Comments Thread For: Remembering "The Showdown" Still a Thrill After 39 Years

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Whaddya know, it's here again. Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year. OK, maybe it's a few pegs behind my wife and son's birthdays, our wedding anniversary and Christmas -- but it's still pretty darn big. September 16. A date, over the course of seven years back in the 1980s, that changed my life. First, it was in 1981. Tommy Hearns. Ray Leonard...
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[thack]

What a fight .......incredible come from behind where Tommy was out boxing Ray......To remember this great fight has made my day!

[YoungManRumble]

Interesting and well written article.

[JakeTheBoxer]

Both RSL - Hearns fights were great.

[mrpain81]

Great article and great fight.

One of the greatest match-ups and fights of all time. Young fighters need to watch this fight, Ray Leonard had Tommy hurt bad and he was tearing up that body. Great to see fighters do the right things at the right times.

[Jab jab boom]

Back when top champions fought each other while in their primes. It's crazy when you compare the approaches of who top fighters faced back in the day to how these divas operate today.

[Mario040481]

I put this together 7 months ago, according to YouTube. I had found a version of the fight that was 720p 60fps at the Boxing Hall of Fame YT channel and then I found a version from an Asian YT channel that had the fight/crowd audio but was commentary free. So, I took the commentary free audio track and laid it over the Hall of Fame version and enjoy if you choose to do so
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[champion4ever]

Boxing Scene commemorates this fight annually around this time every year. This was a good fight. It was a very good fight. It was perhaps Thomas Hearns career defining moment even in defeat. This was his coming out party.

No one knew how good he was at the time for the exception of hardcore boxing fans and the city of Detroit. However, he managed to give Leonard one of the toughest fights of his career.

He displayed the heart of a true champion and great boxing ability. Ray really had to bite down very hard and dig deep against the unknown champion. The major difference in that fight was Leonard's championship experience and conditioning.

[kafkod]

Both RSL - Hearns fights were great.

No doubt about that. And I agree with the writer if this article, Hearns should have got the verdict in the rematch.

[The D3vil]

Great fight.

Always more of Hearns guy than a Leonard guy, but as I get older I've really started to appreciate how great Ray Leonard was.