Thomas Hearns was a part of one of boxing’s greatest generations.
‘Hitman’ Hearns became the first fighter in boxing history to win world titles across five weight divisions after he captured the WBA light-heavyweight world title with a victory over Virgil Hill back in 1991.
He was one of the ‘Four Kings’, joined by former rivals Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler, who all had outstanding success in what was a golden era for the sport.
After coming up against Leonard, Duran and Hagler on at least one occasion throughout his tenure, Hearns once revealed who actually punched the hardest in a surprising admission.
In a round of ‘Best I Faced’ with the Ring Magazine, Hearns weighed in on a number of hard-hitting fighters he faced during his career, but named Sugar Ray Leonard as the man who stood out from the rest.
“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.”
‘Hitman’ faced Sugar Ray on two occasions, with their first bout taking place on September 16 1981. After an entertaining battle at Caesars Palace, Leonard prevailed to retain his WBC and WBA welterweight titles by stopping Hearns in the penultimate round.
Their rematch took place eight years later and much like their first encounter, it was all-action from the opening bell. After another highly competitive showdown in Las Vegas, the fight was declared a split decision draw which saw Leonard retain his WBC super-middleweight title.
In his bouts with the others, Hearns beat Duran by stoppage in 1984 but lost to Hagler one year later, also inside the distance.
