This is Rummy’s Corner.
What if..
Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns?
Welcome to the latest edition of the Dream Fight series.
A hypothetical match-up between Mayweather and Hearns is an exciting proposition for
any boxing fan.
Mayweather and Hearns both won world titles across a handful of divisions, and the both
of them are undoubtedly two of the very best to ever lace them up any way you slice it.
Comparing boxers from different eras is always a tricky proposition.
From 1998 until 2015, Mayweather competed at the championship level and won titles between
130 and 154; and from 1980 until 1992, Hearns did the same between 147 and 175.
So the last championship contest for Hearns in March 1992 happened 6 and a half years
before Floyd won his first championship in October 1998.
So the area of overlap for these two all time greats is in two weight classes - welterweight,
and junior middleweight. 147 and 154.
But even here things aren’t so cut and dry, because Hearns competed when same day weigh
in was still common practice before the transition to prior day weigh in became the norm.
But I will try and address that for this particular situation as best I can.
Hearns and Mayweather are not only among the very best during the long rich history of
professional boxing, but they are also both considered among the best of the best at 147,
where the welterweight division is one of the most celebrated and decorated in boxing
with a rich tradition of talent.
The significant thing worth noting here is that Floyd built up to 147.
He dabbled at 154, but he basically maxed out as a welterweight.
Hearns on the other hand had trouble making 147 and grew out of the weight rather quickly.
Hearns fought as high as cruiserweight, and in championship fights he made it to 175.
Hearns grew out of 147 not unlike Floyd ultimately grew out of 130.
So Hearns was the naturally bigger guy who started at 147, and Floyd filled out and ultimately
finished at that range.
So who wins a Dream Fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns at 154?
Mayweather had 3 fights at 154, and he was perfect 3-0 against a trio of talented boxers
- Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, and Canelo Alvarez.
These were all solid victories for Mayweather.
BUt closer examination reveals that Cotto and De La Hoya were both on the smaller side
for the weight class, and the Canelo bout took place at a 152 pound catch weight.
This doesn’t detract from the praise-worthy performances from Floyd in these contests,
but it drives home the point that Floyd was on the small side for 154.
That was the absolute limit in terms of the highest weight he could still be effective.
Therefore the day before weigh in isn’t going to be an advantage for Floyd.
Quite the contrary.
Hearns had 5 fights at 154, and he was a perfect 5-0 with his two most notable wins coming
against Wilfred Benitez and Roberto Duran.
Hearns was arguably at his absolute best in this weight class, and his two biggest victories
against Benitez and Duran represent a perfect way to exhibit Tommy’s range and versatility
as a boxer and a puncher.
It was a brutal display of power against the seasoned veteran Duran, and The Hitman blasted
him out in devastating fashion.
Against Benitez, it was a high level tactical chess match in a battle of skills and smarts
and stamina.
Hearns was awarded a 15 round majority decision.
Hearns was very comfortable at 154, and it didn’t take long for him to properly transition
up to 160.
So in my opinion, whether this was same day weigh-in or prior day, both scenarios result
in advantage for Hearns.
Day before weigh-in would favor him more, but in my opinion there is no doubt that Hearns
was better suited for 154 than Floyd.
That alone doesn’t make a Floyd victory impossible, however.
Mayweather was a skilled boxer, and a very talented athlete with an incredible ring IQ.
The two most significant bouts to consider here, in my opinion, are Hearns' win against
Benitez, and Mayweather’s win against De La Hoya.
For Floyd to give himself the best chance at winning, I think emulating and building
on what worked for Benitez is the key.
Benitez used a lot of lateral movement that made it difficult for Hearns to find his rhythm.
Even when the defensive wizard had his back against the ropes, Tommy was having trouble
landing clean on the slippery target.
Benitez at times was also having some success darting in and out where he was landing some
nice isolated shots and some short combinations.
Whenever Hearns did start getting through with some big shots, Wilfred took them well.
But the problem for Benitez was that Tommy was throwing more, landing more, doing a better
job controlling the rhythm, and he was using his jab effectively even if he was less consistent
with it than usual.
De La Hoya was largely effective during the competitive first half of his fight with Floyd.
Oscar was giving him some trouble with a pesky jab, and Floyd was content to pick his spots
and counter.
