Is Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns your favorite fight of all-time?

[Max Power]

They were beyond doubt some of the best boxers from one of the strongest eras of Welter/Middle of all time

[greynotsoold]

Let me ask you, as a group, this question...Hearns was coming out fast and knocking guys out. He kept on doing that for another several years (mostly). Why did he box leonard? His best weapons were his reach, his right hand, and his leverage, yet he never set down to punch. Why did he box Leonard instead of trying to hurt him?

[bradlee180]

Yep, role-reversal happened there.

Going into the fight, people thought it would be the power of KO artist Thomas Hearns versus the skill and boxing ability of Ray Leonard.

Instead, right after they mixed it up at the start, it became the Boxing ability of Thomas Hearns versus the power of Ray Leonard.

Hearns had come in way too light which hurt his punch resilience and his endurance.
After initially being aggressive against Leonard, then Hearns got cracked, his legs began doing the Zab Judah Shuffle which was always the tell-tale sign throughout Hearns' career when Hearns got hit a good one: his legs would do the funky chicken.

Anyway, Hearns boxed him because he had too. Leonard was forcing the fight. And despite Hearns' greater punching power, Hearns wasn't winning in the shootouts... so he boxed him.

[Max Power]

He was far less durable than Leonard who was of such well rounded ability that Thomas was going to get hit. I think Leonard would have worked him out even if he did come in a few lbs heavier.

[Comegalletas]

Many great fights. Hearns - Leonard is in the mix, but I do not consider it the best ever. I really like Foreman - Lyle, but many other great ones: Pryor - Arguello, Chavez - Taylor, Ali - Frazier (pick one), Hagler - Hearns, even lesser fighters as Ward - Gatti I or Corrales - Castillo.

Or you can say a great fight is a master boxer showing his skill destroying a fine fighter. For example, Ricardo Lopez taking Rocky Lin to the school.