This is My List of the Top 5 Knockouts of Thomas Hearnsw.
- Thomas Hearns vs. Roberto Duran. June 15, 1984. Caesar’s Palace; Las Vegas, Nevada. Thomas predicts a second round knockout of Duran during the promotional buildup to the fight, and delivers on his call. I watched the closed-circuit bout at Liberty Bell Race Track outside of Philadelphia, and gladly paid just $15 for the show. To see Thomas knock down Duran in the first round was incredible, and to follow it up with a tremendous right had that knocked Duran out cold was even more unbelievable. It ranks in the top 3 of my all-time favorite knockouts to this day.
- Thomas Hearns vs. Pipino Cuevas. August 2, 1980. Joe Louis Arena; Detroit, Michigan. Tommy wins his first professional championship with a brutal and stunning knockout of the champion Cuevas in just two rounds. The huge difference in skills was obvious from the opening bell, and you knew it was a matter of time before Tommy put Cuevas away. It let the boxing world know that the welterweight division had a tremendous talent in the ‘Hit-Man’, and a new star was born.
- Thomas Hearns. vs. Juan Roldan. October 29, 1987. Las Vegas Hilton; Las Vegas, Nevada. After winning the light-heavyweight title in March, Thomas Hearns dropped back down to 160 pounds to take on Juan Roldan for the vacant WBC middleweight crown. In a bruising battle, Tommy finally finishes Roldan for good in the fourth round with an awesome right hand. The win makes Hearns the first boxer in history to win a championship in four different weight classes, a remarkable and amazing achievement.
- Thomas Hearns vs. Dennis Andries. March 7, 1987. Cobo Hall; Detroit, MIchigan. Tommy moves up from 154 lbs. to 175, and challenges the WBC light-heavyweight champion Andries. I watched the bout live on ABC TV, and it marked the beginning of Jim Lampley’s career as a play by play boxing announcer. Hearns drops Andries 6 different times over 10 rounds, finally finishing him for good in the 10th. It is Tommy’s 3rd title in 3 different weight classes, and moves him one closer to his goal of 4.
- Thomas Hearns vs. James Shuler. March 10, 1986. Caesar’s Palace; Las Vegas, Nevada. Trying to rebound after his loss to Marvin Hagler in April of 1985, Hearns is expected to have a tough battle with the NABF champ Shuler. Tommy instead starches Shuler with a single right hand in the the opening round, and opens talks for a rematch with Marvin Hagler. Shuler is tragically killed in a motorcycle accident a week later, and in a classy move, Thomas attends the funeral and places the NABF belt in his casket.
FOLLOW ME ON TIKTOK AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
