Mayweather vs. Hearns in this Classic Welterweight Match-Up
Floyd Mayweather has been dominating the current Welterweight division with his incredible boxing skills, blazing hand speed and ability to outthink and outbox his opponents, making them look extremely sluggish. With this dominance Mayweather that has established it’s interesting to contemplate how he would fare against other great Welterweights of the not too distant past. In this fantasy fight, Floyd “Money” Mayweather will face off against Tommy “Hitman” Hearns at 147 lbs.
Tommy Hearns was a very prominent fighter in the early 80’s, when the Welterweight division was achieving similar notoriety and success, with fighters such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran and Hearns reigning supreme and engaging in all out wars in the ring for both titles and bragging rights. Tommy Hearns is a boxing legend. He is the first fighter to win 4 world titles in 4 weight classes and possesses an incredibly imposing physique and style for a Welterweight.
Standing at 6 ft. 1 with an incredibly long reach of 78” and great strength and power, Hearns had an advantage over his Welterweight opponents. He had the uncanny ability to keep opponents at bay with his long reach and powerful jab and also possessed the ability to mix it up and bring the fight to the opponents. He attacked in a very aggressive yet methodical way that didn’t leave him vulnerable. This educated pressure, long reach and incredible talent made the Hitman a legend and a force to be reckoned with in the ring.
As the fight against Mayweather begins, both fighters come out of the gates looking incredibly fresh, with Hearns attempting to pepper the smaller Mayweather with jabs while trying to force him into the ropes. Mayweather will avoid the onslaught early, dodging overhand rights and making sure Hearn’s jabs don’t do much damage and tagging Hearns with a few blindingly quick countering right hands.
After a few rounds of reading each other, Hearns will up the ante and utilize his superior reach and strength, hitting Floyd with precisely timed jabs and a few overhand rights that Floyd will not be able to counter. Floyd will try to work his way inside and counter Hearns’ jabs and powerful right hands, but Hearns won’t allow it. Mayweather will become frustrated with his inability to counter the taller, stronger Hearns and will get himself hurt while trying to counter off the ropes in the middle rounds.
In this 12 round bout, Hearns will win the middle and late rounds and will outpoint Mayweather via unanimous decision, winning 8 rounds to Mayweather’s 4 (Which would mostly come in the first half of the fight). Of course, Floyd would at times look impressive, especially in the early stages of the fight, dodging some of Hearns’ shots and working his way inside and briefly tagging Hearns with quick flurries after countering his overhand right, but it will not be enough. Tommy Hearns’s combination of strength, range and methodical aggression will be too much for Floyd and for the first time in Mayweather’s career, his opponent will coast to a point victory over him.
The Prediction: Hearns by unanimous decision
