The Night Wilfred Benitez Confronted Thomas Hearns 

And a lot of those championship fights were on network television. Except Leonard-Hearns on HBO. The "happening" weight divisions were welterweight, super-welterweight and middleweight. Ray "Boom-Boom" Mancini brought some interest to the lightweight division, as Holmes, Weaver, Shavers did to the heavies, until Tyson came along. I was a big boxing fan until about the early '90s. Now, with current pro boxers, even on commercial TV, ratings are squat!

Missed the days when the boxing means boxing

Tommy already got cte

Yep. When nobody ducked each other.

​@@billsiems6514 Great points! 📺 🥊 👍🏿

Thanks for the nice story.

Yeah that was real respect he paid to Shuler

He let Wifredo know there were some serious repercussions

Shuler coudn't deal with the loss to Hearns so he committed suicide....

​@@genesisgenesis9888ARE YOU SAYING HE PURPOSELY RAMMED HIS MOTORCYCLE?

Ray Leonard did, and before you "Sugar" lovers talk smash, listen up. Ray ducked a rematch with The Hitman, who was winning every round till he ran outta gas (Which was his M.O.), but not before The Hitman gave that tail a detached retina, then Ray "The Ducker" "retired" LMAO!🤡🤣 to avoid 🫣 The Marvelous One, but waited 6 years to fight him in 1987, where Vegas ROBBED Hagler, then a disgusted Hagler retired for good. Yall yap about Floyd running? Watch how that overrated Ray ran around rings, then call me smh. Benitez should've been king too. The 5th king. He was as slick as they came. Very underrated. FOH

​@SonnyEasy Very well said. Benitez was an all time great. Him & Hagler would've been an interesting fight in 1982-83. You're spot on about that detached retina by Ray Leonard. He was diagnosed with that detached retina in 1982 and retired. Hit Man Hearns detached that retina in September 1981

I think you may have jinxed Hearns considering Hagler beat the shit out of bug eyes Tommy Hearns ...Loved seeing him hammered ..arrogant dude ..all he had was his height ...

add that to his Long reach, and quick reflexes and you have the best of his time

Go back in time and watch all the ALI fights you can find he could really take a hit ken Norton broke ALIs jaw in a early round and never stopped finishing the fight

Truth, those guys were monsters and had heart and determination. The last generation of 15 round fights was awesome to watch, I still find some killer classics here on RU-vid. Enjoy watching

​@@Popi_of_local_ironI remember watching that fight with my dad

Mayweather couldn't beat any of these dudes period

Everyone was a killer back then

Real talk

@@charleshammer2928 that's right

💯% agree with u

Yes I agree too, most elegant boxer

Mines also

I meet benitez at a bar it was sad ,he was drunk speaking Spanish, cussing at negro

​@@DexterSmith-u9mstupid benitez is black too & no you didn't

​@@DexterSmith-u9m I'm so sorry to hear that, I liked Benitez and respected him. One of my favorite fighters from the '80's era along with Sugar Ray, Tommy Hearns, and Roberto Duran. Also, the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler. May they rest in peace! 🙏

@@tubucoco They????? Hagler is the only one that has passed

@@DexterSmith-u9myou was probably the one drunk and cussing at black folks.

Well, those crazy legs REALLY made him look worse vs Hagler and Leonard after getting hit! Whoa!!

Yes indeed there's more to life than boxing😮

@@manlymanhunger7451 back in they days they didn't need a ring full on action could have had the fights in a phone booth

Correct. I actually watched the fight that created the rule change. A fifteen round fight between Ray Boom Boom Mancini, and Doo Koo Kim, where Kim died at the end of the fight. One of the most brutal fights ever. Both fighters took enormous punishment in that slugfest. Ray Mancini was so distraught over Kim's death, he was never really the same fighter after that.

@manlymanhunger7451 yes but 13 through 15 was where the worldchampionship was decided

@@anthonyrobinson-ew7hi no it was not.

L LOL MMMFAO MINES TOO THE BOY CANE TO FIGHT EVERY NITE ALL HEART AND SKILL

@@alhelireese2371 It's the Detroit in him. Motor city cobra 🐍🥊🥊

@@alhelireese2371 It's the Detroit in him. Motor city cobra 🐍🥊🥊

@@Thechosenfool it's was the Detroit in him. The Motor city cobra 🐍🥊

Very true.

Bullshit

If that is true he was an idiot.

@@paulanthony5274 Agree.

@@paulanthony5274it was well documented that benitez probably one of the most lazy fighter ever i mean emile griffith his trainer quit training benitez because how lazy he was like he didnt like training just watch his documentary here on youtube you'll see how lazy benitez's

I'm from PR ....the streets, drugs...

