Goz wrote:Yes going to the US really made Benn IMO, he came back a much wiser fighter.
Still think more of our boys would have benefitted from 12 months and couple of fights out there early in their careers.
Agreed.. Look at fighters such as Steve Collins, Denis Andries... Doubt they would've enjoyed half the success without the US experience...
As for a current fighter, add Bernard Dunne..
I'll never forget that shoo-ing Andries got off of Hearns. Boy could Tommy punch, to move up from Welter and hurt a big massive lump like Andries like that is just unbelievable.
I'll bet Tommy could have punched at heavyweight if he'd moved that far at the right age, though his shot resistance would have been crap. Hearns shoulders and back were like a heavyweights, and his legs were like a flyweights.
No doubt at all that the likes of Benn benefitted enormoulsy from going 'on road.'
I think it was after Andries multiple knockdown thrashing from Hearns that he went to fight out of the Kronk gym wasn't it?
So I think he had got to a certain level without the US experience.
He was knocked down so many times in that fight, I remember him clinging on to Hearns boots being dragged around the canvas.
Even then after being knocked down something 4/5 times he scored a legit knockdown against the exceptionally chinny Hearns in about the 6th or 7th round.
Goz wrote:Yes going to the US really made Benn IMO, he came back a much wiser fighter.
Still think more of our boys would have benefitted from 12 months and couple of fights out there early in their careers.
Agreed.. Look at fighters such as Steve Collins, Denis Andries... Doubt they would've enjoyed half the success without the US experience...
As for a current fighter, add Bernard Dunne..
I'll never forget that shoo-ing Andries got off of Hearns. Boy could Tommy punch, to move up from Welter and hurt a big massive lump like Andries like that is just unbelievable.
I'll bet Tommy could have punched at heavyweight if he'd moved that far at the right age, though his shot resistance would have been crap. Hearns shoulders and back were like a heavyweights, and his legs were like a flyweights.
No doubt at all that the likes of Benn benefitted enormoulsy from going 'on road.'
I think Hearns and Andries spent a lot of time in the Kronk together.. Andries earned a helluva lot of respect for the way he was prepared to tough it out in there...
As for Hearns at H/W, I guess you just need to look at Bob Foster to get an idea of what would've happened to a smaller man with serious power....
Hearns' power was scary though. He was also a very accurate and pinpoint puncher at his best, and I think he could have shaken up a heavyweight with his punch, before getting a new arsehole torn for himself.
Who was it that Foster shook up before getting absolutely battered senseless, was it Frasier he wobbled?
jamesmcdonnell wrote:Oh I know, Hearns would have been annihilated.
Hearns' power was scary though. He was also a very accurate and pinpoint puncher at his best, and I think he could have shaken up a heavyweight with his punch, before getting a new arsehole torn for himself.
Who was it that Foster shook up before getting absolutely battered senseless, was it Frasier he wobbled?
I believe it was Ali who was staggered.... and cut.
jamesmcdonnell wrote:Oh I know, Hearns would have been annihilated.
Hearns' power was scary though. He was also a very accurate and pinpoint puncher at his best, and I think he could have shaken up a heavyweight with his punch, before getting a new arsehole torn for himself.
Who was it that Foster shook up before getting absolutely battered senseless, was it Frasier he wobbled?
I believe it was Ali who was staggered.... and cut.
I think he hit Frazier with an enormous, flush shot. It was meant to be a very exciting, albeit short(ish) fight. Because Foster detonated, Frazier took it full power, then rallied to beat him. From what I read, it was like Chavez vs Mayweather 1.
jamesmcdonnell wrote:I'll bet Tommy could have punched at heavyweight if he'd moved that far at the right age, though his shot resistance would have been crap. Hearns shoulders and back were like a heavyweights, and his legs were like a flyweights.'
There was serious talk of Hearns moving up to Heavyweight in 1989. There was talk of him fighting the young Evander Holyfield. The theory was that Holyfield was a small Heavyweight and had just stuggled to beat a faided Michael Dokes. In that fight team Hearns believed that Holyfield had shown a weakness in being open to right hands, which was of course Hearns honeypunch.
It's sometimes forgotten but at this time many regarded Holyfield as a small Heavyweight, who was too easy to hit and lacked a real Heavyweight punching power.
It was a great win - but I don't agree with the thread title. The fight was stopped on th ethree knockdown rule - Barkley was not actually sparked............
