Thomas Hearns - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Thomas "Hitman" Hearns is a retired American boxer

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...

. 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. Hearns was named Ring Magazine fighter of the year

Ring Magazine fighters of the year

The Ring was established in 1922. Since 1928, it has named a fighter as Fighter of the Year, based on the magazine's writers' criteria...

in 1980 and 1984 and is best known for his fights with Sugar Ray Leonard

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...

, 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%...

and Roberto Duran

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....

Early life

Born in Grand Junction, Tennessee on October 18, 1958, Hearns was the oldest of three children in his mother's first marriage. With her second marriage, six children joined the first three. On her own, Mrs. Hearns raised Tommy and his siblings in Grand Junction until Tommy was five years old, and then the family moved to Detroit, Michigan.

Amateur career

Hearns had an amateur record of 155–8. In 1977, he won the National Amateur Athletic Union

Amateur Athletic Union

The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

Light Welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

Championship, defeating Bobby Joe Young

Bobby Joe Young

Bobby Joe Young is a former boxer from Steubenville, Ohio. Young is best known as the only man to have a professional win over Aaron Pryor.-Amateur career:...

of Steubenville, Ohio, in the finals. He also won the 1977 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Championship.

Professional career

Hearns began his professional boxing career in Detroit, Michigan, under the tutelage of Emanuel Steward in 1977.

He won six world titles in five weight classes during his pro career, defeating future boxing hall of famers such as Pipino Cuevas, 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...

, Virgil Hill and Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán

. Hearns started his career by knocking out his first 17 opponents. In 1980, Hearns carried his 28-0 record into a world title match against Mexico's Pipino Cuevas. Hearns ended Cuevas's 4-year reign by beating him by TKO in the second round. Hearns was voted "Fighter of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1980.

Hearns vs. Leonard

In 1981, Hearns the WBA champion, with a 32-0 record (30 KOs), fought WBC champion Sugar Ray Leonard

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...

(30-1) to unify the World welterweight championship in a bout dubbed "The Showdown". In this legendary fight, Hearns suffered his first professional defeat when Leonard stopped him in the 14th round. In the 13th round, Leonard, behind on points on all 3 judges scorecards, needed a knockout to win. He came on strong and put Hearns through the ropes at the end of the round. Hearns was dazed, totally out of gas and received a count but was saved by the bell. Leonard, with his left eye shut and time running out, resumed his attack in the 14th. Hearns started the round boxing and moving, but after staggering Hearns with an overhand right, Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes. After another combination to the body and head, referee Davey Pearl stopped the fight. Hearns and Leonard banked a combined 17 million dollars for the fight, making it the largest purse in sports history. The following year, Leonard retired due to a detached retina caused by Hearns jab, and there would be no rematch until 1989.

Light middleweight champion

Hearns moved up in weight and won the WBC super welterweight (154 lb) title from boxing legend and three-time world champion Wilfred Benítez (44-1-1) in New Orleans in December 1982, and defended that title against European champion Luigi Minchillo (42-1) (W 12), Roberto Durán (KO 2), no.1 contender Fred Hutchings (29-1) (KO 3), and #1 contender Mark Medal (26-2) (TKO 8). During his reign at this weight, the 2 round destruction of the legendary Roberto Durán, in which he became the first boxer to KO Duran, is seen as his pinnacle achievement, earning him his second Ring Magazine "Fighter of the Year" award in 1984.

Hearns vs. Hagler

During his time as super welterweight champion, Hearns also ventured into the middleweight division, losing a legendary battle to Undisputed champion Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler

in 1985. Billed "The Fight", (later known as The War

The War (boxing)

The War, also known as Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns or Hagler-Hearns, was a world middleweight championship boxing match between Undisputed Champion Marvin Hagler and challenger Thomas Hearns, who was himself the world's junior middleweight champion...

), this Superbout is commonly known as the 3 greatest rounds in history. The legendary battle elevated both fighters to superstar status. Hearns was able to stun Hagler soon after the opening bell, but he subsequently broke his right hand in the first round. He did, however, manage to open a deep cut over Hagler's nose that caused the ring doctor to consider a stoppage. The fight, however, was allowed to continue at this point, with the ringside commentators remarking on the fact that, "the last thing Hagler wants or needs is for this fight to be stopped on a cut." The battle did go back and forth some, but Hearns was unable to capitalize on his early successes against Hagler, and the hand injury ultimately contributed to his undoing. After the injury, he was unable to throw the type of devastating right hand power punches for which he was known. As a result he began to use lateral movement and a good jab to keep Hagler at bay as best he could under the circumstances. This tactic worked fairly well, but in the third round a smiling Hearns turned his back on Hagler after an exchange. This grave mistake allowed Hagler to trap Hearns on the ropes, where a crushing right hand by Hagler knocked Hearns down. Hearns beat the count but was totally gone and the referee stopped the fight. Despite the loss, Hearns garnered a tremendous amount of respect from fans and boxing aficionados alike. Considering the popularity of the fight and the level of competition a rematch would seem to be a foregone conclusion.

Comeback

Hearns quickly made amends by dispatching undefeated rising star James "Black Gold" Shuler

James Shuler

James Shuler was a U.S. Olympic and professional boxer from Philadelphia known as "Black Gold."-Amateur career:Shuler was the 1979 and 1980 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Champion....

with a devastating first round knockout in 1986. Two weeks after the fight, Shuler was killed in a motorcycle accident. Hearns presented the NABF championship belt to Shuler's family at his funeral, saying he deserved to keep the belt as he had held it longer than Hearns.

