Hearns didn't choose anything that night. Hagler MADE him fight, and, if he hadn't, he'd have been run out of the ring.
Hagler would always beat Hearns. He proved it in a slugfest, and he'd do it in a boxing match. Because Hagler was just as good a boxer, a harder puncher (punch after punch, rpund after round) and a much stronger more determined more durable man.