Who Is Thomas Hearns?
Former American boxer Thomas Hearns, AKA “Motor City Cobra” and “The Hitman” started his professional boxing career in 1977 at the age of 19 and retired in 2006 when he was 48 years old. Hearns started his amateur career at the age of 10 (1967) and went on to achieve an impressive amateur record of 155-8.
He was born on the 18th of October, 1958 in Grand Junction, Tennessee.
His mother had three children in her first marriage, and Thomas was the youngest of the three.
During his professional career, Hearns was coached by Emanuel Steward in Detroit, Michigan.
Steward helped him become arguably the best puncher in boxing history.
Hearns fought in six different weight divisions: Welterweight, Light Middleweight, Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight, and Cruiserweight.
Thomas was honored as Fighter of The Year in 1980 by The Ring Magazine and was eventually inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 10th, 2012.
He was known as the heavy hitter, handing out some of the most devasting punches in boxing history.
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When Did Thomas Hearns Retire?
Thomas Hearns fought his last professional fight on the 4th of February, 2006 against Shannon Landberg. He did retire once before in 2000 after he got injured fighting Uriah Grant, but came back 5 years later for 2 more fights before retiring for good in 2006.
His last two fights were against Johan Long and Shannon Landberg.
Even though he won his last two fights, Hearns realized he wasn’t the boxer he was 5 years before.
He was slower and couldn’t effectively avoid punches anymore, prompting him to announce his retirement after his last fight on February 4th, 2006.
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What Happened To Thomas Hearns?
Thomas was a very wealthy boxer. He always had money and loved splurged on new suits and clothes, until he spent too much.
Hearns ended up with a massive IRS bill for $250,000, and outstanding payments on his home which ended up costing him an estimated $1 million.
In 2010 he had to auction off one of his cars and many other assets to pay back the debt.
Where Is Thomas Hearns Now?
Currently, Hearns is divorced and lives in Southfield, Michigan.
Hearns doesn’t speak about his personal life much, so very little is known about what he’s up to.
He has 6 children, and one of them (Ronald Hearns) is also a boxer.
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What Is Thomas Hearns Net Worth?
Hearns has an estimated net worth of around $500,000 and owns a house in Southfield, Michigan.
Hearns was even part of WWE for a few years, which added to his net worth.
Thomas still makes a full-time income coaching boxing in Detroit.
Who Did Thomas Hearns Lose To?
Hearns has a professional record of 61 wins and 5 losses (1 draw).
He won 48 of the 67 fights by knockout.
These are the fighters he lost to:
- Sugar Ray Leonard
- Marvin Hagler
- Iran Barkley (twice)
- Uriah Grant
Let’s take a look at some of his most memorable fights.
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Thomas Hearns Vs Roberto Duran
Hearns and Duran fought on the 15th of June, 1984 in Paradise, Nevada.
It was a slow start at the beginning of round 1 with both fighters feeling each other out. Later in the round Thomas became more aggressive and started landing his power shots.
Duran was dropped twice in the first round, but stood back up both times.
Hearns came out in the 2nd round determined to end the fight, landing combinations and hurting Duran badly.
Roberto Duran was knocked down for the third and final time.
Hearns won the fight by TKO and retained the WBC Middleweight title.
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Thomas Hearns Vs Sugar Ray Leonard (Fight #1)
Hearns and Leonard fought in Caesar’s Palace on September 16th, 1981.
The fight started quite evenly with both fighters trading shots.
As the fight progressed Hearns looked more dominant, landing most of his shots.
Leonard knew he had to start fighting back, and he did in round 6.
Sugar Ray hurt Hearns in round 6, maintaining control of the fight until he knocked him down in round 13.
Hearns stood back up and survived to the end of the round.
A motivated Leonard came out of his corner in round 14 and dominated Hearns until the referee called the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard won the fight by TKO.
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Thomas Hearns Vs Sugar Ray Leonard (Fight #2)
Hearns and Leonard fought for the second time on the 12th of June, 1989 in Caesars Palace.
This second installment of Hearns vs Leonard was an absolute war, with both fighters having a point to prove.
The fight was mostly equal, both fighters trading and taking heavy blows.
Hearns knocked Leonard down early in the fight, but Leonard managed to stand up and recover.
The constant back-and-forth kept the crowd on their feet.
Later in the fight, Thomas knocked Leonard down again, but Leonard once again managed to stand back up.
This nail-biting fight ended in the 12th round and resulted in a draw.
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Thomas Hearns Vs Marvin Hagler
Hearns and Hagler fought on April 15th, 1985 in Caesars Palace – This fight was actually called “The War”.
Hagler started the fight fast, relentlessly attacking Hearns and making his presence known.
Hearns responded with his own exchange of combinations and power shots, putting on an exciting fight where anyone could win.
