After his decision win over Wilfred Benitez on December 3, 1982, Thomas Hearns now was the WBC super welterweight champ. An injury to his right hand kept him out of the ring however, allowing him to only fight once in 1983. He fought contender Murray Sutherland on July 10th at Caesars in Atlantic City at middleweight, and weighed in at 157 1/2 lbs. Thomas won a ten round decision, and would not fight again that year.
His next venture into the ring was on February 11, 1984, a twelve round decision win over Luigi Minchillo in Detroit. It was a defense of his 154 lb. championship, but Hearns was looking to become the ‘Hit Man’ once again, and start knockout out his opponents.
Roberto Duran had found the road to redemption in June of 1983 with his knockout of Davey Moore at Madison Square Garden in New York. He followed that up with a gritty performance against Marvin Hagler in November in Las Vegas but losing by decision.
Thomas Hearns signed to fight Roberto Duran on June 15, 1984 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. He was brazen in his second round knockout prediction, and I wanted to see it.
I left my airline job a few hours early, and made my way to the old Liberty Bell Race Track in Northeast Philadelphia. I paid my $15 to get into the track to see the action. They didn’t show the fight on any large screens, but broadcast it on all the regular sized televisions throughout the place. I found a bench to catch the action, which was brief and explosive.
Hearns knocked Duran down in the first round with a spectacular right hand. He also cut him, and it was obvious the Panamanian was no match for him. Thomas’s reach and strength controlled the fight, and in the second round a barrage of punches floored Duran again. When he arose, Thomas jumped all over him, and after feinting to his body, landed the best right hand I had ever seen, dropped Duran face first, and out cold.
I never could stand Duran, had grown to admire Thomas a lot, and it was the most spectacular knockout I’ve ever seen. To see Duran face first was hilarious and I loved it every time I’ve watched it since. In all my years of being a boxing fan, it remains my favorite knockout.
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