Who beats Tommy Hearns

I think there are a ton of excellent fighters who could do this as 147 is of course a massively deep classic division while 154 has had a surprisingly number of excellent fighters dip into it on the way up to MW. It seems the key factor on all of these fantasy fights is less Tommy's skills and punch (considerable though they are) but his freakish frame, particularly at WW. In the same way it is hard to imagine any pre 90s HW standing a chance against Fury or Lewis due to the fact that the sheer size discrepancy combined their boxing skills would mean either could coast to points wins against pretty much anyone. So this is the elephant in the room with any Hearns match up, if he boxes sensibly and avoids a lucky punch who can reach him? This factor lessens a bit as we move up to 154 but is still a big factor.

So I feel the only guys to beat him would either be giant punchers who can get lucky or guys who combine a lot of head movement, are quick to dart in and out but also can brawl and smother to break up Tommy's rhythm and remove some of his leverage. The problem with Tommy was he was a massive puncher but also a master boxer so any fellow slicksters who are smaller and don't have a big punch to even things out will most likely lose. I include Mayweather, Mosely and Whitaker in this category (despite making a case for Floyd in a previous thread and getting flamed lol!). I suspect Ross, Armstrong and McLarnin would also be too small despite their obvious brilliance and quickness?

Two very wild cards from the banger category could be Simon Brown (who was also a fine boxer) and Barbados Joe Walcott!! While it sounds crazy to suggest a 5ft 1 guy would stand any chance against a killer praying mantis like Tommy, Joe's legend is so huge and punching power so storied I thought he maybe a curve ball considering he had the physical strength to fight up to HW so must have been a handful, perhaps he could simply bull his way under Hearn's guard to land a killer blow? Impossible without any film of him but thought I would throw Joe in the mix.

There are so many legendary names at WW that I don't know enough about really but seems it would be a bit mad to right off fighters like Britton and Lewis who seem to have fought everyone of note as well as each other during their careers, pretty much had a deep division sewn up between them for 8 years, so would bring a ton of experience in all styles to the match. Possibly Britton falls in the slickers category I mentioned above and is just out boxed but perhaps Lewis with his famous crashing bashing style could unset Hearns' groove if over 15/20 rounds?

Mickey Walker has been mentioned but I think he stands a chance due to his ruggedness and as with Walcott he must have been a very strong fighter to go 15 with Greb and fight up to HW. I admit I don't know a huge amount about him on a technical level and seems like his peak was after his years at WW? Would be interested to know his weight when he was fighting at MW and HW for comparison as I know famous giant killers like Walcott and Langford tended to weight considerably less than their opponents as they rose in weight. Sam Langford is of course somewhere in this mix but not sure if his best years were at around 147 either?

I would imagine Walker and Langford would have weighted at 154 range at some points in their career so I suppose we could consider them at both WW and LMW but I will need someone with more expertise in old timers to clarify!

Not sure if Griffiths has been mentioned but he was a classy boxer, solid puncher and pretty rugged. He could be a pick at both 147 and 154 and imagine he would have been a solid long term LMW champ if the division was well established at the time. While this doesn't really factor into the discussion he proved significantly more durable than Hearns at MW IMO (despite his freak KO to Carter!).

The one fighter at WW who could match Tommy physically would be Mark Breland, but in all other areas he is lacking. But he was a very fine fighter so worth mentioning. Another random thought is if Aaron Pryor avoid his drug hell and moved up to WW after Arguello fights. While considerably smaller his pressure style while he is glued to Tommy's chest and doesn't let him get any range could be interesting? Maybe similar to how an Armstrong fight could turn out although Henry is of course the greater fighter.

At 154, along with Griffiths, Jackson and outside of McCallum who I favor, I think Terry Norris seem an obvious danger man, albeit even more vulnerable than Tommy while also being keen to brawl and erratic. But he was fast and believed in himself so I see this as a thrilling battle. While the ghost of his KO to Jackson would hang over this fight I feel if this happens once Terry is a bit more experienced and focused he could surprise. But I admit someone who is decked by Troy Waters wouldn't be a betting favorite!

Final name at 154 could be the Winky Wright of the Mosely fights although the fighter who was decked by Vasquez isn't going to last long.

 

Hearns made 147 back in the day with Same Day weighins. Do we think he could be a 140 fighter today with the day before weigh ins? He could come in the ring at 150-160 lbs and no one in the 140 division would stand a chance.

 

Hearns weighed 145 at the weigh-in for the first Leonard fight and Leonard said Hearns looked like one of those starving African children. There is no way Hearns could safely get to 140.