What an explosive offensive fighter Hearns was, if he had just had a sturdier chin he would have perhaps been hands down, bar none the best pure boxer that ever lived...period!!!
torr if you look close youll see that Duran did indeed Beat barkley it was close Ill admit but the knockdown won him the fight, Duran admited later that was one of his toughest fights Duran was a great fighter there was a reason he got the decision...and it wasnt a gift
@lastruebeliever Sure Hagler was the best and I'm from Newark where Hagler is from. Sugar Ray Leonard didn't win Fighter of the Decade for the 80s for nothing.
im a big fan of the four from the 80s duran hagler hearns & leonard how hearns knocked out duran is not surprising roberto was way to small to fight a hitter like hearns still duran was the the best of the four. how was duran able to beat barkley is just amazing, hagler shouldve went in against leonard going for the knockout & he wouldve gotten it...however durans fight with hagler showed leonard, that hagler could be beat
@fischparov He didnt really beat Barkley--it was a gift decision. He knocked him down after taking a beating, which shocked everyone. But watch the fight and you see Barkley won 8 rounds easy.
... that punch was far from a lucky shot. Barkley set that shot up... even though he was getting hit for most of the round, he set Hearns up for that right hand.
Unbelievable. Can't believe Hearns let himself get tagged like that. he had Barkley ready to go. Barkley was a big boy but was that a lucky punch or what?
hearns down,hearns through the ropes,hearns knocked out again, hearns to the hospital, hearns no hall of fame boxer- does not get the votes, keep his ass out- go back to DETROIT, and learn how to read.....
tommie hearns will never,,never,,never be in the boxing hall of fame, i was there at the INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME IN NEW YORK LAST WEEK, ALL BOXERS SAY HE WAS A PUNK, HE CANT READ, HE IS DUMB, HE COULD NOT SPELL CAT IF YOU GAVE HIM THE C AND THE T ---- WHEN MARVIN HAGLER BEAT THE MESS OUT OF HIME, THEY CARRIED HIM OUT ON A STRECHER, HIS MAMA HAD TO HELP HIM........ IRAN BARKLEY BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM TWICE..LEARN TO READ 1ST... HE IS ALSO A COWARD---NO HALL OF FAME,,NO NEVER--NO-NO
june 11th, 2011--- 2.45 p.m...IN ---. river forest illinois..... TOMMIE HEARNS ALONG WITH MARK BRELAND , ARE THE MOST OVERATED BOXERS OF ALLTIME. WHEN THEY FOUGHT A BIG NAME THEY GOT THEY ASS WHIPPED... 1ST AARON PRYOR BEAT HIM AS A AMATUER, THEN SUGAR RAY LEONARD BEAT HIM UP, THEN MARVIN HAGLER EMBARASSED HIM, THEN IRAN BARKLEY KNOCKED HIM OUT-- CASE CLOSE, - HE WILL NEVER BE IN THE BOXING HALL OF FAME - HIS IS A ONE HAND PUNCHER, PLUS HE CANT EVEN READ... PEACE....
@BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT ask anyone of these guys who fought him if he was overrated. BTW, he whipped Leonard's ass in the 2nd fight. Also Leonard avoided an immediately rematch w/Hearns, he made Hearns wait 8 years. If u say all this about Hearns, then Sugar Ray Leonard couldn't box a lick. Tommy Hearns boxed Leonards ears off in both fights. Lennox Lewis lost twice in the amateurs to Razor Ruddock. Tommy was 17 and Pryor was 20 when they fought in the amateurs. Finally watch his ko of Duran
Hearns was dominating , but, clearly his legs were weakening - he looked like he as tiring out.. Barkley just had too much heart and could go all 12 rounds at any pace.
I have never seen a fighter get so much praise in brutal defeat than Hearns. He gets knocked the fuck out by a good but not great fighter and i have to read how great Hearns is?
Hearns was not old for this fight there are no excuses. His weaknesses like in the Hagler fight were glaring.
@shire2005 Yeap, Hearns was punishing the hell out of Barkley and out of know where, Barkley earned his belt. Against Hagler, very fighters could walk the fire storm Hagler walked through and still be standing.
This is what gets me about Barkley, he is able to avoid Hearns' for the most part, but against Benn, Benn couldn't miss his chin. Although, Barkley should have been given time to recover because I believe on the 1st 2 kd Barkley was hit by Benn while on the canvas. Styles make fights.
Well, Tito would have stopped Hearns. Tito was way more skilled in welterweight than Hearns, but it would have been a very good fight till the end. One of the weakest chins ever in the history of boxing in Hearns.
Tito more skilled than Hearns? You are an idiot. Tito was no boxer and good boxers gave him trouble. vargas ou tboxed Trinidad. Tito could beat a Hearns with his power and better chin but Hearns would be out boxing him easily.
Up to the knockout, this was a masterful display of punching by Hearns but Barkley must have thrown every ounce of strength in his entire body into his winning punch.
Hearns was a great fighter, despite this loss. You always get value for money with the Hitman, win, lose or draw.
if tommy had a chin like hagler he had he would have went 70-0, he hardly lost any rounds in his whole career and most fights he lost he was ahead on the cards, never seen anybody outbox him or outclass him
Im 100 percent certain that if Hearns was boxing today he'd be pound for pound number 1 and would easily be the best in the world from 147 all the way to 160, and would be even money with the top cats at 168
@macwit2cs I don't know. You can see how Iran can get under those long arms. A more disciplined fighter like Hopkins or a prime Wright might be able to neutralize him. No doubt though w/ the exception of his suspect chin he's a freak of nature for the weight classes he fought in during his prime.
@bentnosewp its kinda hard to gauge though,look at it like this, winky was always a solid 154lb fighter, but if he went up against hearns that would be just too much raw power to try and cover up against, Ima huge fan of winky but i think tommy would outbox him, I could see bhop and hearns being pretty even head to head though
@MickeyLove01 I think the speed of Leonard,the ring agility of Robinson,the power of Randolph Turpin and the durability of Hagler(or Lamotta,although he was a tit)
@MickeyLove01 I think the speed of Leonard,the ring agility of Robinson,the power of Randolph Turpin and the durability of Hagler(or Lamotta,although he was a tit)
This is when boxing was boxing and not dancing around the ring. I see everyone thinks he's overrated. Name one boxer today that could go toe to toe with Hearns and don't say mayweather cause that bitch fought a bunch a nobodies. Diego was the one I'll give him and a a young zab. everyone else was trash.
Mclellen maybe but Jackson didn't have the boxing skills or chin to last long enough to get to Hearns. I think Hearns get Jackson early much like Mccallum and Mclellen did.
Hearns was soooooooo overrated. Yes he had heart but his chin and his legs were made out of paper. His fight with Hagler was over in the first round! Hearns broke his hand on Hagler's head in the first round. It is one of the most overrated fights ever. Hearns couldn't deal with the tough guys. He could beat up little guys like Duran, Cuevas and Benitez, but he was toast against Hagler and Barkley. And he woud've gotten killed by guys like Mugabi and Benn.
