Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns
Encyclopedia
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.
Welterweight Championship with a fifteenth-round knockout of Wilfred Benítez
in 1979. He lost it to Roberto Durán
by a close decision in June 1980 and regained it five months later in the infamous No Más Fight, in which Duran quit in the eighth round. In June 1981, Leonard moved up to the junior middleweight division for one fight, knocking out Ayub Kalule in nine rounds to win the WBA
Junior Middleweight Championship.
Hearns won the WBA
Welterweight Championship 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 Las Vegas
, Nevada
to unify the World Welterweight Championship in a scheduled fifteen-rounder. They fought before a live crowd of 23,618 and a worldwide 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, son! You're blowing it!"
Leonard, with a badly swollen left eye, came out roaring for the thirteenth round. After hurting Hearns with a right, Leonard exploded with a combination of punches and sent Hearns through the ropes. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped again near the end of the round.
In round fourteen, after staggering Hearns with an overhand right, Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes, where he unleashed another furious combination, prompting referee Davey Pearl to stop the contest and award Sugar Ray Leonard the Unified World Welterweight Championship. Hearns was leading by scores of 124-122, 125-122, and 125-121.
After the fight, there was controversy due to the scoring of rounds six and seven. Even though Leonard dominated, hurting Hearns and battering him, all three judges gave both rounds to Leonard by a 10-9 margin. Many felt that the ten-point must scoring system
was not properly used and those rounds should have been scored 10-8.
Hearns moved up in weight and outpointed Wilfred Benitez to win the WBC Super Welterweight Championship in 1982. Three years later, he challenged Marvin Hagler
for the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship, losing by a knockout in the third round of a very exciting fight. In early 1987, he stopped Dennis Andries
in ten rounds to win the win the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Leonard made a one-fight comeback in 1984 and stopped Kevin Howard in nine rounds. However, Leonard suffered the first knockdown of his career and was so disappointed in his performance that he once again retired after the fight.
In 1987, Leonard came back again and fought Hagler for the WBC Middleweight Championship. Leonard, a huge underdog, defeated Hagler by a twelve-round split decision. The following month, Leonard retired again.
Hearns knocked out Juan Roldan
in four rounds in late 1987 to win the vacant WBC Middleweight Championship, becoming the first boxer to win titles in four weight divisions. Hearns lost the title in his next fight, suffering a third-round knockout against Iran Barkley
.
Leonard came back again in 1988 and knocked out Don Lalonde in nine rounds to win Lalonde's WBC Light Heavyweight Championship and the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Championship. The victory made Leonard the first boxer to win titles in five weight divisions.
After almost eight years, the Leonard-Hearns rematch finally happened. It was promoted as "The War." Leonard (35-1 with 25 KOs) defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship against Hearns (46-3 with 38 KOs) on June 12, 1989 at Caesar's Palace in a scheduled twelve-rounder.
Hearns dropped Leonard with a right cross in the third round, but Leonard came back and battered Hearns around the ring in the fifth round. Early in the seventh round, Hearns hurt Leonard but punched himself out going for the knockout. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. Rounds nine and ten were good rounds for Leonard, but he ran into trouble in the eleventh round. Three booming rights from Hearns sent Leonard down for the second time in the fight. Knowing he needed a big finish, Leonard fought furiously and had a big final round.
The judges scored the fight a draw. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 113-112 for Hearns, Judge Tom Kazmarek scored it 113-112 for Leonard, and Judge Dalby Shirley scored it 112-112. Shirley was the only judge to give Leonard a 10-8 margin in the twelfth. If he had scored it 10-9, as his two colleagues did, Hearns would have won by a split decision. The decision was soundly booed, as most felt that Hearns had won. Eventually, Leonard admitted that Hearns deserved the decision.
Six months later, Leonard successfully defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship with a one-sided decision win over Roberto Duran, who had defeated Iran Barkley in his previous fight to win the WBC Middleweight Championship.
There was talk of a third fight, but it never happened. Leonard had his attorney, Mike Trainer, pursue a third fight, but Hearns said that he could no longer make the weight and was moving up to Light Heavyweight.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles...
and Thomas Hearns
Thomas Hearns
Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer. Nicknamed the "Motor City Cobra" and more famously "The Hitman", Hearns became the first boxer in history to win world titles in four divisions. He would also become the first fighter in history to win five world titles in five different divisions...
are considered to be two of the best boxers
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
of all-time. They fought twice, once in 1981 and once in 1989. Both fights are considered to be classics.
Leonard-Hearns I "The Showdown"
Sugar Ray Leonard won the WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
Welterweight Championship with a fifteenth-round knockout of Wilfred Benítez
Wilfred Benitez
Wilfred Benítez , is a Puerto Rican boxer. He is remembered best as a skilled and aggressive fighter with exceptional defensive abilities who won world championships in three separate weight divisions, and was the youngest world champion in boxing history at the age of 17...
in 1979. He lost it to Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán
Roberto Durán Samaniego is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" during his career....
by a close decision in June 1980 and regained it five months later in the infamous No Más Fight, in which Duran quit in the eighth round. In June 1981, Leonard moved up to the junior middleweight division for one fight, knocking out Ayub Kalule in nine rounds to win the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Junior Middleweight Championship.
