Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hitman Hearns ... April 15, 1985
The Greatest action fight ever.
339 punches in eight minutes.
[h=3]Round 1[/h]Hagler, normally a slow starter, stormed Hearns from the opening bell, eventually pinning him to the ropes. Hearns threw his devastating right hand to Hagler's chin, stunning Hagler for a moment before Hagler was able to tie him up in a clinch. Seconds later, however, the two were trading power punches, with Hagler trying to get inside and to pin Hearns to the ropes again. In the process, he succeeded in stunning Hearns with a hard left hand. Hearns tied up Hagler again and tried to slow the pace by boxing rather than trading power punches with Hagler, who was still the aggressor. This lasted for only a moment, however. Before long the two once again started to trade power punches. (During these exchanges Hearns broke his right hand.) The slugfest continued for the better part of the next two and a half minutes as both fighters traded heavy blows with little regard for defense or pacing. Hagler developed a cut on his forehead but didn't slow as he pinned Hearns to the ropes and meted out more punishment, eventually hurting Hearns at the end of the round. Sportscaster Barry Tompkins, doing the blow-by-blow commentary for HBO's broadcast of the fight, yelled out, "This is still only the first round!" as the fighters traded heavy shots at round's end. Al Bernstein remarked, "Perhaps one of the best opening rounds in middleweight history!" It is considered by The Ring magazine to be the greatest round in boxing history, and it won round of the year honors for 1985. In a subsequent HBO broadcast featuring both Hagler and Hearns in studio commenting on the fight, Hearns revealed, "that first round took everything I had, man." When asked in the ring after the bout if he was hurt by Hearns' first right hand, a blow that caused him to step back and then fall into a clinch, Hagler commented, "He definitely tried to put the bomb on me... . He can punch... ." The scorecards were split with Reno judge Herb Santos scoring the round 10-9 for Hagler, along with U.K judge Harry Gibbs while Dick Young of California had Hearns ahead 10-9. It was described as a war zone for both fighters.
[h=3]Round 2[/h]By the beginning of the second round, it looked as though Hearns had no legs under him, as he slowed the pace by boxing Hagler. Hearns stumbled several times as he attempted to move around the ring and change direction, prompting HBO commentator Sugar Ray Leonard to note, "I don't like the way Tommy's moving...a little rubbery-legged." In the studio broadcast of the fight, Hearns commented, "My legs were gone, man. Even before I came out to fight, my legs felt weak." Hagler experimented by switching to orthodox style for a moment, but switched back to southpaw, as he found more success countering Hearns' jab. By the end of the round, Hagler pinned Hearns to the ropes, successfully landing a volley of punches. The action in round two had slowed from the blistering pace of round one. Judges Herb Santos and Harry Gibbs again scored the round 10-9 for Hagler while judge Dick Young scored the round 10-9 for Hearns.
[h=3]Third and final round[/h]In round three, Hearns again tried to set the pace. About a minute into the round, the cut on Hagler's forehead inflicted in the first round opened up, resulting in a tremendous flow of blood down the middleweight champion's face.
Referee Richard Steele halted the action to have the ringside physician examine Hagler. He informed Steele, "No the cut's not bothering his sight, let him go." Facing the new threat of losing the fight via stoppage on cuts, Hagler attacked Hearns with the aggression of the first round. A tremendous overhand left to the head drove Hearns back to the ropes. Hearns backed away, smiling so as to suggest the punch had not hurt him. Hagler landed a hard right hook high on Hearns' head. The blow staggered Hearns, who awkwardly stumbled backwards into the ropes, Hagler running after him in hot pursuit. The champion smashed a vicious right hand to Hearns' chin. Hearns went limp and fell forward, as Hagler landed two uppercuts. As Hearns fell face first to the canvas, Sugar Ray Leonard yelled into his microphone "He's gone...he's gone!"
Hearns staggered to his feet at the count of nine, but he was unable to continue. Referee Steele stopped the bout as he held Hearns upright. The image of a blood-soaked Hagler being carried around the ring in victory by his handlers and Hearns being carried back to his corner in semi-consciousness remains to this day a graphic testimony of the intensity of "The War." It was widely regarded as the pinnacle of Marvin Hagler's career and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest middleweights of all time. At the time of the stoppage, judges Herb Santos and Harry Gibbs had Hagler ahead 20-18 while judge Dick Young had Hearns ahead 20-18.
British fight publication Boxing News called it "eight minutes of mayhem", while The Ring called the fight "the most electrifying eight minutes ever," and it won fight of the year for 1985, despite lasting only three rounds.
