By Klaas Mabetlela: It is natural that people will always think the boxers around them are greater than the yester-years’ boxers and these debates will always be there for as long as the sport of boxing exists. Manny Pacquiao’s devastating performances have revived debates on all-time greats of the fistic arena.

I am looking at the career of Thomas Hearns to help fans to calm a bit, take a backward step and dig deeper when the issue of all time greats is debated. He may not make the top 10 or even 20 of many all-time list, but he epitomizes greatness to the fullest mainly due to the body of his work.

Hearns stands as one of the most electrifying fighter of all-times and had a mixture of strengths and weaknesses to ensure full-blast entertainment every time he fought. He won 8 titles in 6 divisions beating more than twenty champions in his 23 years career. The issue of multiple-weight champs is relevant today after Manny Pacquiao claimed his 7th division with his destruction of Miguel Cotto. Other multiple-weight titlists are Ray Leonard, Duran, Armstrong, Whitaker and others.

Hearns’ greatest win was against the top 10 all-time great, Roberto Duran who was slaughtered in 2 rounds, earning Hearns Ring’s fighter of the year for 1984. Hearns also beat Hall of Famers like Wilfred Benitez, Pipino Cuevas (Second round demolition that earned him Ring’s fighter of the year for 1980) and Virgil Hill who was the best Light- Heavyweight champion at the time and was undefeated. He also lost to all-time greats in Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard in epic fights. He later drew with Leonard in a fight that even Leonard admitted of losing after being dropped twice in the fight. The only disappointing losses in Hearn’s resume were pair of losses to Iran Barkley.

I know it is water under the bridge and I have the benefit of hindsight here, but I think Hearns’ career as great as it was, would have been greater if he displayed restraint and not always going out to entertain no matter what. His team did not need to take the first Sugar Ray fight when they did after only 3 defenses of welterweight title. He was relatively green and the end of the fight proved that. He did not even hold when tagged after boxing Sugar Ray’s ears off for 12 and half rounds. He wanted to proof to the world that he was the best fighter in the world.

The same thing happened when he fought Marvin Hagler. His team would have negotiated harder as Leonard did when he fought Hagler 2 years later. Maybe, they would have forced a maximum weight for the fight at say 157lbs. Hearns was coming up from Super-Welterweight to meet the strong, number 1 pound for pounder who has been a champion for 5 years. The Hitman also went into a fight to knock a bigger, stronger man out instead of using his well-documented boxing skills. We do not know if he would have won which I doubt, but that is another debate on its own. He was stopped in 3 rounds in arguably the best fight of all times and definitely the best 1st round of all times.

Again, the same story goes with the Leonard rematch. Hearns agreed to a stipulated weight of 164lbs for a 168lbs championship and the extra weight would have come handy for a taller Hearns. I also feel that he should have gone earlier and stayed longer at Super-Welterweight, the weight in which most rate him as the best of all times. There are fights in which he would have been better conditioned especially his second fight against Iran Barkley.

Thomas Hearns will always be appreciated for an overall contribution to the sport as the body of his work attest. His attitude of always giving the fans the best fights and entertainment may have compromised him a little, but the same attitude ensured the fans the kind of memorable epic fights we can only dream of today. He went after the best and sometimes to his own detriment but when the real men are asked to stand; The Hitman proudly wears the badge of honour as an all-time great.