Now Floyd did eventually start making adjustments where he was able to effectively neutralize
Oscar’s jab.
Mayweather started landing harder and more often late in the fight, and whenever Oscar
was missing Floyd was usually making him pay.
The problem here for Floyd as I see it, is that while Oscar had a very good jab, Tommy
had perhaps one of the best ever, with more snap and more power.
It was a long punishing piston-like jab that was often thrown like a power shot, and Hearns
did an outstanding job landing that booming right down the pipe immediately following
the jab.
The best chance here is for Floyd to try and take Tommy into deep water late in the fight,
but the problem is that Tommy was very consistent, he was extremely skilled and talented in his
own right, and Tommy was versatile.
Floyd was faster and probably had the higher overall ring IQ, but Hearns could switch things
up if something wasn’t working, and he boxed well off the back foot and also when applying
pressure.
Hearns was likewise more than willing to engage in a firefight if and when the going got tough.
Now I can see a scenario where Floyd tries to focus on defense with some occasional sniping,
as he effectively does a good enough job to stretch the fight into the later rounds.
But against 154 pound Hearns, I have a hard time envisioning him producing enough offense
to win enough rounds.
Even against Benitez when Hearns hurt his right hand, he still persevered and outboxed
a master boxer.
So for my official prediction, I think the best case for Floyd here sees him losing a
decision, whether it’s a 12 round fight or a 15 round fight.
But if Tommy catches Floyd with a flush right at any point along the way, whether it’s
round 1, or round 15, I think Hearns takes him out.
And at 154 I think that’s what would happen.
There is a reason Floyd never ventured north of 154, because that was his elite level limit
- where Canelo was at a catchweight for a reason, and neither Oscar nor Miguel were
particularly big at the weight.
So my official prediction, I’m taking Hearns by 10th round knockout where I feel he would
be too big and too consistent for Floyd.
So who wins a Dream Fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns at 147?
A lot of the elements at 147 are going to be the same as they would be at 154.
At 147, same day weigh-in would definitely favor Floyd, and day before weigh-in would
definitely favor Hearns.
And whether it’s a 12 or 15 round fight is difficult to say, too.
Floyd always seemed like one of those guys to me, like Bernard Hopkins - I don’t think
Floyd would have had any problems fighting in the 15 round era.
He always entered a fight well prepared and in tremendous condition, and I think he would
be able to handle 15.
But the simple fact is he has never had to do that, And even though Hearns was in a handful
of 15 rounders, he only went more than 12 twice, including his loss at 147 that I believe
is an important part of this discussion.
But I don’t think 12 vs 15 rounds would mean a whole lot here at 147, or at 154 for
that matter for the same reasons.
Hearns fought most of his early career at or around welterweight, and his first 5 championship
contests were at 147, where he went 4-1.
His most notable fights were his 2 round destruction of Pipino Cuevas, and his 14th round stoppage
loss at the hands of Sugar Ray Leonard.
Mayweather had 9 title fights at 147, where he went a perfect 9-0 with notable wins against
Zab Judah, Sugar Shane Mosley, and Manny Pacquiao.
The two most important fights I think are worth looking at here are Tommy’s loss against
Ray, and Floyd’s victory against Mosley.
The Shane fight was one of the few times that Floyd faced true adversity.
Mosley nailed Floyd with a couple of sweetly timed right hands.
But Mayweather persevered, and he was very resourceful and expertly bought himself the
time he needed to clear his head.
After that, Floyd made a little adjustment and started giving Mosley a slightly different
look, and Shane had no answers for this.
It quickly evolved into a one-sided mismatch.
To his credit, Floyd never often found himself in a position where he needed to overcome
tremendous adversity, so the Mosley example was one of the few instances of this happening,
particularly at 147.
Now that’s not to say Floyd never had to overcome some trouble before, as he did in
his fight against Judah and his bouts with Maidana, and even Pac-Man gave him some difficulty
a few times.
But the Mosley example is one of those times where Floyd showed he could remain poised
and composed under duress.
For Floyd to beat Tommy at 147, I think he’s going to need to dig deep and show something
we’ve never seen him have to do, something that would need to exceed the type of championship
heart we saw from him against Mosley.
