could whack, but I don’t see it working out for him vs. the Hit Man. Mayorga was mentioned, which is an interesting choice … could turn it into something like Iran Barkley or Juan Roldan did, but those were much bigger men who had to wade through hell to get through Hearns’ barrage; don’t see how Ricardo could stand up to it.

Julian Jackson at 154. That would be interesting but I think Hearns simply outboxes him. Same with Mugabi, topped off with a KO around the seventh or eighth imo. Saul Alvarez I think has the beard and I could see him pulling it off at junior middle maybe with the nowadays day-before weigh-in.

Two interesting wild cards: Felix Trinidad and Marlon Starling, both at 147. Problem with Tito is that he was someone who could be lured into a firefight, which doesn’t favor him. And Marlon might survive quite handily but I don’t see him having the offense.

Interesting I’m not seeing Napoles, as great as he was. I think he gets outboxed in a fight that is competitive until Tommy rips open that scar tissue with his jab to win on a cuts stoppage.

 

Hagler, Barkley

 

Excellent post!