@gonzomoya420 But you just said it yourself he broke his hand in that first round against Hagler. And Hagler wasn't a push over. They didn't call him marvelous marvin for nothing. I don't think he would have beat him but it would have went longer than 2 rounds. You could tell something was wrong cause he switched up his whole style after he broke his hand. You say overrated I say way better competition cause none of the boxers today are in his league or Hagler.
Another one of those body shots and Iran Barkley wouldn't have any internal organs... not to take it away from him or anything.. You have to play to your strengths, Tommy is my favorite boxer of all time, but as you can see, Iran knew he only had to land one..... and so he did.
tommy is my idol, if he could have only a hard chin, maybe he could reach the heavy weight class, from lightweight he climbed up til the light heavy class
Horrible loss for Hearn's against a fighter who was not supposed to be at his level.
Many mediocre fighters or smaller fighters were able to do something Hearn's could not do, take Barkley's punch. Jorge Amparo, Sanderline Williams and James Kinchen all went the distance with Barley and so did little Roberto Duran.
IMO Barkley knew he was out of it. He really could have clocked Tommy, but looks like he let him off easy. I really enjoyed watching both of these guys careers, they were a credit to boxing.
Barkley was such a tough guy. I heard he was hit in the face with chains as part of a gang initiation as a kid, which maybe explained all of that nasty swelling he always went through.
Tommy could get sucked into bomb trading brawls very easy and with his weak chin it cost him against Hagler and Barkley and damn near cost him against Roldan.
When he boxed and and used his reach and hand speed along with his power, he was awesome. The Benitez, Virgil Hill and two Sugar Ray fights are proof of that
Hearns was a great 5, weight champion. Barkley tough fighter. Hearns fought some great fighters and beat them. He did have a problem with the chin. He lost to Hagler who was a legend. He put up a great show, but Marvin took a better punch. Did you ever see Hagler lose a fight by KO. Never. Hearns got floored a few times. All of them were warriors , great fighters, and to step into the ring takes some courage, I know I have done 38 times. Hearns is a legend.
All of Hearns losses were in fights that he was clearly winning it seems. Definitely should have beat Leonard. Also opened up a cut on Hagler and the fight was going to get stopped.
But this fight he was winning so easily. How can he get so careless.
The fight against Hagler didn't last long enough to say Hearns was winning. He got whipped badly in that one. But I understand what you're saying, especially in this one. Gotta' give The Blade credit for winning it. He was one tough dude.
ok just one more comment. I have to respond to a comment on here. Duran beating Iran was not that great an accomplishment. Duran struggled with Iran and fact is Iran was beaten by Nunn and Benn and other guys much more convincinly than Duran beat him. I never thought Duran beating Iran was that great. Iran's only claim to fame was beating Hearns. What else did he do? Lose to Toney? Nunn? Benn?Maske? He lost to everyone.
one more comment. You can see in this fight how Hearns was not as sharp as when he was a little younger. He is throwing more inside power and trying to get guys out with strength, since his speed was starting to go here. Later he adjusted and learned to use his jab and to conserve his legs in long fights, but here he was still trying to blast guys out in a few rounds. But his speed was going here, and Tommy was looking frustrated at times like he had with Roldan and Andries before this.
a little younger? he was 29. why when duran loses to legitamite legends at 32-32 at 20 lbs above his best weight you trash out on him, but when hearns loses to guys like barkley, who he should have beaten, the excuses come flying? Hearns is a legend but the same flaws that haunted him against leonard and hagler came back here. his lack of stamina, lack of defense, and lack of inside fighting ability all tired him and eventually got him KO'd
People tend to like Hearns' personality. Duran was always thought of as a 'mean' person. Duran would insult his opponents personally and had been known to insult their families too. This gave him a 'bad guy's' reputation. I don't think that he was literally a bad person, but his public personna was as the guy who didn't mind being thought of as 'the bad guy.'
@ksjb85 Hearns didn't lack stamina going into the third round. He got knocked out because he has a shaky pair of whiskers and Barkley caught him with a good shot.
and also, Hearns by this point in 1988 was slipping, He had been through the Hagler war and then each fight after that was hard except for Shuler. He just started to struggle a little and get rocked in each fight after. Only after Barkley did he start to box more and work on defense and he became more of a 12 round fighter. After Barkley he went all 12 round with Kinchen,Leonard,Olajide,Hill,Barkley,Delgado,Miller and on and on. The Hagler fight marks Hearns prime to a little worn out after it.
I am not insulting Iran Barkley, but fact is Hearns fought them all and beat them all. Look at his resume. His title wins alone Cueves,Benitez, and Hill are wins over legends. He won the lightheavyweight title 2 times after first winning the welt. title in 1980. Iran beat Tommy. Good style, but fact is if Iran was close to Tommy in status he had to have beaten more great fighters like Tommy did!! Tommy beat them all. Iran did not.
Thomas Hearns was a great fighter but to be honest he never won the big fights. He did beat good fighters and he did destroy Duran but what people remember most about him is him getting ko'd by Leonard and Hagler. Those were his chances to prove that he was one of the best ever but he lost them both.
Hearns won plenty of big fights He beat Cuevas, Benitez, Duran, the second Leonard fight, and Virgil Hill who at the time was undefeated. Not to mention he was the 1st in boxing history to win titles in 4 divisions. The defeats he is remembered for was against two all time greats.
I am not sure Barkley was underrated. Beating Hearns made him almost overrated. He had the right style to beat Hearns and yes beat him twice, but Hearns was 10 x the fighter Barkley was . You do not rate a man by one fighter, and Barkley was good but just because he beat Hearns, he did not claim Hearns legend. Hearns was greater by 10 x for real. Good wins, but stylewise was good for Iran. What more can you say. He never beat Virgil Hill like Tommy, and he never could have.
hearns needs to move around the ring more, like ali, i think it wud help him alot more instead of standing still ... hearns has alot of what ali has speed and reach etc, but he just dont dance around the ring
i belive barkley was a good fighter.. good jab, power in both hands, chin, fast, not just another boxer, he did won the title clean, and he did beat hearns twices..
As I watch this video carefully, I never noticed that Barkley had great defense. He was doing a decent job of 'trying' to control the distance, he either clinched with Hearns after getting his shots in, or got outta the way.
