It's a thing of wicked beauty. That fight definitely created my love for boxing. I saw it on a Saturday afternoon on a replay in the UK, and after I was a big fan of the Hitman. I remember being allowed to stay up to watch Hagler v Minter, but after the Duran KO my passion was set.
Yeah Tommy is probably top 5 all-time favorite for me
I wasn’t even born yet but I would have been a boxing fan at that time because I know my father has been a huge boxing fan since the 1960s when he was a boy. I got into boxing in the 90s because my pops watched it a lot. It would have been the same in the 1980s. My father was a huge fan of Duran so it probably hurt him, but he is good at predictions, so knowing him he probably had Hearns winning that fight anyway.
Hearns' straight right...in general is there a better punch all-time?
It's a thing of wicked beauty. That fight definitely created my love for boxing. I saw it on a Saturday afternoon on a replay in the UK, and after I was a big fan of the Hitman. I remember being allowed to stay up to watch Hagler v Minter, but after the Duran KO my passion was set.
Tommy hearns had very aggressive style, that is why he knocked out many guys, but also got knocked out in early rounds by Hagler and Barkley.
This 80`s by 4 kings are my favorite boxing era.
I was a fan then. The thing for me was that I expected Hearns to be a bad matchup for Duran. Not like that though. Years earlier I had seen Duran fight a guy named Zeferino Gonzalez who was really tall like Hearns and Gonzalez gave Duran all he could handle. I did not expect a destruction. Duran had an all time great chin and had just gone the distance with Hagler. But Hearns was also special and it was devastating.
Was the boxing world shook up like when Pacquiao got knocked out by Marquez? What was the buzz like surrounding that fight?
Yeah I was 4 and I realize greatness
Yet you're somehow an expert on Azumah Nelson and Jeff Fenech.
By that logic no one on here can comment on Jack Johnson or probably even SRR etc...anyone I comment on, I watch them on film and study their resume before I have any judgment...I feel like I've studied a lot more boxing history and watched a lot more fighters on film than most on here but maybe I'm wrong
Those two guys Duran and Hearns are my two favorite fighters all time. Is there anything more intense than the Tommy Hearns stare. I remember when he fought Leonard the second time and the look on his face gave me chills and I was watching it on TV in the safety of the living room. LOL.
I agree...two of my favorites as well...still can't believe Hagler took those shots from Hearns and didn't go down...unreal toughness he had
At the time almost no one was surprised that Hearns won but no one saw the brutal knock out coming and it was a knockout not a stoppage. To see the ultimate macho man get knocked cold was really something. Duran had about 80 fights at that time and I can't remember him ever even being seriously hurt.
They were more shocked then because the Hearns fight was supposed to be more competitive and it ended way short to expectations., Pac-Man didn’t have the noteriety anyway just yet , I think his name really got big as his career unfolded more .
Pac-Man? This thread is about Duran and Hearns. Try to keep up. Read slowly if you need to.
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/16/sports/hearns-stops-duran-in-2d.html
No, I wasn't old enough, but I found this:
Roberto Duran took the biggest and maybe last tumble of his career tonight when he was knocked out in the second round by Thomas Hearns, who had predicted this week that he would do exactly that.
It was a short and savage fight, and Duran did not enjoy one minute of it. He suffered an early cut over his left eye, he was knocked down twice in the first round, and he was knocked flat in 1:07 of the second round.
The fight was stopped by Referee Carlos Padilla, but it was already over. Duran, once storied as the ''man with the hands of stone,'' who had been knocked down only twice in 81 fights, lay face down in the center of the ring, his comeback and his career in shreds on the eve of his 33d birthday.
Gone was his chance to become the first man to win four world titles. Gone was the charisma built during 14 years in the ring. Gone was his hope to erase the memory of his other debacle, the night against Sugar Ray Leonard four years ago, which ended when Duran quit in the eighth round. Hearns Regains Luster
Hearns retained his superwelterweight championship of the World Boxing Council and restored luster to his career. Three years ago, he was knocked out by Leonard in the 14th round, his only defeat. Since then, fighting with injured hands and injured reputation, he lost much of the power that had once cast him as ''The Hit Man'' of Detroit.
But Hearns rocketed back into prominence on this sultry evening, with the desert heat at 88 degrees and with 14,824 spectators watching in wonder in the outdoor arena behind Caesars Palace.
''It was important for me to win by a knockout,'' Hearns said later, ''because I was fighting a legend. I was in there with the greatest fighter I've ever been against.''
