Boxing icon Thomas Hearns says there was just one man who hit him harder than legendary rival Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
Hearns etched his name into the sport’s history books when he became the first fighter to win world titles in five weight classes, ranging from welterweight to light-heavyweight.
He shared the ring with a number of legendary opponents during his accomplished 29-year professional career, including the likes of Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benitez and Roberto Duran.
Hearns locked horns with Hagler for the undisputed middleweight championship back in April of 1985, a bout that was dubbed ‘The War’ and undoubtedly lived up to its name.
Hagler ultimately got the better of his countryman on the night, stopping him during the third round of their much-anticipated clash at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine, Hearns surprisingly overlooked Hagler when revealing the hardest puncher he ever faced, naming none other than Sugar Ray Leonard.
“I’ll have to think about that one. Iran Barkley, he was one of them … Marvin Hagler and Leonard. Ray punched pretty good. Pipino Cuevas never hit me, nor did Duran. I’d give it to Ray; he punched pretty good.”
Hearns and Leonard did battle twice during their respective careers, with their first clash taking place in September 1981 when Leonard stopped ‘The Hitman’ in the penultimate round of their Laa Vegas showdown.
Their paths crossed once again eight years later but their highly-anticipated rematch ended in a controversial split decision draw which saw Leonard retain his WBC world super-middleweight title.