Everybody knows that when you have a fighter who is better but has no chin and the other one who can punch and take punches better, all it takes is one punch for the other guy to win.
jeryd, you do not know boxing at all. Barkley's reach was not near Hearns. Actually Virgil Hill who was greater than Iran had a 77 inch reach and was 6-1.. Well Hearns beat him unanimously. Everyone has that weak style which can beat them. Iran was not a great fighter. Hearns was. Count the legends he fought. Cueves,Leonard,Benitez,Duran,Hagler,Hill
Barkley wasn´t a good figther? even he defeated by KO Hearns?? If that is thus, in where will be Roberto Duran who defetead Barkley?? Youre reasoning is too rare!
tommy hearns finally met someone his own size 6'1 and looked what happened. he didn't have a tremendous reach advantage either. tommy hearns was brought down ko'd in the 3rd round. just like learneard ko'd him just like hagler ko'd him i ain't going to lie i'm glad barkley kno'd hearns
Barkley was a solid contender and certainly went all out on Tommy just when it seemed he was gonna get TKO'd due to being cut up so badly. Shame he didn't improve his game much after this title bout and paid for it dearly (especially in that match against Nigel Benn, man he REALLY embarrassed the hell out of him-lol). Rematch was a better showing for the Hitman, but I felt he should've retired after that. He had nothing left to prove by then. Righteous upset though, but Barkley earned it.
Correction: It was James Toney NOT Benn who embarrassed Barkley big-time with his polished "old school" boxing style. As for the Benn fight, THAT one needed a rematch in the worst way. 1st rd just wasn't enough to contain those two volatile fighters, lol.
someday you will learn about fighting cfx. That is why people who don't know boxing should not comment. Hearns won his fight with Duran with speed and a right hand. His left hook opened up Shuler for the right. His left jab and right hand and combinations knocked out Cueves. His boxing skills outboxed Benitez and Hill. and you are saying all he had was one thing? A right? When you watch more fights come back and comment on great fighters.
Hearns was a one handed fighter. Once he realizedis biggest fights) ( as in his right couldn't do the job, he was was done. His left looked pretty but, it was harmless.
Barkley was a thug who, by his own admission, before he started boxing ran round the Bronx beating people with lead pipes! He got lucky against Hearns, he was crude and a wild puncher although he was huge and powerful. He got turned over by Duran and got beaten badly be Nigel Benn - in fact seeing Benn pummelling Barkley was a real treat!
Barkley was a very good fighter and one of the toughest boxers ever, so I think he deserves a bit more respect than you are showing him. Benn is one of my all time favorite fighters, but he should have been dq'd against Barkley.
I liked Benn too but he was a dirty fighter, like you said he shoud've been dq'd against Blade. and who can forget all those illegal rabbit punches that Benn gave to Gerald McCllelan in their violent 1995 fight that left the G-Man permanently disabled.
That's a load of bull. Barkley was a well-drilled boxer with good technique, not some two-bit thug. His fight with Duran was fiercely competitive and extremely close, and he proved his first victory over Hearns was no fluke by beating him again in the rematch. Benn caught him early, but not before being hurt himself. At his best, Barkley could give anyone a hard fight.
In boxing every fighter has a "bogeyman" a fighter who gives him more difficulty than one would have expected+ who is not necessarily the best opponent the fighter has fought. eg Ali+ Norton, Frazier+ Bonavena.
Barkely was probably a "bogeyman" to Tommy Hearns. Tommy beat far more accomplished fighters than Barkley.
Hearns aside who else did Barkley beat? he lost almost every big fight he competed in: eg Duran, Benn, Nunn, Kalambay, Toney, Maske..
I remember this big upset. The crude Iran Barkley was badly cut hurt+ outclassed here but somehow saved himself with a wild + somewhat lucky swing. Tommy Hearns, a superb boxer puncher, never great punch resistsance but he was not a "glass jaw" as some have suggested. An all time great who redeemed himself in the 2nd fight with Leonard + by later beating Hill for the light heavyyweight title. Barkely's limitations were laid bare by his short reign+ defeats by Roberto Duran and Nigel Benn.
Its slightly unfair to say tommy had a glass chin,because every time he got knocked out it was by a class haymaker.....however,i must admit to seeing tommy doing the boxers tap dance more than most.
Hearns had good defence very early on in his career. He quickly adopted a more aggressive style. He was not concentrating against an almost beat Barkley
barkley wasnt great but he fought a style that was tough to handle at times. he was a fan favorite for balls to the wall style.BTW hes 1 of 20 fighters in BOXING HISTORY to win a world title in 3 different weight classes.
and dont give me hearns was old. tommy went on dropped leonard twice and should have gotten the victory and moved up to LHW and defeated a 1988 olympic silver medalist and long time champ virgil hill for the wba title. so calm your horses
There are times in this fight where in 1985, Hearns would have double jabbed Barkley and really busted him up. But Hearns by 1988 was a little diminished, not alot but a little. But no excuses, Barkley landed that punch against a great fighter. Barkley was good but not great. A comparison would be Golota did well against Bowe, but was not as good as Bowe. Although, no one is comparison Bowe to Hearns, but the comparison is there.
yes the Hearns of 1985 would beat Barkley and knock him out in round 2. Hearns slowed down just a little and got more sloppy after Hagler. I do not know why. He became reckless after Hagler and started to get in brawls more. And that was his doing. Maybe the Hagler fight made him realize how he liked brawling, but he was not made to brawl. But he sure did it alot. He didn't pay for it as much as he could have, but he was that good to usually come through.
He got into brawls more often because fighters knew after watching the Hagler and Roldan fights that dragging him into a dogfight was the way to get to him, otherwise he´d just outbox you and lay that bomb on your face. Barkley was gettin murdered though, props to him for stayin in there..and he got the reward.
Hearns started to decline here a little. He is not the same here as he was a few years earlier when he fought Hagler. After Hagler he looked more fragile and he would still nail guys, but they were starting to hit him. He just didn't have the same reflexes anymore. After this fight he realized he could not fight the same anymore, so he started to win decisions and win on experience as he did with Kinchen and Leonard and Virgil Hill. He is one guys who adjusted to getting old, and still won.
Hearns had a chin - it's just that his "left down" style made it available for FAR too many punches. He took so many punches in his career that he shouldn't have, simply trying to keep that left hand "weapon" out of sight. His style was to throw that devastating left from the hip, and most fighters never saw it coming. But, he sacrificed his chin in gearing up for that shot. If Emmanuel could have somehow trained him to throw that from the chin, he might have never lost a fight.
Thanks for posting this fight. No, Tommy could not take a punch, and he was so eager in trying to knock out guys, that he didn't keep his guard up. Going to Barkley's body, he was on the verge of making him quit. But he went in with his hands down.
I am not sure if Hearns could not take a punch. How many guys could take that punch and stand up right? Even Hagler. Thing is that Hearns was open to punches like that because he was too eager to knock guys out. It was his heart which hurt him in that he wanted to always knock a guy out. Well when you do that guess what, you are open to being hit. Had he just been like Roy Jones and Oscar and had not heart and just been content to box he would have beaten Barkley easily here.
Hearns seems to have had problems breathing through his nose from round one in this fight...got no sound on my computer at the moment so don't know if the commentators pick up on it.
