Would Hearns be the GOAT if he won a HW strap?

If would boost his legacy a bit ( and depending largely on who he beat for a belt. ) but not sure if it would be enough to take him to number one

 

No I don’t think so, I also think Valuev would accidentally KO Hearns with a jab. The man was immense in size, while not hugely powerful he doesn’t even need to be special to KO Hearns as a HW of his size.

 

I think it’d be more damaging to the HW he beats legacy then an improvement upon his own.

 

I do not think winning the heavyweight crown would have made Hearns number one. I do think that if Hearns had the chin of Muhammad Ali he would have beaten Leonard and Hagler and may have ended up as a legit contender for number one.

 

Would've been a great win (depending on who he beat) but he's just too far away from guys like Armstrong, Langford, Charles, etc for the win to make him #1.

 

I don’t think his chin was bad I think he was drained to hell. A man who took shots at CW and started at JWW? (I don’t remember) can’t be considered chinny. Kronk was ahead of the game with weight draining, Gman, Moorer and Hearns. Tommy was as much a “weight bully” as all the other guys that cop flack for it in my opinion.

 

From the last fun thread to this fun thread .....
Hearns never settled into one weight ..... after WW .. he was going up and down in weight for at least 7 years ... that is incredibly hard on the body .. he never settled in at 160 either ... He fought plenty of guys bigger and/or stronger than him
Ray Leonard, Hagler, Barkley, Sutherland, etc
I dont think Hearns is a weight Bully ... he was just all over the map .
I dont think hes chinny either ...
He just tried to take on the Boxing world at any weight ... Bring it on !!

 

LaMotta was the original weight bully, picking on mostly welterweights while he’d waddle into the ring at 165 or so. That’s what catchweights originally meant — you come in at whatever weight you want and I’ll come in at whatever weight I want.

But I don’t consider Hearns a weight bully … at least not during the portion of his career when they still had same-day weigh-ins. If you make the weight and you aren’t beefing up two divisions overnight so you’re just ridiculously bigger than your opponent, you’re just a guy who cut a lot of weight to make the agreed-upon limit.

If Tommy was coming in at 147 (wasn’t he 145 for Leonard?) and he’s like 150 in the ring, not exactly a big deal. His opponent is probably a pound or two heavier after eating, too.

When you get into IVs and such … that’s a different kettle of fish.

 

To me I think Hearn's would've been a 160lbs-175lbs fighter without Kronk and more modern means.

 

Not to deduct anything from your good point, But you've got a grudge on LaMotta? you bring it up every weight thread. LOL

 

I think it’s worth pointing out. He should be known for it.

A lot of people haven’t read every thread or they’re newer around here and they’ve taken in that LaMotta was some legendary fighter and should know he was beating up guys two divisions smaller in many cases.

 

Accidentally KO Hearns with a jab haha! I gotta admit, that made me chuckle. I can totally see it too!

 

I love Tommy…the guy almost had it all. He could box, he could bang, he could move, he was destructive. And he had the body type and frame that could carry most weights very well. The man was extraordinary.
The only thing lacking was ATG punch resistance/chin, call it what you like. And therefore…like RJJ…he’d have to choose a HW opponent carefully as the OP says.

I’d love to have seen him against an old and fading Holyfield…I really don’t know who takes this one, but I reckon it would be very entertaining!

 

If he had beat SRL in their first bout and gone on to win a HW strap, then yes. He would be in the conversation.

At HW I think he can beat Ruiz, Seldon, Byrd and has at least a 50/50 chance against Bruno, Rahman, Brewster and Sanders.

Just my opinion and it is common knowledge IDKSAB.