Thomas Hearns
Long arms, a snapping jab and a lethal right.
- Born
- October 18, 1958, Grand Junction, Tennessee, US
- Nationality
United States- Height
- 185 cm (6′1″)
- Reach
- 198 cm (6′6″)
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Style
- Long-range puncher
- Weight
- Welterweight, Light middleweight, Middleweight, Super middleweight, Light heavyweight, Cruiserweight
- Active
- 1977–2006
- Status
- Retired · age 67
The record
Professional; IBHOF bio text confirms 61-5-1 (48 KOs) although its stat line shows 62 wins record
The story
orn in Grand Junction, Tennessee, and raised in Detroit, Hearns built a 155-8 amateur record at Emanuel Steward's Kronk Gym, where Steward turned a light-hitting amateur into a feared puncher. He won his first 17 pro fights by knockout and took the WBA welterweight title from Pipino Cuevas in two rounds in 1980. He lost a classic to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1981 but won the WBC light middleweight title the next year, then became the first man to knock out Roberto Durán. His 1985 war with Marvin Hagler did not last three rounds. In 1987 he became the first boxer to win world titles in four weight classes, and in 1988 the first to win them in five.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- First boxer to win world titles in five weight classes
- WBA welterweight (1980), WBC light middleweight (1982), WBC light heavyweight (1987), WBC middleweight (1987), WBO super middleweight (1988), WBA light heavyweight (1991)
- International Boxing Hall of Fame (2012)
- The Ring Fighter of the Year (1980, 1984)
Defining fights
- 1980WINvs José 'Pipino' Cuevas (TKO 2, won WBA welterweight title)
- 1981LOSSvs Sugar Ray Leonard (TKO 14)
- 1984WINvs Roberto Durán (TKO 2)
- 1985LOSSvs Marvin Hagler (TKO 3)
- 1991WINvs Virgil Hill (UD 12, won WBA light heavyweight title)
Use your length the way Hearns did: a long, sharp left jab to find the range and a straight right hand behind it. Drill jab-to-right-hand timing from the edge of range, then step out before the counter comes.
