Over the course of a decade, the ‘Four Kings’ thrilled the world. The various styles, characters, and personalities of the four greats – Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran – served up one of the hottest, most followed, in fact unmissable rivalries ever seen in boxing.
It began in 1980, when Duran proved too tough, too hungry, and too savage for Sugar Ray, Duran winning a 15 round decision in a fight that many say deserves to rank as one of the best in history. That night in June of ’80, a young, talented and starving-hungry Thomas Hearns was just weeks away from becoming the other welterweight champion.
Two months after Duran had got under Leonard’s skin and had proceeded to beat him up at points during their epic, Hearns smashed Pipino Cuevas to win the second half of the 147 pound crown. Hearns was every bit as great, as super-special as Duran and Leonard, and he would prove it in time.
In terms of ‘Four Kings’ battles, we must now fast-forward. So much had happened to all four kings by the summer of 1984. Leonard had sensationally made Duran throw up his hands and quit in their rematch. Leonard had then topped Hearns in a majestic showdown to prove who the best welterweight in the world was. Hagler had toiled his way to the world middleweight title. And Duran had come back to win a belt at light-middleweight.
By June of ’84, Leonard was in retirement, Hagler was an undisputed middleweight ruler, Hearns was the best on the planet at 154 pounds, and Duran was looking for another challenge. Duran had pushed Hagler hard in dropping a close 15 round decision for the middleweight crown, while Hearns had, a year earlier, moved up after his epic loss to Sugar Ray, to edge “Fifth King” Wilfred Benitez to become a two-weight ruler.
Now, in the summer of ’84, Hearns and Duran collided.
But this fight proved to be different. Wholly and disturbingly different. Hearns went into the fight with Duran predicting a quick KO. Did anyone believe him? Duran, above his ideal fighting weight but still snarling, still having those coal-like, dark and chilling eyes, would be too tough for Hearns.
But in the lead-up to the fight, Duran was unable to come close to intimidating Hearns, Duran’s baleful stare doing nothing to bother “The Hitman.” But still, how would the fight go?
Hearns was 26 years old and he was 38-1(32). Duran was 32 years of age and he was 77-5(58).
The large crowd at Caesars Palace had no idea what extraordinary blend of violence/skill/power/accuracy/killer-instinct they would see, this in short order. For instead of being a great fight, a competitive fight, Hearns turned this one into a slaughter, into a “Hit.”
Hearns, his machine gun of a right hand firing wicked bullets, dropped Duran twice in the opening session. It wasn’t all right hands that inflicted the damage, but Tommy’s Tommy Gun was back at full-on gangster mode. Cut, stunned and left with nothing but a desperate attempt to show his, ‘I-couldn’t-care-less’ machismo, Duran made it back to his corner. Eventually.
In round two, Hearns, as sleek, as beautiful and as powerful as he would ever be in the ring, wasted no time. Duran was still game, but Hearns was all over him. Backed into the ropes and left with nowhere to go, Duran was soon placed out of his growing misery by one of the most damaging, exquisite and perfectly thrown right hands of all time.
Up there in the annals with Sugar Ray Robinson’s textbook, one-punch icing of Gene Fulmer, Hearns’ rapid right took down a seemingly indestructible fighter. The flash-second Tommy’s bomb landed, Duran was OUT. Crashing, face-first, in ‘Rocky’ movie-like fashion, Duran hit down hard, not to get up anytime close to before the count of 10.
Hearns was on top of the world. The pound-for-pound king. Never had Duran been manhandled so ruthlessly. Had any of the ‘Four Kings’ scored such a scorching KO? Would they ever do so?
It remains a chilling KO, a chilling sight. Thomas Hearns on the night of June 15, 1984 was just about the perfect fighter. One could say no such thing exists, but Hearns, after doing away with a fighter many say could be one of the top-five finest fighters ever born, sure looked as close to perfection as has ever been seen in the prize ring.
40 years ago today, we may have seen the perfect knockout.
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