The Greatest action fight ever.
339 punches in eight minutes.
[h=3]Round 1[/h]Hagler, normally a slow starter, stormed Hearns from the opening bell, eventually pinning him to the ropes. Hearns threw his devastating right hand to Hagler's chin, stunning Hagler for a moment before Hagler was able to tie him up in a clinch. Seconds later, however, the two were trading power punches, with Hagler trying to get inside and to pin Hearns to the ropes again. In the process, he succeeded in stunning Hearns with a hard left hand. Hearns tied up Hagler again and tried to slow the pace by boxing rather than trading power punches with Hagler, who was still the aggressor. This lasted for only a moment, however. Before long the two once again started to trade power punches. (During these exchanges Hearns broke his right hand.) The slugfest continued for the better part of the next two and a half minutes as both fighters traded heavy blows with little regard for defense or pacing. Hagler developed a cut on his forehead but didn't slow as he pinned Hearns to the ropes and meted out more punishment, eventually hurting Hearns at the end of the round. Sportscaster Barry Tompkins, doing the blow-by-blow commentary for HBO's broadcast of the fight, yelled out, "This is still only the first round!" as the fighters traded heavy shots at round's end. Al Bernstein remarked, "Perhaps one of the best opening rounds in middleweight history!" It is considered by The Ring magazine to be the greatest round in boxing history, and it won round of the year honors for 1985. In a subsequent HBO broadcast featuring both Hagler and Hearns in studio commenting on the fight, Hearns revealed, "that first round took everything I had, man." When asked in the ring after the bout if he was hurt by Hearns' first right hand, a blow that caused him to step back and then fall into a clinch, Hagler commented, "He definitely tried to put the bomb on me... . He can punch... ." The scorecards were split with Reno judge Herb Santos scoring the round 10-9 for Hagler, along with U.K judge Harry Gibbs while Dick Young of California had Hearns ahead 10-9. It was described as a war zone for both fighters.
[h=3]Round 2[/h]By the beginning of the second round, it looked as though Hearns had no legs under him, as he slowed the pace by boxing Hagler. Hearns stumbled several times as he attempted to move around the ring and change direction, prompting HBO commentator Sugar Ray Leonard to note, "I don't like the way Tommy's moving...a little rubbery-legged." In the studio broadcast of the fight, Hearns commented, "My legs were gone, man. Even before I came out to fight, my legs felt weak." Hagler experimented by switching to orthodox style for a moment, but switched back to southpaw, as he found more success countering Hearns' jab. By the end of the round, Hagler pinned Hearns to the ropes, successfully landing a volley of punches. The action in round two had slowed from the blistering pace of round one. Judges Herb Santos and Harry Gibbs again scored the round 10-9 for Hagler while judge Dick Young scored the round 10-9 for Hearns.
[h=3]Third and final round[/h]In round three, Hearns again tried to set the pace. About a minute into the round, the cut on Hagler's forehead inflicted in the first round opened up, resulting in a tremendous flow of blood down the middleweight champion's face.
Referee Richard Steele halted the action to have the ringside physician examine Hagler. He informed Steele, "No the cut's not bothering his sight, let him go." Facing the new threat of losing the fight via stoppage on cuts, Hagler attacked Hearns with the aggression of the first round. A tremendous overhand left to the head drove Hearns back to the ropes. Hearns backed away, smiling so as to suggest the punch had not hurt him. Hagler landed a hard right hook high on Hearns' head. The blow staggered Hearns, who awkwardly stumbled backwards into the ropes, Hagler running after him in hot pursuit. The champion smashed a vicious right hand to Hearns' chin. Hearns went limp and fell forward, as Hagler landed two uppercuts. As Hearns fell face first to the canvas, Sugar Ray Leonard yelled into his microphone "He's gone...he's gone!"
Hearns staggered to his feet at the count of nine, but he was unable to continue. Referee Steele stopped the bout as he held Hearns upright. The image of a blood-soaked Hagler being carried around the ring in victory by his handlers and Hearns being carried back to his corner in semi-consciousness remains to this day a graphic testimony of the intensity of "The War." It was widely regarded as the pinnacle of Marvin Hagler's career and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest middleweights of all time. At the time of the stoppage, judges Herb Santos and Harry Gibbs had Hagler ahead 20-18 while judge Dick Young had Hearns ahead 20-18.
British fight publication Boxing News called it "eight minutes of mayhem", while The Ring called the fight "the most electrifying eight minutes ever," and it won fight of the year for 1985, despite lasting only three rounds.
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