Who has the best chance to beat Thomas Hearns out of fighters that fought below Welterweight?

I would have to say Aaron Pryor based on the fact that he stopped Tommy in the amateurs and was as good as it gets at 140.

 

Hi Buddy.
Very few I would imagine, possibly Pryor , I appreciate he wouldn't have the " size " but nonetheless .
stay safe Devon, chat soon.

 

Are you sure he stopped him?

From memory Hearns was 17yo and Pryor 21yo.

 

If Duran and Hearns had squared off in a WW Title unification following Montreal and Hearns-Cuevas, Tommy couldn't have won. Roberto would've come in on high alert, not partying his way in like he did into their actual bout following Hagler-Duran. (But Stonehands wasn't going to get the eight mil for Hearns that he got for quitting in NOLA because he needed to take a dump after pigging out following the weigh-in.)

SRL demonstrated that Hearns couldn't take it to the body in their 1981 WW unification which Randy Shields correctly predicted the outcome of.

Duran would've slipped inside, then ravaged Tommy with infighting.

Hearns would've been in very serious trouble with a healthy rather than injured Shields, and Randy reported on Tommy's decline in physical strength and punching power as the rounds progressed.

Armstrong would've burrowed into Hearns. Peak Hank obviously had no issues going the Championship Distance, and at his best he had a level of experienced Tommy never sniffed.

 

I hadn't watch in awhile. I thought he stopped him but the fight went all three rounds. Hearns was battered around the ring and was given a standing eight count but he hung on and went the distance.

At the end of the day, Pryor was able to get inside on Hearns and rough him up just like Ray did in the later rounds against Herans at WW. Not saying Pryor would win for sure but if I had to pick so eone from 140 to move up to 147 and beat Hearns, I can't think of anyone better than Pryor.

 

Joe Gans. Very well rounded and powerful

 

It sounds like Hearns was lucky to ever win a fight.

The scores against Shields when the fight was stopped were 120-109, 119-111 and 119-110.

Randy was the king of tall stories and excuses. In his first loss to Vicente Mijares he claimed he broke his hand on his forehead early. A few months later in the rematch he claims he was rushed into the bout with a hand that had not healed and doubles up claiming Eileen Eaton apologized for what they did to him (not winning) and they did it because they just rebuilt the auditorium.

It's worth quoting his comments on the second Ranzany fight.

Randy - He was the worst fighter I ever fought in my career. He had no style, no real skills, he just came at you and threw punches with no style at all. I was seriously ill in the 2nd fight, I had a staph infection, the flu and I was so sick. He butted me and they stopped the fight. I was on my deathbed that whole fight I was so sick going into the fight. I wasn’t myself at all in that fight so it is hard for me to even gauge how I did, I just remember being so sick going into the fight. I was just so lethargic going into the fight. Even though I was so ill the fight was still close.

Here's the excuses for Benitez -

Randy - I had a girlfriend at the time who stole every dime I had off of me. All my money, gone. I was fighting to stay alive at that time, to keep the bill collectors off of me. They were actually talking about cancelling the fight and I was hoping they would. But, it was money and I needed the money at that time. My dad had worked out a deal to get paid a lot of the purse in cash so that helped. I got thumbed in the eye and it just wasn’t my night. I just wasn’t there mentally. It was too bad to fight at Madison Square Garden and fighting Benitez and not be 100%, but I just wasn’t there mentally.

A comment on the SRL loss - In our pro bout, I did feel that I won 6 rounds to his 4 but he won his rounds decisively.

And of course he had a ruined rotor cuff vs Tommy Hearns. Man he was an unlucky fighter LOL

Randy was a good game fighter and did indeed have some good moments. Bloody good trainer too......and an absolute ATG excuse maker.

 

For me roughing up a 17yo Hearns is a little bit different from going headlong into the fire of quite possibly the greatest 147 pound puncher ever. Pryor was pretty easy to hit too and could be caught cold.

I can see why you nominate him tho.

In his 26th pro fight SRR beat Fritzie Zivic while weighing 139 1/4 pounds. Zivic was getting on but it's a notable win and he beat him next fight as well weighing just over 140. Less than a year later he beat Jake LaMotta. It cheats the theme of the thread but i wonder how SRR would have fared at a time. Hearns is a beast and it probably would have been too early for Sugar but my god what a talent he was.

 

The Roberto Duran that fought SRL in Montreal would definitely have a chance IF he was able to somehow get past the Hit Man's jab and rough him up inside. But that would be a tall order even for that version of Duran. I think Hearns would pose serious problems for Roberto no matter what!

 

The way to beat Hearns has always been to rough him up. Ray Leonard got to Hearns when he made him fight and took away his range. When Ray tried to box Tommy, he didn't have the same success. Haglar jumped on Tommy and gave him no room, Barkley did the same thing. Pryor's entire style was based on his aggressive offensive/smothering style. It certainly worked against the rangy Alexis Arguello.

I do agree that Tommy could ice Pryor but we could say that about anyone that faces Hearns. I would certainly bet on Hearns had Hearns and Pryor met in the 80's. For the purpose of this thread, I think Pryor is the best guy at 140 to match with Hearns.

 

No one that's a natural lightweight and lower beat Thomas Hearns in the pro's.
Someone mentioned Aaron Pryor's success in the armatures.
But , Hearns was 16-17 yrs old at the time, and hadn't developed the lethal
power he had as a pro.
I love Aaron Pryor, but at the pro level Hearns stops him with in four rds!!!

 

Steward actually taught him leverage after he turned pro and BOOM the KO's amassed very quickly. .

 

I agree , a motivated Duran at 147, the one who beat Leonard ko's Hearns around the 10th.

 

Never understood this, even if "Montreal" Duran came in the ring it would have prolonged the inevitable. Tommy simply had his number, change the period and while there might be some variation, the outcome would be pretty much the same.