Boxing History: Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns – Twenty Five Years Ago This Month

Although he has the looks of a man at least ten years his junior, Ray Leonard reached his half century in May of this year. Also, as amazing as it may seem, Leonard’s finest fight, against his finest opponent, hits the twenty five year old mark this month on 16 September.

It really was back in 1981 when Ray and Tommy Hearns first clashed. I wonder if Ray feels his age if and when he views or reminisces on his finest hour in boxing. Tommy, as we all know, is trying his best to fight off the advances of father time with his current comeback. Ray, however, is firmly retired these days; he has no desire to follow Tommy’s lead of boxing in the twenty first century.

Ray and Tommy will always be compared with one another, such was the intensity of their rivalry and athough to many minds they are “one and one”, officially, Leonard was never defeated by “The Hitman”. And despite losing a good deal of his popularity in recent years, Sugar Ray’s greatness is beyond doubt. To me, the fight that cements this greatness is his come from behind win over Hearns. This was a great fighter at the very peak of his powers.

Caesars Palace was the venue and 16 September, 1981 was the date. Both Ray and Tommy were paid handsomely as they put their titles on the line in an effort to unify the welterweight championship and they both earned every last cent. Billed as “The Showdown”, the bout remains one of the finest boxing matches ever staged. Sugar Ray was considered the better boxer of the two while Hearns’ nickname signified who was regarded as the harder puncher. In this fight however, their roles would be reversed.

Hearns started piling up points in the first five rounds by being aggressive and stalking Leonard. In these early rounds, Hearns was dictating the pace and dominating the action. Then, in the sixth, Leonard hurt Hearns for the first time and their roles were reversed. Tommy became the boxer due to being badly hurt by Ray the puncher. Tommy got on his bike and pumped out his jab throughout the middle rounds, maintaining his lead while staying out of further trouble.

Leonard was having a very hard time coping with his rival’s height and reach, not to mention his swift left hand. If Hearns could keep up what he was doing without getting caught again, then surely he would win on points. Going into the final third of the bout, he had a big lead on the cards.

Leonard had a big asset on his side though. Angelo Dundee must be given credit for his corner work with Ray. His motivational techniques are the stuff of legend, as is his “you’re blowing it son, you’re blowing it!” speech from this fight. With his left eye rapidly closing and fatigue and frustration playing their part also, Leonard needed something to gee him up. Dundee provided it.

Dundee stirred up Ray’s insides and sent him out for the thirteenth with a mindset consisting of desperation and determination. This made him very dangerous. With his energies now recharged, Ray went on the attack with fervour. People were about to witness Leonard’s greatness. Whereas Hearns, on the other hand, had nothing left.

If Tommy could have made it to the final bell, victory would have been his. However, due to his active workrate, he had hit the wall. He’d run out of gas. There may also be another reason for his sudden fatigue. According to Emanuel Steward these days, Tommy over trained. He wanted the win so badly that he had pushed himself too far in his preparations for his first super fight.

Steward says he saw Tommy’s head sag in the corner prior to the thirteenth round and knew then that it was all over. No doubt the temperature of one hundred degrees was also a factor. This is to take nothing away from Ray though. It’s not his fault if Tommy did indeed prepare in a manner which hurt him.

Leonard knew what he had to do, and in the thirteenth round, he did it. A hard body shot cracked into Hearns’ ribs and “The Hitman” was in trouble. His legs were now out of his control, possibly in large part due to tiredness along with the bodyblow. More hurtful shots rained in from Ray and Tommy was driven through the ropes. The referee, Davey Pearl, chose not to administer a count however, and Leonard’s furious attack resumed.

Hearns was trying to fight back but he was being driven around the ring. Then, with seconds remaining, Hearns was again forced through the ropes. This time a count was given, just before the bell. It had been a massive round for SugarRay. He would not be denied. Refusing to let his opponent off the hook, he came out in the penultimate round determined to make the cards of the judges irrelevant.

Astonishingly, Hearns fought on fairly even terms in the first minute and a half of the fourteenth. Tommy was also showing great grit and heart. The end came courtesy of a right hand that slashed across his chin.

As Hearns slumped into the ropes, Leonard let loose with a blistering assault to bring matters to a close. The fight was stopped with “The Hitman” still on his feet, but totally beaten. Ray Leonard was now the undisputed welterweight champion of the world.

At the post-fight press conference, the subject of a rematch came up. Leonard said he had proved himself as the best welterweight in the world and that all the rest of the questions would have to be asked of Thomas Hearns. For his part, Hearns boldly stated his intention to return, which brought applause from everyone in attendance, Leonard included.

As we know however, it would be eight long years before they met again in the ring. Everyone has their own opinion as to what happened, regardless of what the judges said, when they did. Some thought Leonard did enough to prevail in “The War”, while others felt Tommy’s hand should have been raised.

Whatever the case, and despite how Leonard’s career ended, his stature as an all-time great is secure. His superb comeback victory in September of 1981 more than justifies this.

I wonder if Ray feels as old as everyone else who remembers the classic boxing match that he and Tommy Hearns put on almost a quarter of a century ago. I know that I almost cannot believe how very young I was back then. However, Ray Leonard will always have the treasured memory of his epic performance to keep him feeling upbeat as he advances in number of birthdays celebrated.

Leonard V Hearns – a fight for the ages!