Indeed, I believe Floyd would need to show the type of championship heart that the great
Sugar Ray Leonard displayed in his epic victory against The Hitman.
Ray had all kinds of problems early in his fight against Tommy.
Hearns was patiently pressing forward behind a long piston-like jab, and Leonard was using
movement to try and create angles.
But Leonard had no answers for the consistency of the Hearns jab and also his impeccable
spacing.
Hearns knew how to utilize his size to his advantage.
Leonard broke through in round 6 and he rocked Hearns with a left hook.
And the crazy thing is, things were now totally reversed, where Leonard was doing the stalking
and Hearns was bouncing around and using a lot of movement.
Leonard had trouble adjusting to The Hitman’s new approach, and Hearns started sneaking
in some solid rights behind a snappy jab.
Hearns would resume being the aggressor and Leonard was trying to fend off his attacks
and load up on one big shot.
Sugar Ray finally struck home midway through round 13, and this was the beginning of the
end for Hearns.
Tommy bravely did everything in his power to battle on, but he was simply exhausted
and Ray’s attacks were getting the best of him.
Tommy could barely even keep his body upright when the fight was stopped in round 14.
Simply put, Ray had to go through hell and back to emerge victorious in this one.
For long stretches of the bout, he was being badly outboxed, he was absorbing incoming
firepower in great abundance, and he was forced to make adjustments and counter adjustments
to pull it out late in the contest.
The big hook Ray landed in round 6 was a moment he stepped up when he absolutely needed to,
and down the stretch the big right hand that represented the beginning of the end sealed
the deal.
Ray had the power, the timing, and the championship heart to hurt Tommy - and this is what enabled
Leonard to win.
In a hypothetical match-up between Floyd and Tommy, I think he absolutely needs to land
with the same type of ferocious firepower somewhere along the line if he has any real
chance of winning.
Could he do it?
Maybe.
I personally believe that Ray had more pop than Floyd, particularly in the left hand,
and I likewise believe that Ray was simply more comfortable throwing caution to the wind
to try and give himself a chance to land something big.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean Floyd couldn’t hurt Tommy and earn his respect.
Floyd may have had better timing than Ray and a better ability to set traps, and Floyd
likewise probably did a better job conserving energy without any wasted movement.
These are factors that can hr;[ keep Floyd in the fight, where if he can make Tommy miss
enough and exert a lot of energy, while creating favorable angles to land isolated shots and
quick in and out combinations, he could maybe find a way to land a worthwhile bomb that
throws Hearns off his game.
But at the end of the day, Tommy was no slouch in the technical skills department, and Hearns
knew how to position himself where he was difficult to hit and usually in position to
unleash his methodical offense.
Add in the fact that countering Hearns’ jab was no easy task, and the fact that Floyd
didn’t fight many taller welterweights, and I think Hearns represents a stylistic
nightmare for Mayweather.
Floyd proved to have a very good chin and tremendous recuperative powers, and he likewise
proved to have certain championship intangibles where you can never count him out, against
any welterweight whoever laced them up.
But the exact same things can be said about Hearns.
So for my official prediction, I don’t believe things would be much different at 147 than
they would have been at 154.
But the fact is, Floyd was comfortable at 147 during his impressive reign at welterweight,
unlike his brief appearances at 154 where he never really fought a big junior middleweight.
I think a stoppage victory for Hearns is a strong possibility here.
Now I’m not saying this is an impossible proposition for Floyd the way many believe.
Against Mosley Floyd showed us he was hoarding an extra dimension to his game.
If he had yet another unseen dimension that was forced to surface, where necessity becomes
the mother of all invention, then maybe he could pull it off.
But I just tend to think that even with a never before seen dimension, that Floyd would
need to fight a near perfect fight to keep it in the balance.
Tommy had the size, the skills, the power, and the consistency that I don’t believe
he would need to be perfect.
So at 147, I’m giving Floyd the benefit of the doubt that his championship heart and
tremendous ring IQ would see him to the final bell.
I do not, however, think he would produce enough offense to win.
I believe Hearns would win a clear decision against the great Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But what the hell do I know?
So who do you think would win a dream fight between prime Floyd Mayweather Jr and prime
Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Hearns?
Both at 154 and 147?
Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy’s Corner.