''No excuse,'' Duran said, appearing alongside Hearns 10 minutes after the fight. ''It was a surprise to me, that's all. But don't worry.''
He was asked if the fight meant the end of his career, and he replied: ''I haven't made up my mind yet. I have to think about it.'' Reach Advantage Important
Duran will think about it after flying home to Panama, but the facts are stark: Until he walked away from Leonard in 1980, he had lost only one fight. Since then, he has lost four of seven. And, until tonight, he had never been wiped out by an opponent.
All that became ancient history almost as soon as the bell rang. Hearns, a lean 6-footer of 25, made total use of his 4-inch advantage in height and his 11-inch advantage in reach.
He stung Duran with both hands and kept him from slipping inside the long reach. He backed Duran against the ropes and punished him severely. He shook off the one solid punch Duran launched, a right to the face. Finally, in the last minute of the round, he knocked Duran down twice.
Both times, Duran got to his feet before the referee counted past 4. Both times, he was forced to wait while the mandatory 8-count was tolled. But the knockdowns were only symptoms of heavy damage. Even when the bell ended the devastation, Duran wobbled to one of the neutral corners.
He was bleeding from the cut over his left eye when the second round began, but that was the least of his troubles. Again, it was all Hearns. The champion threw punches with no retaliation for the first minute, then threw a bombshell of a right cross that caught Duran flush on the head.
Luis Spada, the Argentine manager guiding Duran's comeback, leaped toward the ring at that moment. But Padilla didn't even bother to count.
''I jumped in,'' Spada said, ''because I felt it was all over. And I always think the most important thing is to protect the boxer.''
If Duran calls it quits, he will leave with a record of 76 victories in 82 fights, including 57 knockouts. Hearns has won 39 of 40 fights, with 33 knockouts. He now wants Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the middleweight champion, who beat Duran in a unanimous 15- round decision last November.
''Is Hagler next?'' he reflected, with some humor. ''I can see him shaking like a leaf on a tree.''
Then he analyzed his annihilation of Duran and said: ''The tactic was to hit him with a stiff left jab and a fadeaway right. I faked to the body, and shot the right hand. And the right hand to the face took him out.''
A Small Victory for Duran
Twelve hours before the fight, Duran scored a victory over his waistline when he weighed in at 154 pounds, the limit. Hearns did even better: 153 1/4. . . . In the chief preliminary bout, Jimmy Paul retained his lightweight title of the United Statgs Boxing Association by knocking out Alvin Hayes in the sixth round. It was the 24th victory in 25 fights for Paul, and the first defeat for Hayes in 23. . . . In a heavyweight bout, Tony Tucker scored a ninth-round knockout over Eddie (Animal) Lopez, and remainded undefeated in 24 starts.
Thanks for the share bro . That was a great read !!!!
Hearns' straight right...in general is there a better punch all-time?
Those two guys Duran and Hearns are my two favorite fighters all time. Is there anything more intense than the Tommy Hearns stare. I remember when he fought Leonard the second time and the look on his face gave me chills and I was watching it on TV in the safety of the living room. LOL.
If you watch the No Mas fight, they talk after the fight as if it will be the last time Duran would ever fight.
Lol I don't doubt it...I guess fights like that do end the career of some though...just crazy how wrong they were with Duran, with respect to him being very competitive going forward after those fights...seems like he was 60/40 win percentage after SRL 2, but to his credit, Duran was a stud at 135...to go up and be competitive all the way up to 168...very impressive for me
I was about 6 months old a the time. I don't remember anyone talking much about it though. :biggthump:biggthump:biggthump
But man, that fight is still a stunner. I wrote about it briefly for one of my columns. That KO punch! Even though I know it's coming, even though I've seen it before - I wince and gasp every time. Takes my breath away every single time.
Hearns' straight right...in general is there a better punch all-time?
Yeah, they really **** on Duran left and right after he beat Leonard and the No Mas fight. Al Bernstein was the worst. Duran could do no right in that bastard's eyes. And he also got no benefit of the doubt with judges either. 103 wins and 16 losses. Not one draw? Not even one? And he clearly beat Camacho the first time. Yeah, Duran got it the hard way but soldiered on. Best of all time! In my opinion. No one was better on the inside.
He was a beast...going 15 with Hagler in a pick em fight cemented his legacy for me...to do all he did at the lower weights, and then go 50/50 basically vs one of the best MWs ever!! Unreal