BoxRec

If the stories of Hearns' legs being massaged so much in the dressing room before the fight that it drained all the strength from them, and of course his broken right hand in round 1, were major factors in him losing so quickly, if they ever fought again do you think the result would have been different?

Out of interest does anyone know if a rematch was ever planned?

I don't think a rematch goes differently, but i think Tommy would have had a great chance in 81 or 82 when they were originally scheduled to fight.

The rematch was definitely planned off of the Hagler/Mugabi & Hearns/Shuler doubleheader, then leonard stuck his nose in the way and that was that.

Controversial wrote:If the stories of Hearns' legs being massaged so much in the dressing room before the fight that it drained all the strength from them, and of course his broken right hand in round 1, were major factors in him losing so quickly, if they ever fought again do you think the result would have been different?

Out of interest does anyone know if a rematch was ever planned?

I thought the massage story was about the first Leonard fight .

Obviously bullshit, but it was hagler.

Oh . I think Hearns could've won had he selected to box. He had too much pride sometimes though. He loses a slugfest with Hagler everytime ,IMO.

His legs let him down because hagler stalked him down & is a fookin beast!
Styles make fights & this is what makes srl one of the greatest.

Hearns versus the Marvin from the Mugabi fight...or the Leonard fight?

I think Tommy has a great chance.

Breaking his hand was a major point... massaging his legs....err...no...

Yep, Leonard stuck his nose in and that was the end of a rematch. By the way...I seriously believe the leg massage thing was complete BS. Possibly made up altogether or if it did happen then it still had absolutely no bearing on the fight. If it did happen....which numbskull decided it was a good idea?

The leg story is BS invented by E Steward

Tommy did break his hand but he was also taken aback by the ferocity of Hagler early and the lack of space to move, Hagler was on him like a tank and sensed blood in the 2nd. The 3rd the cut eye gave even more urgency to Marvin....rest is history.

A rematch would have been a totally different affair and it would have been a great one if not for Leonard butting in.

I don't see any difference in a second fight. Hagler knew the formula to beat Hearns and that was pressure, pressure, and pressure. The great Sugar Ray Leonard when he pressured Hearns, won. The great Aaron Pryor pressured him in the amateurs and won. And Iran Barkley, once he pressured the great Hitman, it was over.

Hearns chin would have let him down again in the rematch if they ever fought again. His best chance in fight #2 against the great Marvelous One was to outbox Hagler like he was doing around round 2 and early round 3 when his punch failed him. He slugs it out with Hagler again and gets KO'd.

This is not Hearns best weight class. But at 154 lbs, was the perfect weight class for him. Oh man, at that weight class, he was a version of a light heavyweight great Bob Foster

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:I don't think a rematch goes differently, but i think Tommy would have had a great chance in 81 or 82 when they were originally scheduled to fight.

The rematch was definitely planned off of the Hagler/Mugabi & Hearns/Shuler doubleheader, then leonard stuck his nose in the way and that was that.

I was and always be a Hearns fan, but Leonard "sticking his nose in" saved Tommy another KO loss. Even with ring rust, Leonard had the tools to beat Hagler, something Tommy couldn't do.

Hearns beats Hagler if he comes out and boxes. Possibly by knockout. Hearns never landed a clean sharp punch on Hagler including the first round. Hearns was never an accurate puncher in flurries. However he was deadly from the boxing position with the left hook to the body or right cross. He needed to feed off the jab. He beats Hagler with that strategy. If Tommy landed a clean right cross to Haglers chin…trust me when I say Hagler would have been in big trouble…. Hats off to Marvin for avoiding the straight right cross in the first fight…
Either way we all would have loved to see a Hagler Hearns rematch!