Ray Leonard 146 lbs beat Thomas Hearns 145 lbs by TKO at 1:45 in round 14 of 15
Date: 1981-09-16
Location: Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
WBA Welterweight Title (4th defense by Hearns)
WBC Welterweight Title (2nd defense of 2nd reign by Leonard).
Dave Anderson of the New York Times reported:
When the bell rang for the 14th round, Sugar Ray Leonard was trailing substantially on all three judges' scorecards. Unless he was able to dominate Thomas Hearns so much that some of the officials awarded him a 2-point edge, 10-8, in a round or two, there was no way he would have won the undisputed welterweight title.
And so Sugar Ray Leonard did what he had to do. He did what a great fighter does. He knocked out another great fighter who was beating him. Always remember that as good as Sugar Ray Leonard was last night, Thomas Hearns was almost as good. In a sense, Thomas Hearns was even better over the first 13 rounds. But then Sugar Ray knocked him out in a fight that will be remembered as long as people talk about boxing.
Through the early rounds, Thomas Hearns was in command. Dictating the tempo with his long left jab, the almost stick-like slugger from Detroit kept moving at Sugar Ray, who was dancing away, the red and white tassels on his high white boxing shoes flopping rhythmically the way Muhammad Ali's once did. But in the sixth round Sugar Ray began landing the punches that Thomas Hearns, unbeaten in 32 previous bouts with 30 knockouts, had been expected to land.
In the seventh, Sugar Ray strafed Thomas Hearns with some solid right hands. When the bell ended that round, Hearns wobbled back to his corner.
But in the eighth, Thomas Hearns was up on his toes again. Obviously he had summoned his second wind. He hurried through the ninth round, then both took a rest in the 10th. In the 11th, with Sugar Ray's left eye slowly closing and a dark smudge developing under it, the 1976 Olympic champion appeared in jeopardy.
By then all the sneering and the smiling and the snarling and the staring had ended. All the psychology had been forgotten. At the end of some of the earlier rounds, Sugar Ray Leonard had smiled smugly at Thomas Hearns, as if to show that the punches hadn't really hurt. At the end of other rounds, Thomas Hearns had stared down at his shorter foe. But when the bell ended the 12th round, they softly tapped gloves. At last each had earned the other's respect.
During the intermission before that 12th round, a chant of Tommee, Tomm-ee thundered through the desert night. Hearing it, Thomas Hearns jumped up from his stool and began waving his arms, as if cheering for himself to finish Sugar Ray Leonard then and there. But he didn't. And he would never get another chance.
In the 13th, Sugar Ray somehow landed a right hand that shook Thomas Hearns to his toes. Sensing a chance for the kill, Sugar Ray pounced as if he were a puma leaping out of a tree. And if there were any doubts that Sugar Ray is not a gladiator, he dispelled them now. Slashing and shoving, he half-punched and half-pushed Thomas Hearns through the ropes onto the ring apron which Referee Davey Pearl ruled to be a push rather than a knockdown. But moments later Sugar Ray clearly knocked Thomas Hearns through the ropes. Davey Pearl counted to nine and was waving Sugar Ray Leonard to resume the brawl when the bell rang.
But through 13 rounds, Thomas Hearns was ahead on all three officials' cards - 125-121, 125-122, 124-122. On my card, Hearns was ahead, 124-123 in points and 7-5-1 in rounds.
Through those 13 rounds, Thomas Hearns had outboxed Sugar Ray Leonard most of the time. But now Sugar Ray Leonard was about to outpunch the puncher. When Referee Davey Pearl stopped it after 1:45 of the 14th round, Sugar Ray Leonard was swinging savagely but Thomas Hearns was still on his feet. Wobbling, but still on his feet. That's the way this one should have ended. No matter which fighter was the loser, he deserved not to be counted out.
The Ring named Leonard vs. Hearns the Fight of the Year for 1981 and the ninth greatest title fight of all-time in 1996.
