Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns fought professionally from 1977 to 1996. Hearns’s tall, slender frame may not represent the prototypical fighter’s physique, but it allowed him to win championships in five weight classes from welterweight to light heavyweight. Hearns also earned the right to be mentioned somewhere near the top of the list whenever fight fans talk about the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all time.
Early Life
The baby boy who would later become known as “The Hitman” to boxing fans everywhere began in his life in Grand Junction, Tennessee. Thomas Hearns was the third born of nine children. His family left Grand Junction for Detroit, Michigan, when Tommy was five years old.
Thomas Hearns Amateur Career
Thomas Hearns first began training as a boxer when he was ten years old. He furthered his training at Detroit’s legendary Kronk gym once reaching his teenage years.
Hearns won 155 of 163 amateur fights. He also won both AAU and National Golden Gloves championships in the light welterweight division. Thomas Hearns decided to fight as a professional in 2017. He was 19 years old.
Professional Career
Hearns placed his career in the hands of legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward. The first order of business was transforming Hearns’ soft-hitting amateur style into one that produced the power needed to succeed at the pro level. The result: Thomas Hearns became one of the most devastating KO punchers the sport has ever seen.
Thomas Hearns dispatched each of his first 13 opponents in three rounds or less. His next four fights also ended in knockouts. But these opponents were able to last more than nine minutes.
Alfonso Hayman became the first fighter to end a fight on his feet against Thomas Hearns on April 3, 1979. Hearns scored a unanimous decision. Ten boxing matches later, and Thomas Hearns was ready to challenge for his first world title.
Thomas Hearns vs Pipino Cuevas
Hearns was 28-0 when offered a world title fight against Mexican champion Jose Pepino Cuevas. The boxing match took place on August 2, 1980, in Hearn’s hometown of Detroit. The location: The famous Joe Louis Arena.
Jose “Pepino” Cuevas won the WBA welterweight title when he was only 18 years old. The victory came via the two-round destruction of former champ Angel Espada. Cuevas was a feared power puncher who had finished 10 of 11 fights before Hearns with knockouts.
Thomas Hearns did not need much time to show which of the two men was the better fighter. He surprised some fans by choosing to attack the feared puncher from the opening bell. But despite the power Cuevas packed, he could not keep “The Hitman” off of him. Hearns ended the one-sided fight in the second round with a devastating right hand.
Thomas Hearns vs Sugar Ray Leonard
The two fighters mattering the most to boxing fans in the summer of 1981 were Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. And on September 16, the boxing public finally got its wish when the two fighters entered the ring together.
Thomas Hearns was 32-0 and had only allowed two men to go the distance with him. Sugar Ray Leonard was the winner of 30 of his 31 fights. His only loss was to fellow Hall of Famer Roberto Duran. Leonard avenged this loss less than six months later by making Duran quit in the ring.
The fight featured the classic matchup between the boxer and the puncher that fight fans love. Hearns was the stoic, blue-collar fighter with life-threatening power in his right hand. Leonard had fast hands with slick feet to match. It could be impossible for an opponent to corner him when he used his movement.
The fight was dubbed “The Showdown.” Ringside seats sold for record sums, and fight fans around the country crowded into theaters to watch the action on closed-circuit TV.
The first third of the fight was close, but most people had Thomas Hearns ahead at this point. He used his reach and laser-sharp jab to control the tempo of the early rounds.
Leonard fought with more aggression in the sixth round and buckled the Hitman’s knees with a solid left hand. Ray Leonard continued to land powerful punches to Hearns’ head and body for the remainder of the round.
Leonard continued his aggression in the seventh round. Hearns landed a flush right hand, but Leonard kept coming forward with powerful combinations. Leonard landed a right hand that almost dropped Hearns and continued to pound him until the bell sounded to end the round.
Hearns surprised everyone by boxing in the ninth round. Leonard played the role of the stalker, and the role reversal was complete. Hearns regained control of the fight and dominated rounds nine through twelve.
Angelo Dundee implored Leonard to turn it on while speaking to his fighter between the 12th and 13th rounds. Leonard bolted from his corner and launched a relentless attack at Hearns. Leonard won by TKO in the 14th.
Thomas Hearns vs Roberto Duran
The boxing match between Thomas Hearns and Panamanian superstar Roberto Duran took place on June 15, 1984, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Hearns came into the “Malice at the Palace” with 38 wins against the single loss he suffered in the epic fight against Sugar Ray Leonard. Roberto Duran won 77 of the 82 boxing matches he had before stepping into the ring with Hearns.
Hearns enjoyed a five and a half-inch height advantage along with an eleven and a half-inch reach advantage. These advantages combined with the devastating power in Hearns’ right hand proved too much for Duran. Hearns landed a right hand in the second round that earned him one of the most devastating knockout victories in boxing history.
Thomas Hearns vs Marvin Hagler
The seven minutes and 52 seconds Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler spent in the ring together stand as a perfect example of both the beauty and savagery boxing can produce. ‘The War’ will live in the minds of boxing fans forever. Many boxing historians regard the first three minutes of the fight as the greatest round in the sport’s history.
The action started just moments after the opening bell when Marvin Hagler landed a right hand. Hagler was known as a methodical fighter who broke his opponents down over time. His aggressive approach to fighting Hearns surprised many observers.
Hearns did not blink for a moment and was more than willing to meet the challenge before him with equal aggression. It likely only took a few seconds of watching the ensuing war for all three ringside judges to conclude the two men in the ring would decide a winner on their own.
The fighters traded bombs the entire round. One sportscaster working for HBO spoke words that no doubt formed in the minds of boxing fans everywhere when he exclaimed, “This is only the first round.”
There was no way for Hearns and Hagler to match the blistering pace set in round one, but round two was a competitive and entertaining three rounds of boxing. The problem for Hearns was that his legs seemed rubbery at times. Sugar Ray Leonard was at ringside and noted he didn’t like how Hearns’s legs looked in the second round. Hearns would later say his legs did not feel right the entire fight.
Hearns pressed the action to begin the third round. By this point, a cut that happened earlier on Hagler’s forehead produced a constant flow of blood. Referee Richard Steele called the doctor in to take a look. The conclusion from the doctor: “Let ’em fight.”
The threat of losing by a doctor’s stoppage provided Hagler with a surge of adrenalin. He used this adrenalin to launch a savage attack at Hearns. Hagler landed a left hand that sent Hearns back into the ropes. Hearns smiled in response but was hurt by the punch. Hagler landed a right hand a moment later that caused Hearns to stagger in the direction of the ropes. Once no more real estate was available to avoid the attack, Hagler floored his prey with another right hand. Hearns somehow climbed to his feet at the count of nine. But Richard Steele felt that letting him continue fighting was not a good idea.
Thomas Hearns vs Virgil Hill
Thomas Hearns was somehow able to shake up the boxing world one last time in 1991. His opponent for the fight was undefeated lightweight champion Virgil Hill. Hearns, who began as a welterweight, was already the first man to win world titles in four different weight classes. A victory against Hill would add to Hearns’ place in history.
Hearns showed that he was well past his prime but boxed masterfully. The performance earned him a close but unanimous decision en route to his sixth title in five different weight classes.
Life After Boxing
Thomas Hearns fought for the last time as a professional in 2006. He remains active in the sport he loves by promoting fights through the family-owned Hearns Entertainment.