27.03.06 – By James Slater: Not too long before his crushing three round loss to Iran Barkley, there had been whispers coming from boxing people regarding the possibility of Thomas Hearns being a fighter who was shot already or at least one who was swiftly heading towards being so. This talk had surfaced due to the trouble he’d had in his fights with Juan Roldan, in which Tommy was hurt on a couple of occasions, and Dennis Andries, a fight in which Hearns appeared to get knocked down (there was no count). Now, after being flattened in such a shocking manner by “The Blade”, these whispers had become deafening roars. Roars that demanded Tommy’s exit from the sport.
It is incredible to think that concerns about Hearns fighting again were first heard all those years ago, in late 1987. Lord knows how the people who expressed those concerns would have felt if they’d known then that Tommy would still be fighting today, in 2006! And, back in 1988, when Tommy announced his decision to fight on after the Barkley loss, most figured it to be the wrong move. What did he have left, they asked? Tommy’s comeback bout with James “The Heat” Kinchen looked like a fight that would provide an answer.
The fight with Kinchen, set for November the 4th 1988, would actually be for a world title. The newly created WBO sanctioned the bout and would recognise its winner as their super middleweight champion. So, if Tommy could win he would capture his fifth “world” title. The NABF belt was also on the line. Both men fought a gruelling and entertaining fight for these two titles.
All went well for Hearns in the first three rounds, with his still very fast and accurate jab snapping out and picking up points. In the fourth round, however, some serious alarm bells rang. Disaster threatened in the form of a hurtful knockdown. The heavily muscled Kinchen caught Tommy in a corner with a right hand and an inside left hook. Tommy was down with a minute to go in the round. Kinchen, ever pressing forward, tried his best to finish Tommy, but somehow he managed to hold on. The strong-arm tactics that allowed the desperately hurt “Hitman” to do so brought boos from the crowd and referee, Mills Lane, really had to struggle to separate the two. Hearns, who was lucky not to have been disqualified, later admitted that he had held Kinchen, “like he was my woman”, so as to survive the round. The knockdown only added to the worries many had regarding Tommy’s deterioration as a fighter. It seemed he just could not hold a punch any more.
Hearns managed to get his boxing back together in the fifth and though “The Heat” put him under pressure all the way, he never again threatened to score a knockdown. The pace of the fight had been a quite blistering one and at the end of twelve absorbing and exhausting rounds, the scorecards were collected. Tommy was the winner by a majority decision and picked up his
fifth world title, if only a newly minted one. But oh, how he had been made to work for it. Team Kinchen sulked at the verdict but Tommy, despite the knockdown, landed at a higher consistency throughout and his hard earned victory was a fair one.
After the fight, Tommy told his corner he wanted to keep the gloves as a memento. All the great fights he’d been in and still he wanted to collect souvenirs from his conquests! The enthusiasm was evidently as strong as ever. The good news for Tommy wasn’t just his newly won title and victory though. “Sugar” Ray Leonard had decided to come back, again. He was fighting only a few days after Tommy’s battle and therefore the possibility of a rematch between he and Hearns still lived. This was the number one thing Tommy wanted, he had been positively aching for another shot at Leonard ever since his 1981 loss to Ray. If Leonard could get past Donny Lalonde, Hearns’ wish just might come true.
Leonard fought Lalonde for two world titles at the same time. The Canadian was the ruling WBC light heavyweight champion but as the fight was fought at the super middleweight limit, then the 168 championship , which was vacant, was on the line also. Leonard was knocked down for only the second time in his career when he was dropped in the fourth round ( the same round as Tommy’s scare against Kinchen). But after nine largely exciting rounds Lalonde was a battered and beaten ex-champion. He showed great bravery in the fight though and many in the crowd had been on his side.
The cynics may have moaned about how he’d done it, but Ray Leonard was now also a five time world champion. Still, the negative questions surrounding his win were legitimate – how can a bout be fought at one weight yet the world titles of two weight classes be contested for at the same time? Once again, many were on Leonard’s case for having things stacked very highly in his own favour. Who knows, if Lalonde had been allowed to fight at his natural poundage of 175 maybe Leonard wouldn’t have been able to get back up after the knockdown he was subjected to in round four?
These same cynics would also attack Leonard when his next opponent was announced. Thomas Hearns, eight long years after his first ever defeat, would get his return bout with “Sugar” Ray Leonard. Sure, Leonard was only giving Tommy a rematch now because he, like many many others, was convinced Hearns was damaged goods. Finally granting “The Hitman” a second fight only when he was no longer considered a major threat to him didn’t earn Leonard many plaudits. Leonard always was a guy who liked to do things on his own terms – just ask Mr Hagler or Mr Lalonde. And Tommy’s recent form had evidently convinced Ray that he would be able to do so once again and that a financially huge and relatively risk free super fight was his for the taking. On this occasion, as we all know, he was wrong and once again the most dangerous and toughest opponent of his entire career would share a ring with him.
Tommy Hearns had more than a few surprise up his sleeve for those who fought he was finished as a fighter. No-one was to suffer more for this misjudgement than Ray Leonard himself!