Other notable world title fights included the 6 knockdowns of three-time world champion Dennis Andries to win the WBC light heavyweight title in March 1987, his four-round destruction of the feared Juan Roldán (63-2) later that year to claim the WBC middleweight title, his TKO "Ring Magazine 1988 upset of the year" loss to Iran Barkley in his first defense of that same title, and his win against James "the Heat" Kinchen (44-3) for the newly created WBO super middleweight title.

Rematch with Leonard

Hearns had to wait until 1989 for a rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard, this time for Leonard's WBC super middleweight title. This was Hearns's sixth Superfight, a fight which much of the public believed Hearns won, flooring Leonard in both the 3rd and 11th rounds. However, the judges scored the fight a controversial draw. Leonard later admitted that Hearns had beat him and that he was gifted the draw, stating the fighters were 1-1 in his book.

Later career

1991 would see one last great performance by the aging Hitman as he challenged the undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Virgil Hill. In Hill's 11th defense of the title, Hearns would return to his amateur roots and outbox the champion to win a convincing decision and add a sixth world title to his illustrious career.

Personal

Hearns' family is a fixture on the Detroit sports scene. His mother, Lois Hearns, is a fight promoter. Their company, "Hearns Entertainment", has promoted many cards, including the Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

-Andrew Golota bout in 2000. His son Ronald Hearns is also a boxer, and has fought on the undercard of his father's last couple of fights. He currently lives in Southfield, Michigan

Southfield, Michigan

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which 0.04% is water. The main branch of the River Rouge runs through Southfield. The city is bounded to the south by Eight Mile Road, its western border is Inkster Road, and to the east it is bounded by Greenfield Road...

(a suburb of Detroit). Due to personal financial issues, Hearns was forced to auction off his possessions at The Auction Block of Detroit, Michigan on April 3, 2010. Items included were a 1957 Chevy, 47' Fountain boat, and a slew of collectors memorabilia. His debt to the IRS was $250,000. He took responsibility for repaying the entire debt, which he said was accrued from being overly generous toward his large extended family.. Hearns appeared on a WWE telecast had words with wrestling's hitman Bret Hart. He swung at Hart who threw Jim Niedhardt in the way Hearns kayoed Niedhardt.

Professional boxing record

Jamaica Uriah Grant

Uriah Grant

Uriah Grant was a professional boxer. Nicknamed "Bossman", Grant was not a force in his weight classes, but was a notable contender who briefly captured the IBF Cruiserweight Title.-Pro career:...

United States Nate Miller

Nate Miller

Nate Miller born August 3, 1963 in Philadelphia, PA, was a professional boxer in the Cruiserweight division.Miller, known as "Mister" Nate Miller, turned pro in 1986 and in 1994 landed a shot at IBF Cruiserweight Title holder Alfred Cole, but lost a decision...

United States 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 :...

United States Sugar Ray Leonard

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...

United States 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 :...

Argentina Juan Roldán

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....

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...

United States Doug DeWitt

Doug DeWitt

Doug DeWitt was a middleweight boxer.Known as "Cobra," DeWitt, who was also raised in Yonkers, New York, started boxing at the age of 15, and by the time he was 18, the young DeWitt had turned pro and was on his way to three middleweight titles during a 12-year career, which included bouts with...

United States Mark Medal

Mark Medal

Mark Medal , was a professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division.Medal, a Puerto Rican-American, turned pro in 1979 and won the Vacant IBF Light Middleweight Title with a TKO win over Earl Hargrove in 1984, becoming the inaugural champion. He lost the belt in his first defense to Carlos...

United States James Shuler

James Shuler

James Shuler was a U.S. Olympic and professional boxer from Philadelphia known as "Black Gold."-Amateur career:Shuler was the 1979 and 1980 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Champion....

United States Marvin Hagler

Marvin Hagler

Panama Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán

Murray Sutherland

Murray Sutherland was a Scottish boxer in the middleweight division.Murry Sutherland turned professional in 1977 and in 1981 challenged WBC Light Heavyweight Title holder Matthew Saad Muhammad, but lost by KO in the 9th round. Matthew Saad Muhammad was later quoted as saying that Sutherland was...

Puerto Rico Wilfred Benítez

Wilfred Benitez

United States Sugar Ray Leonard

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...

Mexico José Cuevas

Jose Cuevas

José Isidro "Pipino" Cuevas González is a Mexican former world champion boxer at the welterweight division.-Professional career:...

Nicaragua Eddie Gazo

Eddie Gazo

Eddie Gazo is a former professional boxer in the super welterweight division.-Pro career:...

Puerto Rico Ángel Espada

Angel Espada

Ángel Espada is a former boxer from Puerto Rico. He was the WBA's world Welterweight champion in 1975-76. A music lover, Espada also organized, during the late 1970s, a salsa orchestra...

Thailand Saensak Muangsurin

Saensak Muangsurin

Saensak Muangsurin was a retired professional boxer from Phetchabun, Thailand. He was a former WBC light welterweight champion, who set a world record by winning the world title in only his 3rd professional fight.- Biography :...