On June 15, 1984, Thomas “Hitman” Hearns knocked out fellow future Corridor of Fame inductee and former four-division world champion Roberto Duran within the second spherical to retain his WBC and The Ring junior middleweight championships.
An period coined for its “4 Kings” — Hearns, Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler — the previous two had been known as to battle and rose to the event.
Duran kicked off this iconic period with a masterful victory over Leonard, forcing him to struggle his fashion of struggle. With a report of 72-1 following, Duran would drop 4 of his subsequent 9 fights main as much as his showdown in opposition to Hearns, together with losses to Leonard, Wilfred Benitez, and Hagler.
Hearns had misplaced to Leonard in 1981 for the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles and relinquished his WBA belt. Shifting as much as 154 lbs noticed him safe successive victories in opposition to Benitez and Murray Sutherland to seize his crowns.
At Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Hearns confirmed once more how types make fights, as he rendered the legendary energy and pugilism of Duran out of date.
Duran discovered little success in matching Hearns, because the latter used his large 11-inch attain benefit to pepper Duran with impactful photographs.
Duran mocked Hearns’ four-punch mixture that acquired the group on its ft within the first spherical and inspired the “Hitman” to come back on stronger. He would do exactly that, throwing off Duran’s equilibrium and securing a knockdown that will foreshadow issues to come back.
Earlier than the struggle might even break open, Hearns was capable of get Duran on the ropes on the left aspect of the ring and completed him with an immortalized proper hand that closed the present.
Each pantheon nice fighters would take turns going through the elites of their divisions, additionally synchronously transferring up in weight in what formed as much as be one of the storied many years of the sports activities historical past.
