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

I fancy Crawford and Josh Taylor. Both were huge at 140 and would have outweighed Hearns significantly. I've never been high on Bud but he is very skilled and has enough power to crack Tommy's chin. Taylor likes to get rough inside and that combined with his ranginess, feint game, and the fact he's a southpaw would all be problematic for Tommy imo.

 

WOW. Thanks Anubis

 

I always thought and sort of knew that Tommy had Duran's number with his style. Use the jab and when Duran comes forward counter and hurt him and then go for it and stop him. Tommy was going to hit Duran all night and with his power how could Duran stay up. I don't think the weight mattered, it was height and reach added to the speed. Duran would have had to pay the price for stepping inside, and he was not faster than Ray at welt. as we saw so Tommy would have been hitting him as he tried to get inside witth that leverage? And who did Duran fight who could land that right that hard and fast like Tommy? . A smaller guy fighting Hearns probably would not work. Barkley was a style where he was a big guy who could take the punches until he could land his telegraphed punches, which Tommy was hit with because Tommy would punch as he was landing. I am babbling here. As I get older I have a hard time putting together good arguments anymore.. Simple thing. The one fight Duran and Hearns had Tommy dominated with his 78 1/2 inch reach to Duran's 67. Duran could not magically fix that. Styles make fights. Usually fights and styles ine the original fight stays in the later fights. Sometimes I thought the rematch will be different and then it repeats itself like Barkley vs. Hearns. We thought Tommy would change the outcome, but the same styles and fighters, yet Tommy had slowed so much that he did not do as much offensive damage earlier as he did in the 1988 fight.

 

Pryor? His aggressive style might have been similar to the Hagler fight, and I think he was faster than Marvin, but Tommy would have landed his right and what a war that would have been. I just think Tommy beats most guys under 147 who are moving up.. Too much leverage for those smaller guys. The guys who could give Tommy a fight who were smaller? Maybe Pernell with his style.

 

I don't believe Pryor stood a chance in hell of beating Thomas Hearns in the pro's.
Thought I was pretty clear with that.

 

Hey, don't worry about your present challenges with producing good arguments. You've been around here for 15 years, and your history as a prolific and articulate poster is well secured.

Interestingly, Barkley said Duran actually had the best jab of any of the Blade's opponents. This isn't something one might expect, but Iran had very high praise for a conqueror. (Floyd Patterson humorously said Ingo was the hardest puncher he faced. He was then asked about Liston and joked, "But I BEAT Johansson! Terrific guy. When he died, his coauthor and collaborator with Inside Boxing, Bert Sugar, eulogized him by saying he was the finest person he ever knew in boxing.)

 

It is hard to say.. If anyone could beat Tommy with an aggresive style who was smaller it could be Pryor because of his energy and heart. Heart means a lot. Styles also. If a guy could take Hearns punch and still be there swinging after he had a chance, but all the guys who fought Hearns had to go through the punches to land theirs. Hagler had it right.

 

I do think I'd fancy Crawford over Tommy, but Hearns seemed to like fighting southpaws. Tommy would throw right hand exclusive combinations, head, body, head, body (As seen against Hagler).

 

Thank you for saying that. Boxing in recent times has not interested me as much, I am not sure why.exactly but I have an idea. I guess when we have all of history and all the great fights and drama like Leonard Duran or Leonard Hearns or Hagler Hearns, Ali Frazier, Louis,, how could the guys of today with sort of watered down resumes compare? Those guys were incredible and the stories. and attitudes Look at the personalities. Duran and Pryor for example, not just in the ring but outside. Can you imagine that fight? The fight itself would have been great but the build up to it and their personalities and then Pryor staring at Duran with his hawk expression before the fight and Duran with his distainful look. Pryor's attitude was something Duran would have loved and used to fuel him for a great fight. It might have been like Hagler and Hearns where the prefight creates the main fight, which in that case would have favored both styles, yet Duran would have loved it.I never knew who to pick in that fight. I go back and forth. Interesting about Floyd. He might have had the misfortune of being the first guy to fall to a big heavyweight when the big 200 plus guys came. I always wondered how would a Liston vs. Marciano fight go.. Liston being so strong and Marciano being a little smaller. I would pick Liston by early knockout.. I wish I would have met Floyd Patterson. I did meet Bert Sugar at the Hall of Fame dinner in maybe 2003?? in Los Angeles..

 

Then Crawford would probably just fight ortho mostly I guess. Tommy doesn't have a great record against switch hitters either

 

Crawford likely takes it, but he'll be taking a right or two before he realizes he's playing the wrong game.

 

If Pryor was the size of a natural middleweight I certainly could agree with you.
But he was a blown up lightweight, he was 5'6" with the reach of an average fighter of that weight class.
His frame suggest he wouldn't have the firepower to effect the better welterweights in history.
( Unlike Duran who was thicker at lightweight, his frame suggest he could carry the extra weight effectively)
Meanwhile Hearns had gone from a pure stylist at amatuer where Pryor beat him. to probably the 2nd hardest puncher in the history of the welterweight division.
With simply overwhelming physical advantages.
Like I wrote earlier, no fighter that started at lightweight would have much of a chance against Hearns....
That definitely includes Aaron Pryor.

 

How did Duran do against Iran Barkley, who was a HUGE middleweight.

A spit-shined and prime Duran at welter beats Hearns over 15.

 

Duran is a great pick here, but I think I'll go with Pipino Cuevas, or perhaps Saensak Muangsurin.

 

Oh, the irony. Lol