Two-weight world champion Paulie Malignaggi has predicted the outcome of a fantasy match-up between legendary American duo Floyd Mayweather and Thomas Hearns.
‘Money’ Mayweather is often commended for being arguably the greatest fighter of the 21st century, having picked up memorable wins over the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez.
As for Hearns, ‘The Hitman’ rose to stardom during the 1980s where he became a member of ‘The Four Kings’ alongside former rivals Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard, sharing the ring with the legendary trio on at least one occasion during his professional career.
Speaking to ProBox TV, retired Italian-American star Malignaggi shared his thoughts on Mayweather’s chances of defeating Hearns in a fantasy clash, as he claims he ‘finds it hard’ to back anyone to defeat a welterweight version of ‘The Hitman’.
“It’s hard for me to see anybody beating Hearns in history at welterweight honestly, literally anybody. I mean if you look at Ray Leonard, he lost more rounds than he won against Hearns in two fights.
“He was behind in the first fight and in the second fight they robbed Hearns and they made it a draw even though that was at a higher weight class than welterweight, but at welterweight Tommy Hearns I think is the most difficult guy to deal with in history.”
Whilst he enjoyed the bulk of his success during his campaign at welterweight, Hearns cemented his place in the boxing history books back in 1987 when he became the first fighter to win world titles in five separate weight classes, defeating Britain’s Dennis Andries to capture the WBC light-heavyweight title.