Tommy always had trouble with crude sluggers. I had such a bad feeling before the fight. The lose took out all the air in me. Losing to Ray and Marvin is acceptable. Losing to Barkley is not.
Hearns was out the first time, if he had recovered from the first knockdown and won barkley would have been crazy, count it yourself, steele was crap.
Barkley seemed to be the one guy that had Hearns number. Even though Hearns punched him often at will, Barkley's iron chin and brawling style gave Tommy fits. And Barkley had the confidence to go in and not be intimidated by Hearns power.
You can see wathching this,Iran can take a hit.Nigel Benn,would be the first to admitt he hits back.The 3 knock down rule in that fight was,as we say in england "bollocks!"
Just thought id come in and pay some respect to Iran.Hell of a fighter.Only got to see a few of his fights(english tv is shit)The benn fight was unfair(nigel fouled)Iran thought the ref saw it,he should have,bad call by the ref and im english.
What an explosive offensive fighter Hearns was, if he had just had a sturdier chin he would have perhaps been hands down, bar none the best pure boxer that ever lived...period!!!
kaabbaaq19 5 days ago
shows that Hearns was lucky to fight a drained roberto duran.
june1683 1 week ago
hearns was really scrambled by that guy barkley, sittin' there at the end trying to get back in sync with reality. dangerous sport.
vinnynumbnuts 3 weeks ago
Barkley. A real Rocky story. Not a fake actor!
MrRaiderfan1000 3 months ago
Iran Balkley was Hearn's worst nightmare!
MrRaiderfan1000 3 months ago 3
torr if you look close youll see that Duran did indeed Beat barkley it was close Ill admit but the knockdown won him the fight, Duran admited later that was one of his toughest fights Duran was a great fighter there was a reason he got the decision...and it wasnt a gift
fischparov 4 months ago
hearns had the power to ko most heavyweights..he was a frightening puncher
MrJourneyman1986 4 months ago
Hearns. Great fighter, but not very hard chin.
TheLeppus28 4 months ago
@lastruebeliever Sure Hagler was the best and I'm from Newark where Hagler is from. Sugar Ray Leonard didn't win Fighter of the Decade for the 80s for nothing.
TheLuscious 5 months ago
im a big fan of the four from the 80s duran hagler hearns & leonard how hearns knocked out duran is not surprising roberto was way to small to fight a hitter like hearns still duran was the the best of the four. how was duran able to beat barkley is just amazing, hagler shouldve went in against leonard going for the knockout & he wouldve gotten it...however durans fight with hagler showed leonard, that hagler could be beat
fischparov 5 months ago
@fischparov He didnt really beat Barkley--it was a gift decision. He knocked him down after taking a beating, which shocked everyone. But watch the fight and you see Barkley won 8 rounds easy.
torr59622 4 months ago
... that punch was far from a lucky shot. Barkley set that shot up... even though he was getting hit for most of the round, he set Hearns up for that right hand.
MegaYouri13 6 months ago
hearns jab has to be the best in boxing history
subfighter316 7 months ago
Unbelievable. Can't believe Hearns let himself get tagged like that. he had Barkley ready to go. Barkley was a big boy but was that a lucky punch or what?
mrjforall 8 months ago
@mrjforall , Yep! Right punch...right time. That's the way it goes!
sdprazak 7 months ago
I LOVE THAT QUALITY!!!
Saeufercrew 8 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
hearns down,hearns through the ropes,hearns knocked out again, hearns to the hospital, hearns no hall of fame boxer- does not get the votes, keep his ass out- go back to DETROIT, and learn how to read.....
BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT 8 months ago
no-no-no hall of fame for tommie -get his ass whipped hearns.........
BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT 8 months ago
tommie hearns will never,,never,,never be in the boxing hall of fame, i was there at the INTERNATIONAL BOXING HALL OF FAME IN NEW YORK LAST WEEK, ALL BOXERS SAY HE WAS A PUNK, HE CANT READ, HE IS DUMB, HE COULD NOT SPELL CAT IF YOU GAVE HIM THE C AND THE T ---- WHEN MARVIN HAGLER BEAT THE MESS OUT OF HIME, THEY CARRIED HIM OUT ON A STRECHER, HIS MAMA HAD TO HELP HIM........ IRAN BARKLEY BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM TWICE..LEARN TO READ 1ST... HE IS ALSO A COWARD---NO HALL OF FAME,,NO NEVER--NO-NO
BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT 8 months ago
Hearns one of the greatest boxers of all time, however he had a glass chin.
vipermx2182 9 months ago
june 11th, 2011--- 2.45 p.m...IN ---. river forest illinois..... TOMMIE HEARNS ALONG WITH MARK BRELAND , ARE THE MOST OVERATED BOXERS OF ALLTIME. WHEN THEY FOUGHT A BIG NAME THEY GOT THEY ASS WHIPPED... 1ST AARON PRYOR BEAT HIM AS A AMATUER, THEN SUGAR RAY LEONARD BEAT HIM UP, THEN MARVIN HAGLER EMBARASSED HIM, THEN IRAN BARKLEY KNOCKED HIM OUT-- CASE CLOSE, - HE WILL NEVER BE IN THE BOXING HALL OF FAME - HIS IS A ONE HAND PUNCHER, PLUS HE CANT EVEN READ... PEACE....
BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT 9 months ago
@BENJIMANBOXINGEXPERT ask anyone of these guys who fought him if he was overrated. BTW, he whipped Leonard's ass in the 2nd fight. Also Leonard avoided an immediately rematch w/Hearns, he made Hearns wait 8 years. If u say all this about Hearns, then Sugar Ray Leonard couldn't box a lick. Tommy Hearns boxed Leonards ears off in both fights. Lennox Lewis lost twice in the amateurs to Razor Ruddock. Tommy was 17 and Pryor was 20 when they fought in the amateurs. Finally watch his ko of Duran
sinusbradycardia 8 months ago in playlist Fight Club Tommy Hearns
Hearns was dominating , but, clearly his legs were weakening - he looked like he as tiring out.. Barkley just had too much heart and could go all 12 rounds at any pace.
949galaxy 9 months ago
Comment removed
sinusbradycardia 8 months ago in playlist Fight Club Tommy Hearns
I have never seen a fighter get so much praise in brutal defeat than Hearns. He gets knocked the fuck out by a good but not great fighter and i have to read how great Hearns is?
Hearns was not old for this fight there are no excuses. His weaknesses like in the Hagler fight were glaring.
shire2005 9 months ago
@shire2005 Yeap, Hearns was punishing the hell out of Barkley and out of know where, Barkley earned his belt. Against Hagler, very fighters could walk the fire storm Hagler walked through and still be standing.