Hagler was bleeding badly in round 2, nearly causing a stoppage.
He managed to come back in round 3, hurting Thomas and knocking him down.
The referee called the fight and Hagler won by TKO.
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Thomas Hearns Profile
Born | October 18, 1958 |
Nationality | American |
Division | Welterweight Light middleweight Middleweight Super middleweight Light heavyweight Cruiserweight |
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
Weight | 105 kg |
Reach | 72 in (183 cm) |
Debut | November 25, 1977 |
Thomas Hearns Professional Record
When | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|
November 25, 1977 | Jerome Hill | Win (KO) |
December 7, 1977 | Jerry Strickland | Win (KO) |
December 16, 1977 | Willie Wren | Win (TKO) |
January 29, 1978 | Anthony House | Win (KO) |
February 10, 1978 | Robert Adams | Win (TKO) |
February 17, 1978 | Billy Goodwin | Win (TKO) |
March 17, 1978 | Ray Fields | Win (TKO) |
March 31, 1978 | Tyrone Phelps | Win (TKO) |
June 8, 1978 | Jimmy Rothwell | Win (KO) |
July 20, 1978 | Raul Aguirre | Win (KO) |
August 3, 1978 | Eddie Marcelle | Win (KO) |
September 7, 1978 | Bruce Finch | Win (KO) |
October 26, 1978 | Pedro Rojas | Win (TKO) |
December 9, 1978 | Rudy Barro | Win (KO) |
January 11, 1979 | Clyde Gray | Win (TKO) |
January 31, 1979 | Sammy Ruckard | Win (TKO) |
March 3, 1979 | Segundo Murillo | Win (TKO) |
April 3, 1979 | Alfonso Hayman | Win (UD) |
May 20, 1979 | Harold Weston | Win (RTD) |
June 28, 1979 | Bruce Curry | Win (KO) |
August 23, 1979 | Inocencio De la Rosa | Win (RTD) |
September 22, 1979 | José Figueroa | Win (KO) |
October 18, 1979 | Saensak Muangsurin | Win (TKO) |
November 30, 1979 | Mike Colbert | Win (UD) |
February 3, 1980 | Jim Richards | Win (KO) |
March 2, 1980 | Ángel Espada | Win (TKO) |
March 31, 1980 | Santiago Valdez | Win (TKO) |
May 3, 1980 | Eddie Gazo | Win (KO) |
August 2, 1980 | José Cuevas | Win (TKO) |
December 6, 1980 | Luis Primera | Win (KO) |
April 25, 1981 | Randy Shields | Win (TKO) |
June 25, 1981 | Pablo Baez | Win (TKO) |
September 16, 1981 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Loss(TKO) |
December 11, 1981 | Ernie Singletary | Win (UD) |
February 27, 1982 | Marcos Geraldo | Win (KO) |
July 25, 1982 | Jeff McCracken | Win (TKO) |
December 3, 1982 | Wilfred Benítez | Win (MD) |
July 10, 1983 | Murray Sutherland | Win (UD) |
February 11, 1984 | Luigi Minchillo | Win (UD) |
June 15, 1984 | Roberto Durán | Win (TKO) |
September 15, 1984 | Fred Hutchings | Win (TKO) |
April 15, 1985 | Marvin Hagler | Loss(TKO) |
March 10, 1986 | James Shuler | Win (KO) |
June 23, 1986 | Mark Medal | Win (TKO) |
October 17, 1986 | Doug DeWitt | Win (UD) |
March 7, 1987 | Dennis Andries | Win (TKO) |
October 29, 1987 | Juan Roldán | Win (KO) |
June 6, 1988 | Iran Barkley | Loss(TKO) |
November 4, 1988 | James Kinchen | Win(MD) |
June 12, 1989 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Draw(SD) |
April 28, 1990 | Michael Olajide | Win (UD) |
February 11, 1991 | Kemper Morton | Win (KO) |
April 6, 1991 | Ken Atkins | Win (TKO) |
June 3, 1991 | Virgil Hill | Win (UD) |
March 20, 1992 | Iran Barkley | Loss(SD) |
November 6, 1993 | Andrew Maynard | Win (TKO) |
January 29, 1994 | Dan Ward | Win (TKO) |
February 19, 1994 | Freddie Delgado | Win (UD) |
March 31, 1995 | Lenny LaPaglia | Win (TKO) |
September 26, 1995 | Earl Butler | Win (UD) |
November 29, 1996 | Karl Willis | Win (KO) |
January 31, 1997 | Ed Dalton | Win (KO) |
November 6, 1998 | Jay Snyder | Win (KO) |
April 10, 1999 | Nate Miller | Win (UD) |
April 8, 2000 | Uriah Grant | Loss(RTD) |
July 30, 2005 | John Long | Win (TKO) |
February 4, 2006 | Shannon Landberg | Win (TKO) |
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