“He can’t take them in there with him,” he said. The banging on the walls and the cheers of Hearns’ posse was unrelenting. Hagler, focused like never before, bobbed and weaved, reciting his mantra of “destruction and destroy” over and over again. Hagler opened as a slight favorite but by fight time it was a pick ‘em.Īs Hagler loosened up in his dressing room Tommy’s entourage, the next room over, banged on the walls. We’re here to get the answers.” The odds catered much to that sentiment. Hearns is the best fighter Hagler has ever fought. Who you liked going in was summed up perfectly by HBO broadcaster Larry Merchant – “Hagler is the strongest fighter Hearns has ever fought. And yet, because of the quiet demeanors of both fighters it built slowly into a super fight because of the boxer’s ability rather than their respective personalities. In one amazing performance of unbridled power Tommy knocked Duran unconscious and set up the fight with Hagler.Īn interim three round knockout of contender Fred Hutchings furthered Hearns’ cause and suddenly boxing was all about Hagler vs. Duran had been stripped of his WBA belt so the fight was only for Hearns’ WBC title. In two brutal rounds Hearns destroyed Roberto Duran in what should have been a unification bout for the junior middleweight title. It was in 1984 that everything changed and the potential showdown became the most talked about fight of the year. It would take something spectacular to elevate him to mythic status. He was basically looked upon by the public as a really good professional fighter, but not a superstar. As good as he was, and in the retrospective glow of his fight with Hearns, Hagler was actually not a huge draw in boxing. Meanwhile, Hagler bullied his way through several defenses of his title with methodical, workmanlike expertise. In fact he had reverted to a jab and dance man – beating Wilfred Benitez for the title over fifteen mostly sedate rounds. Also, Tommy was just getting used to the junior middleweight division and he was not looking like the “Hit Man” of old. But injuries and bad timing delayed the fight. With the retirement of Sugar Ray Leonard, because of a detached retina, Hearns became Hagler’s most likely big name opponent. The build up for the fight had actually started in 1982. There were the intense stare downs – these two guys did not like each other – and the inevitable war cry, “destruction and destroy” which Hagler hissed, but it wasn’t until the opening bell that every boxing fan realized how special this event was. In the case of Hagler and Hearns it’s strange that not much is remembered of the pre-fight build up.ĭespite the fact that both were in their primes and deemed the best in the business neither man was much of a talker and the fight seemed to slowly come to a simmer rather than a boil. When expectations are so high disappointment is almost inevitable. The hype surrounding a big fight often overshadows the fight itself. His anger would eventually be unleashed on April 15, 1985. Hagler seethed as his welterweight counterparts commanded the public’s attention and the money. He moved up in weight with the ultimate goal of facing middleweight champion Marvin Hagler. One loss, in his first super fight to Sugar Ray Leonard, only seemed to fuel his desire for fistic greatness. A devastating puncher with a boxer’s grace Hearns tore through opponents with a surgeon’s presicion. It was out of that welterweight division that Thomas Hearns emerged. Suddenly it was the lightweights and, particularly, the welterweights who dominated the sport. Boxing had survived the end of Muhammad Ali’s career because a crop of brilliant young fighters burst onto the scene and forced the public to look down at the lighter weight ranks. Their epic battle redefined boxing for a new generation of fans. It’s almost hard to believe that it was a little over twenty years ago when Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns stepped into the ring at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and waged war on one another.
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