Thomas Hearns

WBA Welterweight Champion 1980-1981
WBC Super Welterweight Champion 1982-1986
WBC Light Heavyweight Champion 1987
WBC Middleweight Champion 1987-1988
WBO Super-Middleweight Title 1988-1991
WBA Light Heavyweight Champion 1991-1992

Pro Record 59-5-1 (46)

Thomas “Hitman” Hearns was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1958, and had a successful amateur career. In 1977, he moved to Detroit and turned professional that November, three days before his nineteenth birthday. He trained under the guidance of Emanuel Steward at the notorious Kronk gymnasium and it was here he earned his Hit-Man tag due to his fearsome punching power.

The Hit Man won a world title at his first attempt, forcing a stoppage in the second round when he fought Pipino Cuevas in 1980. The following year he defended his title three times and earned himself a unification match with Sugar ray Leonard, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on 16th September 1981. Hearns was well ahead on points when Leonard launched an attack in the fourteenth, Hearns had nothing left and was floored ending the contest.

Hearns vs Ray Leonard

Hearns was unusually tall and spindly for the Welterweight division were he started his pro career, his genetics would allow him to move comfortably up the divisions. After this defeat, he moved to the Super Welterweight division and won the WBC title in 1982, out pointing Puerto Rican, Wilfred Benitez. He successfully defended this title four times including a sensational second round knockout of the tough durable Panamanian, Roberto Duran.

In 1985, Hearns took another step up, this time to the middleweight division to challenge the undisputed champion “Marvellous” Marvin Hagler. Both men had one common opponent in Roberto Duran. Duran had taken Hagler the championship distance when they met in 1983, and was the only man to accomplish this feat in Haglers twelve defences, yet the following year Hearns needed only two rounds to dispatch the rouged tough Duran.

Hearns vs Duram

The bout with Hagler and Hearns is legendary, three rounds of pure mayhem. The opening round was arguably the best opening round to any championship fight, both men launched ruthless attacks at each other and it looked personal between those ropes. Hagler was a true champion who could have fought in any era and he proved so by hunting his opponent down, the fight ended in round three when the referee intervened to rescue Hearns. A brief and brutal encounter that only lasted three rounds, however, it provided more action than other championship fights that have went the distance

In March 1987 he moved two divisions to light heavyweight to win the WBC title with a ten round stoppage of Dennis Andries, but then relinquished the title to challenge for, and win, the WBC middleweight title, knocking out Argentinean, Juan Domingo Roldan in October 1987, He lost the title against Iran Barkley in his fist defence in 1988. Later in the same year, Hearns won the super-middleweight title and made history, becoming the first man to win titles in five different divisions.

Then on 12th June 1989, he met Sugar Ray Leonard whom he lost to eight years earlier in their memorable welterweight clash, however this contest was a dull affair compared to their previous battle. The fight ended a draw, a frustration to Hearn’s, as he and many at ringside thought he done enough to get the decision. In 1991, he regained a light heavyweight title with a surprising win over Virgil Hill, and then nine months later he lost the title to his old adversary Iran Barkley.

Hearn’s continued to box into his 40s, and even made a brief comeback in 2005. You can’t think of the name Thomas Hearns without the names of Hagler, Leonard and Duran entering your thoughts, they were a quartet of fighters who graced our screens in the mid 80s during the golden era of the middleweight division, many of their battles were epic encounters and make up the essence of the sport itself.

Ronald C Charles