This is what gets me about Barkley, he is able to avoid Hearns' for the most part, but against Benn, Benn couldn't miss his chin. Although, Barkley should have been given time to recover because I believe on the 1st 2 kd Barkley was hit by Benn while on the canvas. Styles make fights.
sinusbradycardia 8 months ago in playlist Fight Club Tommy Hearns
My favorite fight ever. Iran kills Hearns just like Hagler did.
bigsnakedaddy 9 months ago
Those lefts to the body.. speechless.
oldschoolbby 9 months ago
Well, Tito would have stopped Hearns. Tito was way more skilled in welterweight than Hearns, but it would have been a very good fight till the end. One of the weakest chins ever in the history of boxing in Hearns.
Nationalsocialisten1 9 months ago
@Nationalsocialisten1 very true...
djk28161 9 months ago
@Nationalsocialisten1
Tito more skilled than Hearns? You are an idiot. Tito was no boxer and good boxers gave him trouble. vargas ou tboxed Trinidad. Tito could beat a Hearns with his power and better chin but Hearns would be out boxing him easily.
shire2005 9 months ago
Hearns had him hurt with those lefts to the body, right before he got caught.
s1ghandnod 10 months ago
lucky punch, look at his face
jejevson 11 months ago
damn hearns was so fast and had arguably the most lethal power in history
Ronz93 11 months ago
Up to the knockout, this was a masterful display of punching by Hearns but Barkley must have thrown every ounce of strength in his entire body into his winning punch.
Hearns was a great fighter, despite this loss. You always get value for money with the Hitman, win, lose or draw.
BruceinFalkirk 1 year ago 2
if tommy had a chin like hagler he had he would have went 70-0, he hardly lost any rounds in his whole career and most fights he lost he was ahead on the cards, never seen anybody outbox him or outclass him
28rampage 1 year ago
Im 100 percent certain that if Hearns was boxing today he'd be pound for pound number 1 and would easily be the best in the world from 147 all the way to 160, and would be even money with the top cats at 168
macwit2cs 1 year ago
@macwit2cs I don't know. You can see how Iran can get under those long arms. A more disciplined fighter like Hopkins or a prime Wright might be able to neutralize him. No doubt though w/ the exception of his suspect chin he's a freak of nature for the weight classes he fought in during his prime.
bentnosewp 1 year ago
@bentnosewp its kinda hard to gauge though,look at it like this, winky was always a solid 154lb fighter, but if he went up against hearns that would be just too much raw power to try and cover up against, Ima huge fan of winky but i think tommy would outbox him, I could see bhop and hearns being pretty even head to head though
macwit2cs 1 year ago
agreed! but i think he could face upset KO losses to people with inferior skills because his biggest weakness was his chin.
IxnayHombre 1 year ago
@IxnayHombre true....Hearns had a very weak chin...featherweight could ko him...
djk28161 9 months ago
Thumbs up to anyone who respects the hitman and the blade
macwit2cs 1 year ago
Iran Barkley was a legit badass.
mihajlo321 1 year ago
The best middleweight would have the speed of Hearns, the ring agility of Leonard, the power of Mugabi and the chin and durability of Hagler.
MickeyLove01 1 year ago
@MickeyLove01 Actually Leonard was faster than Hearns.
Understand your point tough! :)
Jockeboxing 1 year ago
@MickeyLove01 I think the speed of Leonard,the ring agility of Robinson,the power of Randolph Turpin and the durability of Hagler.
GILLYRUTH 1 year ago
@MickeyLove01 I think the speed of Leonard,the ring agility of Robinson,the power of Randolph Turpin and the durability of Hagler(or Lamotta,although he was a tit)
GILLYRUTH 1 year ago
@MickeyLove01 I think the speed of Leonard,the ring agility of Robinson,the power of Randolph Turpin and the durability of Hagler(or Lamotta,although he was a tit)
GILLYRUTH 1 year ago
Barkley had about as powerful of a build as you'd ever see on a middleweight.
IceveinsProductions 1 year ago
This is when boxing was boxing and not dancing around the ring. I see everyone thinks he's overrated. Name one boxer today that could go toe to toe with Hearns and don't say mayweather cause that bitch fought a bunch a nobodies. Diego was the one I'll give him and a a young zab. everyone else was trash.
tcb8787 1 year ago
Tommy Hearns as usual had no chin to take a punch..he's one of the most overrated fighters ever.
tom11zz884 1 year ago
@tom11zz884 I'll give you that. He had a glass jaw but overrated is going a lil to far. He beat some of the best and was beaten by some of the best.
tcb8787 1 year ago
one of the greatest knock-outs of all time.
BigSilverHotdog 1 year ago
hearns would have been killed by mclellan and jackson
mccluskey 1 year ago
@mccluskey
Mclellen maybe but Jackson didn't have the boxing skills or chin to last long enough to get to Hearns. I think Hearns get Jackson early much like Mccallum and Mclellen did.
shire2005 1 year ago
Everytime Hearns got rocked, his arms went haywire. lol
2SANFRANCISCO 1 year ago
Hearns was soooooooo overrated. Yes he had heart but his chin and his legs were made out of paper. His fight with Hagler was over in the first round! Hearns broke his hand on Hagler's head in the first round. It is one of the most overrated fights ever. Hearns couldn't deal with the tough guys. He could beat up little guys like Duran, Cuevas and Benitez, but he was toast against Hagler and Barkley. And he woud've gotten killed by guys like Mugabi and Benn.
gonzomoya420 1 year ago
@gonzomoya420 overated because he had a shit chin ?! your just getting confident in your opinion which is a minority and bullshit.
funnyblackmans 1 year ago
@gonzomoya420 But you just said it yourself he broke his hand in that first round against Hagler. And Hagler wasn't a push over. They didn't call him marvelous marvin for nothing. I don't think he would have beat him but it would have went longer than 2 rounds. You could tell something was wrong cause he switched up his whole style after he broke his hand. You say overrated I say way better competition cause none of the boxers today are in his league or Hagler.
tcb8787 1 year ago
lucky punch!
PhuLieuMang 1 year ago
Another one of those body shots and Iran Barkley wouldn't have any internal organs... not to take it away from him or anything.. You have to play to your strengths, Tommy is my favorite boxer of all time, but as you can see, Iran knew he only had to land one..... and so he did.
bromista83 1 year ago
tommy is my idol, if he could have only a hard chin, maybe he could reach the heavy weight class, from lightweight he climbed up til the light heavy class
grmdesign 1 year ago
Horrible loss for Hearn's against a fighter who was not supposed to be at his level.
Many mediocre fighters or smaller fighters were able to do something Hearn's could not do, take Barkley's punch. Jorge Amparo, Sanderline Williams and James Kinchen all went the distance with Barley and so did little Roberto Duran.
But Tommy got knocked the fuck out!
shire2005 1 year ago
@shire2005 that was funny man....Amparo....Kitchen...little Roberto Duran all went the distance. BUT TOMMY GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT! lol
JoseAmor20 1 year ago
IMO Barkley knew he was out of it. He really could have clocked Tommy, but looks like he let him off easy. I really enjoyed watching both of these guys careers, they were a credit to boxing.
