Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns
Sugar Ray
Leonard and Thomas Hearns are considered to be two of the best boxers
of all time. They fought twice, once in 1981 and once in 1989. Both
fights are considered to be classics.
Leonard vs Hearns 1 "The
Showdown"
Sugar Ray Leonard won the WBC welterweight title with a fifteenth
round knockout of Wilfred Benitez in 1979. He lost it to Roberto duran
by a close decision in June 1980 and regained it five months later
in the infamous No Mas Fight, in which Duran quit in the eighth round.
In June 1981, Leonard moved up to the light middleweight division
for one fight, knocking out Ayub Kalule in nine rounds to win the
WBA light middleweight title.
Hearns won the WBA welterweight
title in 1980, scoring a second round knockout of Jose 'Pipino' Cuevas
in Detroit, Michigan. He made three successful title defenses, stopping
Luis Primera, Randy Shields, and Pablo Baez.
Promoted as "The
Showdown," Leonard (30-1 with 21 KO) fought Hearns (32-0 with 30 KO)
on September 16, 1981 at Caesars Palace in Paradise, Nevada to unify
the world welterweight championship in a scheduled fifteen rounder.
They fought before a live crowd of 23,618 and a worlwide TV audience
of some 300 million.
The fight began as expected, Leonard boxing
from a distance and Hearns stalking. Leonard had difficulty with Hearns'
long reach and sharp jab. By the end of round five, Leonard had a
growing swelling under his left eye, and Hearns had built a considerable
lead on the scorecards. Leonard, becoming more aggressive, hurt Hearns
in the sixth with a left hook to the chin. Leonard battered Hearns
in rounds six and seven, but Hearns miraculously regrouped. Hearns
started to stick and move, and he started to pile up points again.
The roles reversed: Leonard became the stalker and Hearns became the
boxer.
Hearns won rounds nine through twelve on all three scorecards.
Between rounds twelve and thirteen, Leonard's trainer, the legendary
Angelo Dundee, said the now legendary words "You're blowing it now,
son! You're blowing it!"
