By Jim Dower: Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Ronald Hearns (18-0, 14 KOs) stopped Juan Astorga (12-2-1, 7 KOs) in the 8th round of a scheduled 10-round bout on Saturday night on the undercard of Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hearns, 29, the son of famous boxing champion Tommy Hearns, knocked Astorga, 29, down twice in the fight, the 2nd time coming in the 8th round, leading to referee Jay Nady to stop the fight at 1:10 of the round.
At 6’3″, Hearns had four inches of height over Astorga, who even removing the size difference out of the equation, he was out of his class against Hearns and had no business being in the same ring with him in my view. Hearns resembles his father somewhat in appearance, but his power is much less impressive, instead he wins more by speed rather than the crushing power of his famous father.
Hearns easily won the first round, using his long reach to jab and land left hooks & right hands to the head of Astorga. Hearns looked very thin, and a little weak for the fight, but his punches seemed to have a decent – not great – amount of power despite his rail thin physique. Astorga didn’t throw more than a couple of punches in the round, and looked more like he’d rather be someplace else.
Hearns continued controlling the action in the second and third rounds, mostly jabbing and throwing long right hands. When he’d land with his right, he looked good, almost like carbon copy of his father. Astorga was hurt by a right hand from Hearns early in the third round, and was briefly staggered by the punch, immediately backing up. Hearns, however, showed great patience, because he didn’t even attempt to go after him to try and finish him off. Tommy Hearns would have been all over Astorga, no doubt, and would have quickly finished him off if given the same circumstances. Ronald Hearns, though, seemed to want to make the fight last longer, perhaps wanting the large ringside crowd to see more of him.
In the fourth and fifth round, Hearns began using his jab more often, keeping Astorga contained on the outside. It wasn’t as if Astorga was trying to attack him, though, but it was still good practice for Hearns for when/if he ever decides to step it up a class beyond the mediocre fighters that he’s fought during his short career. In the fifth round, Hearns dropped Astorga with a long right hand at the end of the round. Astorga was hurt, and if there had been a little more time left, Hearns, if he had been so inclined, could have very easily have ended the fight.
Hearns remained patient in the sixth and seventh rounds, seeming not to even try to take Astorga out. Hearns used his jab, steering Astorga around the ring with it whichever way he pleased. Occasionally, Hearns would throw a nice left hook to the body and head, making sure to double up on it each time. In terms of technique, Hearns looked good for someone with no real amateur background. As for Astorga, he was still doing next to nothing. He did, however, landed several decent shots in the 7th round, as Hearns seemed to be taking the round off.
In the 8th round, Hearns almost immediately staggered Astorga with a left hand to the head. Hearns followed up with two more right hands, sending a hurt Astorga down to the canvas. He attempted to rise, but the fight was stopped by Jay Nady at 1:10 of the round.
A good win for Hearns, but he needs to consider moving up in weight because he’s too thin and weak-looking for the junior middleweight division. Sooner or later, once he steps it up against a hard-punching fighter, he’s going to have big problems. At 29, he doesn’t have a lot of time to waste fighting marginal fighters as he’s done in his career, and he needs to start fighting better fighters or risk wasting his career.