M14Mann 1 year ago
Talk about a slugger's chance. Tommy was killing him. He would not have lasted another 3 rounds. Tko from cuts.
fightjapanrc 1 year ago
Barkley was Hearn's "Boogieman" !
Wutangspam 1 year ago
classic example of the better boxer losing....hearns was the only boxer i ever seen wobble hagler..
jezelljr 1 year ago
an spectacular KO!
efravi25 1 year ago
wow, he was getting lit up and caught him out of the blue
clash7samurai 1 year ago
them hearns lefts to the body look like perfect shots
frisbyrb5 2 years ago
Barkley was such a tough guy. I heard he was hit in the face with chains as part of a gang initiation as a kid, which maybe explained all of that nasty swelling he always went through.
goonookanooka 2 years ago
If Hearns was a 4 time champion etc etc. What does that make Barkley ?
hero2d0s 2 years ago
I think I`ve seen that referee do a few strange things but he should never have let Hearns carry on - he couldn`t even hold his gumshield in!!!
SimonDolan 2 years ago
Tommy could get sucked into bomb trading brawls very easy and with his weak chin it cost him against Hagler and Barkley and damn near cost him against Roldan.
When he boxed and and used his reach and hand speed along with his power, he was awesome. The Benitez, Virgil Hill and two Sugar Ray fights are proof of that
stell29 2 years ago
It is funny how Barkley got that last right hand as Hearns was already headed towards the canvas.
lcvd1 2 years ago
Thomas Hit Man Hearns was one of the greatest boxers of all-time!!!
Calidan09 2 years ago 27
@Calidan09 ooooooooooh what a exageration yours!
efravi25 1 year ago
@Calidan09 i think his love for a tear up cost him as you saw there in control & paying no attention to his opponents next move then boom!
billyairdjnr 1 year ago
@Calidan09 was THE GREATEST boxer of all-time
boxingisbomb 1 year ago
Hearns was a great 5, weight champion. Barkley tough fighter. Hearns fought some great fighters and beat them. He did have a problem with the chin. He lost to Hagler who was a legend. He put up a great show, but Marvin took a better punch. Did you ever see Hagler lose a fight by KO. Never. Hearns got floored a few times. All of them were warriors , great fighters, and to step into the ring takes some courage, I know I have done 38 times. Hearns is a legend.
SuperTheJET 2 years ago 2
All of Hearns losses were in fights that he was clearly winning it seems. Definitely should have beat Leonard. Also opened up a cut on Hagler and the fight was going to get stopped.
But this fight he was winning so easily. How can he get so careless.
powpanda 2 years ago
The fight against Hagler didn't last long enough to say Hearns was winning. He got whipped badly in that one. But I understand what you're saying, especially in this one. Gotta' give The Blade credit for winning it. He was one tough dude.
Kedbuka 2 years ago
No doubt about it. Still is probably.
powpanda 2 years ago
Tommy was known for losing focus sometimes. Even in training.
blite13 2 years ago
great fight...
barrya101 2 years ago
Sorry, the clock kicks in when hearns falls to the ground...at 44, he gets us at 34...that 10 seconds...His out
Indul1 2 years ago
Was hearns out the first time?
Indul1 2 years ago
The speed of Tommy Hearns is incredible.Both hands spit shots like a cobra....
onlyjoetee 2 years ago 2
ok just one more comment. I have to respond to a comment on here. Duran beating Iran was not that great an accomplishment. Duran struggled with Iran and fact is Iran was beaten by Nunn and Benn and other guys much more convincinly than Duran beat him. I never thought Duran beating Iran was that great. Iran's only claim to fame was beating Hearns. What else did he do? Lose to Toney? Nunn? Benn?Maske? He lost to everyone.
HoustonTexasBoxer 2 years ago
one more comment. You can see in this fight how Hearns was not as sharp as when he was a little younger. He is throwing more inside power and trying to get guys out with strength, since his speed was starting to go here. Later he adjusted and learned to use his jab and to conserve his legs in long fights, but here he was still trying to blast guys out in a few rounds. But his speed was going here, and Tommy was looking frustrated at times like he had with Roldan and Andries before this.
HoustonTexasBoxer 2 years ago
a little younger? he was 29. why when duran loses to legitamite legends at 32-32 at 20 lbs above his best weight you trash out on him, but when hearns loses to guys like barkley, who he should have beaten, the excuses come flying? Hearns is a legend but the same flaws that haunted him against leonard and hagler came back here. his lack of stamina, lack of defense, and lack of inside fighting ability all tired him and eventually got him KO'd
ksjb85 2 years ago 16
@ksjb85:
People tend to like Hearns' personality. Duran was always thought of as a 'mean' person. Duran would insult his opponents personally and had been known to insult their families too. This gave him a 'bad guy's' reputation. I don't think that he was literally a bad person, but his public personna was as the guy who didn't mind being thought of as 'the bad guy.'
tw69hands2 1 year ago
@ksjb85 Hearns didn't lack stamina going into the third round. He got knocked out because he has a shaky pair of whiskers and Barkley caught him with a good shot.
scotthovsepian88 1 year ago
@ksjb85 Very true...
connymat 10 months ago
and also, Hearns by this point in 1988 was slipping, He had been through the Hagler war and then each fight after that was hard except for Shuler. He just started to struggle a little and get rocked in each fight after. Only after Barkley did he start to box more and work on defense and he became more of a 12 round fighter. After Barkley he went all 12 round with Kinchen,Leonard,Olajide,Hill,Barkley,Delgado,Miller and on and on. The Hagler fight marks Hearns prime to a little worn out after it.
HoustonTexasBoxer 2 years ago
I am not insulting Iran Barkley, but fact is Hearns fought them all and beat them all. Look at his resume. His title wins alone Cueves,Benitez, and Hill are wins over legends. He won the lightheavyweight title 2 times after first winning the welt. title in 1980. Iran beat Tommy. Good style, but fact is if Iran was close to Tommy in status he had to have beaten more great fighters like Tommy did!! Tommy beat them all. Iran did not.