If that fight goes 2 more rounds, Benitez catches and KO's Hearns.

​@@billsiems6514 Agreed

And also Alexis Arguello

Why? What's not to like? Not a shit talker. Respectful. Always fought hard with no excuses. Now Leonard, there's one that's easy to dislike...

I liked Benitez because even though he was a very skilled fighter he was always the underdog against the kings. I wanted him to humble Hearns and Sugar Ray so bad. And I was and still is a fan of Hearns and Sugar Ray. And now he’s suffering from a brain disease SMH

@@dimedraweriv258 Arguello different weight class to the four kings...

​@@robertmceuen3630why's that

Agreed. If Hearns had solidified his balance issues I firmly believe that he would have been even more lethal than he turned out. Balance is a crucial factor in combat sports. That’s what made Ray Leonard so good. He and Salvador Sanchez had the best legs in the business during that era.

Agreed. If Hearns had solidified his balance issues I firmly believe that he would have been even more lethal than he turned out. Balance is a crucial factor in combat sports. That’s what made Ray Leonard so good. He and Salvador Sanchez had the best legs in the business during that era.

MAN TOMMY WAZ A NUT

Fans made boxing weak.

Boxers aren't trying to be walking around with permanent brain damage and hardly capable of putting complete sentences together just for the fans' enjoyment.

Right.

We used to have Hearns, Hagler, Duran, Leonard. Now we have Ryan Garcia and Jake Paul 😅

Too many sanctioning bodies, too many promoters. And it’s the fighters’ fault too. They’re allowed to cherry pick their opponents. Back then you didn’t fight Thomas Hearns unless you HAD to. If Hearns or Benitez were around today they wouldn’t fight. Nobody would fight them. They would be ducked. You think Crawford would pick Hearns as an opponent at 47 or 54? Mayweather pick Hearns? Canelo fight Hearns ‘at 47, 54 or 60 or higher? You know damn well all three would avoid Hearns like the plague. They would say they would fight him but the fight would never materialize.

@nah12412 Could you repost this as a new comment instead of a reply? I'd be happy to pin it-it’s a great question!

@@BoxingAfterDark yesir sure can

Jackson could punch like no other,but Hearn could punch too and was a much better technical fighter.

Isn’t Wilfred Benetiz dead now!!! I know he was homeless and severely Punch Drunk!!!

@@SamuelJohnYoungIII No, he's not dead. He is 65 years old. He has encephalitis, said to be from taking too many blows to the head. Certain groups have set up funds to give him financial help.

​@@SamuelJohnYoungIIIhe's not homeless

More like a circus nowadays, unfortunately.

Yeah, a couple of weeks ago, I watched the "girl-fighting" in the Paris Olympics in ALL weight classes of what they CALLED boxing. No Jabs, No defense, No attack strategy, NO footwork, No SKILL. Floyd Mayweather MAY have been the LAST of the classic boxers.

No it's now just a shadow of what it was. MMA has taken over

So much power!

Tommy Hearns boxed at the "Kronk" gym in Detroit, I don't know what the Bronx gym is.

I agree, it's rare to see fighters make such significant improvements on their stamina. Emanuel Steward deserves a lot of credit for that too

How SRL boxed him had a lot to do this with this one could argue. His legs never really got better . It’s just that sugar ray did a better job of illuminating that. And nearly a decade later when they met again it would be a false positive to say look at the improvement comparing to the first fight. SRL wasn’t nearly what he was though still formidable and Tommy was notably 3 years his junior, that matters when we’re talking a boxer in their mid30s and one who this was their first fight since turning 30. Not to mention steward himself said Hearns’ legs were simply always a liability.

Unfortunately, with Hearns, as with Holmes, Holyfield and before them, Ali and Frazier - they all have/had mumbled speech as they have aged, undoubtedly from all the hits to the head and the constant rocking of the brain inside the cranium. Except for George Foreman, who still seems as sharp mentally as he ever was. Boxing can be lucrative, but a boxer can eventually pay the price.

@@billsiems6514True!

​@@billsiems6514 Remember Big George had a 10 year retirement then came back. Ray Leonard went a period of only 1 fight in 5 years. All that time off helped them both

No doubt

Tommy was always called the hit man. He was a welterweight for years my favorite and he was always nicknamed hitman.

No, his first nickname was the motor city cobra

Parece que no tanto está totalmente destruido como un vegetal debido a los golpes que recibió

Wayyy closer

Parece que no tanto, está totalmente destruido como un vegetal debido a los golpes que recibió

I don't know which nickname is better!!! They both fit. A great talented fighter