Hearns won the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
Welterweight Championship in 1980, scoring a second-round knockout of Jose 'Pipino' Cuevas
Jose Cuevas
José Isidro "Pipino" Cuevas González is a Mexican former world champion boxer at the welterweight division.-Professional career:...
in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. 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
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
to unify the World Welterweight Championship in a scheduled fifteen-rounder. They fought before a live crowd of 23,618 and a worldwide 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
Angelo Dundee
Angelo Dundee is an American boxing cornerman. He is best known for his work with Muhammad Ali , and has worked with 15 world boxing champions, including Sugar Ray Leonard, José Nápoles, George Foreman, Jimmy Ellis, Carmen Basilio, Luis Rodriguez and Willie Pastrano.-Professional career:Born in...
, said the now legendary words "You're blowing it, son! You're blowing it!"
Leonard, with a badly swollen left eye, came out roaring for the thirteenth round. After hurting Hearns with a right, Leonard exploded with a combination of punches and sent Hearns through the ropes. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped again near the end of the round.
In round fourteen, after staggering Hearns with an overhand right, Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes, where he unleashed another furious combination, prompting referee Davey Pearl to stop the contest and award Sugar Ray Leonard the Unified World Welterweight Championship. Hearns was leading by scores of 124-122, 125-122, and 125-121.
After the fight, there was controversy due to the scoring of rounds six and seven. Even though Leonard dominated, hurting Hearns and battering him, all three judges gave both rounds to Leonard by a 10-9 margin. Many felt that the ten-point must scoring system
10-point must system
The 10-point must system is a method of scoring a fighting match .Under the system, the judges must give the winner of a round 10 points, and the loser 9 points or fewer...
was not properly used and those rounds should have been scored 10-8.
Leonard-Hearns II "The War"
Following "The Showdown," Leonard defended the Undisputed World Welterweight Championship once, knocking out Bruce Finch in the third round, and then retired after having surgery to repair a detached retina in his left eye.Hearns moved up in weight and outpointed Wilfred Benitez to win the WBC Super Welterweight Championship in 1982. Three years later, he challenged Marvin Hagler
Marvin Hagler
Marvelous Marvin Hagler , is a former professional boxer who was undisputed world middleweight champion between 1980 and 1987. Hagler holds the distinction of having the highest KO% of all middleweight champions at 78%...
for the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship, losing by a knockout in the third round of a very exciting fight. In early 1987, he stopped Dennis Andries
Dennis Andries
Dennis Andries was a British professional boxer in the light heavyweight division.Andries turned pro in 1978 and won the WBC Light Heavyweight Title in 1986 in a decision over American JB Williamson. He defended the title once against fellow Briton Tony Sibson before losing the belt in 1987 to...
in ten rounds to win the win the WBC Light Heavyweight Championship.
Leonard made a one-fight comeback in 1984 and stopped Kevin Howard in nine rounds. However, Leonard suffered the first knockdown of his career and was so disappointed in his performance that he once again retired after the fight.
In 1987, Leonard came back again and fought Hagler for the WBC Middleweight Championship. Leonard, a huge underdog, defeated Hagler by a twelve-round split decision. The following month, Leonard retired again.
Hearns knocked out Juan Roldan
Juan Roldán
Juan Domingo Roldán is an Argentine former boxer whose nickname was Martillo . Roldán was very famous across Latin America during the 1980s, many articles about him appearing on Ring En Español magazine....
in four rounds in late 1987 to win the vacant WBC Middleweight Championship, becoming the first boxer to win titles in four weight divisions. Hearns lost the title in his next fight, suffering a third-round knockout against Iran Barkley
Iran Barkley
Iran Barkley is a retired American professional boxer who held world titles at three different weights—middleweight , super middleweight and light heavyweight .- Professional career :...
.
Leonard came back again in 1988 and knocked out Don Lalonde in nine rounds to win Lalonde's WBC Light Heavyweight Championship and the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Championship. The victory made Leonard the first boxer to win titles in five weight divisions.
After almost eight years, the Leonard-Hearns rematch finally happened. It was promoted as "The War." Leonard (35-1 with 25 KOs) defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship against Hearns (46-3 with 38 KOs) on June 12, 1989 at Caesar's Palace in a scheduled twelve-rounder.
Hearns dropped Leonard with a right cross in the third round, but Leonard came back and battered Hearns around the ring in the fifth round. Early in the seventh round, Hearns hurt Leonard but punched himself out going for the knockout. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. Rounds nine and ten were good rounds for Leonard, but he ran into trouble in the eleventh round. Three booming rights from Hearns sent Leonard down for the second time in the fight. Knowing he needed a big finish, Leonard fought furiously and had a big final round.
The judges scored the fight a draw. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 113-112 for Hearns, Judge Tom Kazmarek scored it 113-112 for Leonard, and Judge Dalby Shirley scored it 112-112. Shirley was the only judge to give Leonard a 10-8 margin in the twelfth. If he had scored it 10-9, as his two colleagues did, Hearns would have won by a split decision. The decision was soundly booed, as most felt that Hearns had won. Eventually, Leonard admitted that Hearns deserved the decision.
Six months later, Leonard successfully defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship with a one-sided decision win over Roberto Duran, who had defeated Iran Barkley in his previous fight to win the WBC Middleweight Championship.
There was talk of a third fight, but it never happened. Leonard had his attorney, Mike Trainer, pursue a third fight, but Hearns said that he could no longer make the weight and was moving up to Light Heavyweight.