HoustonTexasBoxer 2 years ago
Thomas Hearns was a great fighter but to be honest he never won the big fights. He did beat good fighters and he did destroy Duran but what people remember most about him is him getting ko'd by Leonard and Hagler. Those were his chances to prove that he was one of the best ever but he lost them both.
userho 2 years ago
Hearns won plenty of big fights He beat Cuevas, Benitez, Duran, the second Leonard fight, and Virgil Hill who at the time was undefeated. Not to mention he was the 1st in boxing history to win titles in 4 divisions. The defeats he is remembered for was against two all time greats.
roundtree49 2 years ago 2
I'm not saying that Hearns wasn't great, I'm just saying that in the two most important fights of his career to prove he was the best he got ko'd.
userho 2 years ago
Wasn't it Duran who took the title from Barkley?
blite13 2 years ago
yup
PaoteKid08 2 years ago
I am not sure Barkley was underrated. Beating Hearns made him almost overrated. He had the right style to beat Hearns and yes beat him twice, but Hearns was 10 x the fighter Barkley was . You do not rate a man by one fighter, and Barkley was good but just because he beat Hearns, he did not claim Hearns legend. Hearns was greater by 10 x for real. Good wins, but stylewise was good for Iran. What more can you say. He never beat Virgil Hill like Tommy, and he never could have.
HoustonTexasBoxer 2 years ago
hearns needs to move around the ring more, like ali, i think it wud help him alot more instead of standing still ... hearns has alot of what ali has speed and reach etc, but he just dont dance around the ring
TOWinkworthIpswich 2 years ago
iran barkley is underrated
MRGKING 2 years ago
i belive barkley was a good fighter.. good jab, power in both hands, chin, fast, not just another boxer, he did won the title clean, and he did beat hearns twices..
jamecpa10 2 years ago
As I watch this video carefully, I never noticed that Barkley had great defense. He was doing a decent job of 'trying' to control the distance, he either clinched with Hearns after getting his shots in, or got outta the way.
projectbojinka 2 years ago
Everybody knows that when you have a fighter who is better but has no chin and the other one who can punch and take punches better, all it takes is one punch for the other guy to win.
Jorsalfar 2 years ago
jeryd, you do not know boxing at all. Barkley's reach was not near Hearns. Actually Virgil Hill who was greater than Iran had a 77 inch reach and was 6-1.. Well Hearns beat him unanimously. Everyone has that weak style which can beat them. Iran was not a great fighter. Hearns was. Count the legends he fought. Cueves,Leonard,Benitez,Duran,Hagler,Hill
MoonyWeller 2 years ago
Yeah, Hearns was the only great fighter Barkley beat. He lost to Duran,Nunn,Kalambay, Maske and Toney. And Benn of course.
Jorsalfar 2 years ago
"He lost to Duran,Nunn,Kalambay, Maske and Toney. And Benn of course"
He was KO'd by robbie simms.
shire2005 2 years ago
Barkley wasn´t a good figther? even he defeated by KO Hearns?? If that is thus, in where will be Roberto Duran who defetead Barkley?? Youre reasoning is too rare!
efravi25 2 years ago
tommy hearns finally met someone his own size 6'1 and looked what happened. he didn't have a tremendous reach advantage either. tommy hearns was brought down ko'd in the 3rd round. just like learneard ko'd him just like hagler ko'd him i ain't going to lie i'm glad barkley kno'd hearns
jeryd2003 2 years ago
7:07 outsidering
outsidering 2 years ago
Barkley was a solid contender and certainly went all out on Tommy just when it seemed he was gonna get TKO'd due to being cut up so badly. Shame he didn't improve his game much after this title bout and paid for it dearly (especially in that match against Nigel Benn, man he REALLY embarrassed the hell out of him-lol). Rematch was a better showing for the Hitman, but I felt he should've retired after that. He had nothing left to prove by then. Righteous upset though, but Barkley earned it.
>;-)
PeekaPeep 2 years ago 2
Correction: It was James Toney NOT Benn who embarrassed Barkley big-time with his polished "old school" boxing style. As for the Benn fight, THAT one needed a rematch in the worst way. 1st rd just wasn't enough to contain those two volatile fighters, lol.
PeekaPeep 2 years ago 2
Barkley was ready to go and then BAM, all it takes is one punch.
KierenMan 2 years ago
someday you will learn about fighting cfx. That is why people who don't know boxing should not comment. Hearns won his fight with Duran with speed and a right hand. His left hook opened up Shuler for the right. His left jab and right hand and combinations knocked out Cueves. His boxing skills outboxed Benitez and Hill. and you are saying all he had was one thing? A right? When you watch more fights come back and comment on great fighters.
NathanHotDogs 2 years ago 3
Good educated comment on the Hitman
redryan5048 2 years ago
Hearns was a one handed fighter. Once he realizedis biggest fights) ( as in his right couldn't do the job, he was was done. His left looked pretty but, it was harmless.
cfx5000 2 years ago
Blade was good Hitman was great sometimes a good fighter beats a great one shit happens
hbks01fan 2 years ago 3
who won in their second meet.
angrygunsmith 2 years ago
Barkley by Decision. I think it was a split decision.
amirrojas 2 years ago
Barkley was a thug who, by his own admission, before he started boxing ran round the Bronx beating people with lead pipes! He got lucky against Hearns, he was crude and a wild puncher although he was huge and powerful. He got turned over by Duran and got beaten badly be Nigel Benn - in fact seeing Benn pummelling Barkley was a real treat!
raum1234 2 years ago 3
Barkley was a very good fighter and one of the toughest boxers ever, so I think he deserves a bit more respect than you are showing him. Benn is one of my all time favorite fighters, but he should have been dq'd against Barkley.
mihajlo321 2 years ago 2
I liked Benn too but he was a dirty fighter, like you said he shoud've been dq'd against Blade. and who can forget all those illegal rabbit punches that Benn gave to Gerald McCllelan in their violent 1995 fight that left the G-Man permanently disabled.
gonzomoya420 2 years ago
@raum1234 It was Hearns who was lucky to last the distance in the rematch,which he lost as well
teedzy3 1 year ago
@raum1234 The fight with Benn could've easily went either way.
NemeanLion 1 year ago
@raum1234
That's a load of bull. Barkley was a well-drilled boxer with good technique, not some two-bit thug. His fight with Duran was fiercely competitive and extremely close, and he proved his first victory over Hearns was no fluke by beating him again in the rematch. Benn caught him early, but not before being hurt himself. At his best, Barkley could give anyone a hard fight.
garethac81 1 year ago
You are correct to a point.
In boxing every fighter has a "bogeyman" a fighter who gives him more difficulty than one would have expected+ who is not necessarily the best opponent the fighter has fought. eg Ali+ Norton, Frazier+ Bonavena.
Barkely was probably a "bogeyman" to Tommy Hearns. Tommy beat far more accomplished fighters than Barkley.
Hearns aside who else did Barkley beat? he lost almost every big fight he competed in: eg Duran, Benn, Nunn, Kalambay, Toney, Maske..
07091102 3 years ago 3
I remember this big upset. The crude Iran Barkley was badly cut hurt+ outclassed here but somehow saved himself with a wild + somewhat lucky swing. Tommy Hearns, a superb boxer puncher, never great punch resistsance but he was not a "glass jaw" as some have suggested. An all time great who redeemed himself in the 2nd fight with Leonard + by later beating Hill for the light heavyyweight title. Barkely's limitations were laid bare by his short reign+ defeats by Roberto Duran and Nigel Benn.
