[FIGHT BIO] Thomas “Motor City Cobra” Hearns | The Hard Punching Hitman

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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:

1. Sugar Ray Leonard
2. Marvin Hagler
3. Iran Barkley (twice)
4. 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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Source

The Guardian

Wikipedia

Ring TV

Eurosport