07091102 3 years ago
helluva blow
cremesupreme 3 years ago
Its slightly unfair to say tommy had a glass chin,because every time he got knocked out it was by a class haymaker.....however,i must admit to seeing tommy doing the boxers tap dance more than most.
lens2optic 3 years ago
The thing that kept hearns from being a top ten greatest fighter of all time, he's damn glass chin.
Lunakid360 3 years ago
Hearns had good defence very early on in his career. He quickly adopted a more aggressive style. He was not concentrating against an almost beat Barkley
billyposter 3 years ago
Tommy never learned defense.
Steward never taught him lateral movement or moving his head imo.
joeygonzo 3 years ago
What? He had good defense. His chin wasn't the best.
ZetaBrusher 3 years ago
What defense are you looking at?
Tommy had a bad habit of leaning back at punches.
He held his left hand low.
His defense was his offense.
joeygonzo 3 years ago
Hearns estaba destrozando a Barkley, pero se descuidó y fue un típico lucky punch. Suerte para Barkley.
ravasku 3 years ago
Lucky punch. Shit happens. Still a fucking legend Tommy!
boondi73 3 years ago
you make your own luck
BoxerboyAsh17 3 years ago
barkley wasnt great but he fought a style that was tough to handle at times. he was a fan favorite for balls to the wall style.BTW hes 1 of 20 fighters in BOXING HISTORY to win a world title in 3 different weight classes.
and dont give me hearns was old. tommy went on dropped leonard twice and should have gotten the victory and moved up to LHW and defeated a 1988 olympic silver medalist and long time champ virgil hill for the wba title. so calm your horses
JL87 3 years ago
There are times in this fight where in 1985, Hearns would have double jabbed Barkley and really busted him up. But Hearns by 1988 was a little diminished, not alot but a little. But no excuses, Barkley landed that punch against a great fighter. Barkley was good but not great. A comparison would be Golota did well against Bowe, but was not as good as Bowe. Although, no one is comparison Bowe to Hearns, but the comparison is there.
Boxing1977Boxing 3 years ago
yes the Hearns of 1985 would beat Barkley and knock him out in round 2. Hearns slowed down just a little and got more sloppy after Hagler. I do not know why. He became reckless after Hagler and started to get in brawls more. And that was his doing. Maybe the Hagler fight made him realize how he liked brawling, but he was not made to brawl. But he sure did it alot. He didn't pay for it as much as he could have, but he was that good to usually come through.
Boxing1977Boxing 3 years ago
He got into brawls more often because fighters knew after watching the Hagler and Roldan fights that dragging him into a dogfight was the way to get to him, otherwise he´d just outbox you and lay that bomb on your face. Barkley was gettin murdered though, props to him for stayin in there..and he got the reward.
moloko76 3 years ago
Hearns started to decline here a little. He is not the same here as he was a few years earlier when he fought Hagler. After Hagler he looked more fragile and he would still nail guys, but they were starting to hit him. He just didn't have the same reflexes anymore. After this fight he realized he could not fight the same anymore, so he started to win decisions and win on experience as he did with Kinchen and Leonard and Virgil Hill. He is one guys who adjusted to getting old, and still won.
Boxing1977Boxing 3 years ago
do you think prime Hearns beats Barkley?
I haven't seen too much of him (Barkley) to make a prediction.
clintaxe 3 years ago
Hearns had a chin - it's just that his "left down" style made it available for FAR too many punches. He took so many punches in his career that he shouldn't have, simply trying to keep that left hand "weapon" out of sight. His style was to throw that devastating left from the hip, and most fighters never saw it coming. But, he sacrificed his chin in gearing up for that shot. If Emmanuel could have somehow trained him to throw that from the chin, he might have never lost a fight.
BBCater 3 years ago
Thanks for posting this fight. No, Tommy could not take a punch, and he was so eager in trying to knock out guys, that he didn't keep his guard up. Going to Barkley's body, he was on the verge of making him quit. But he went in with his hands down.
markonit 3 years ago
I am not sure if Hearns could not take a punch. How many guys could take that punch and stand up right? Even Hagler. Thing is that Hearns was open to punches like that because he was too eager to knock guys out. It was his heart which hurt him in that he wanted to always knock a guy out. Well when you do that guess what, you are open to being hit. Had he just been like Roy Jones and Oscar and had not heart and just been content to box he would have beaten Barkley easily here.
Boxing1977Boxing 3 years ago
Hearns seems to have had problems breathing through his nose from round one in this fight...got no sound on my computer at the moment so don't know if the commentators pick up on it.
maccka1 3 years ago
How was that a sucker punch? Hearns got ktfo, plain and simple. Hearns was legendary, so was his lack of a chin. Barkley knocked him out twice.
samotrx7 3 years ago
Nice try samo, but he didn't knock him out twice. Hearns was outpointed in the rematch.
Brianjonestown 3 years ago
Tommy always had trouble with crude sluggers. I had such a bad feeling before the fight. The lose took out all the air in me. Losing to Ray and Marvin is acceptable. Losing to Barkley is not.
kbi35 3 years ago
Poor ol' Tommy. Just couldn't take a punch...
Aurelian147 3 years ago
what a sucker punch
mrBandG 3 years ago
Hearns was out the first time, if he had recovered from the first knockdown and won barkley would have been crazy, count it yourself, steele was crap.
Indul1 3 years ago
Luckiest punch in history of boxing!!
reggaegirl33 3 years ago 2
that was a good stoppage ,,to think duran beat him shows how much of a legend he was
magindo1980 3 years ago
hearns ko' duran duran beat barkley n barkley ko' hearns
youngboxer89 3 years ago
duran dropped him and then won the decision
magindo1980 3 years ago
Classic
boxingfanofthegame 3 years ago
Nigel Benn was the only guy to really hurt Barkley.
karlos81 3 years ago
roberto duran?
msquad223 3 years ago
Barkley seemed to be the one guy that had Hearns number. Even though Hearns punched him often at will, Barkley's iron chin and brawling style gave Tommy fits. And Barkley had the confidence to go in and not be intimidated by Hearns power.
zenmachinefilms 3 years ago 2
right on the money, i agree
ironworkers721 3 years ago
You are right one Dude. Too Bad they were not the same age.
566791967 3 years ago
You can see wathching this,Iran can take a hit.Nigel Benn,would be the first to admitt he hits back.The 3 knock down rule in that fight was,as we say in england "bollocks!"
hpug 4 years ago 2
Just thought id come in and pay some respect to Iran.Hell of a fighter.Only got to see a few of his fights(english tv is shit)The benn fight was unfair(nigel fouled)Iran thought the ref saw it,he should have,bad call by the ref and im english.
hpug 4 years ago
Reminds me a little of Tyson's KO of Reggie Gross.
nathanwilefrazier 4 years ago