Guest Post: Thomas Hearns - The Archetype
Photo by Paul Kennedy /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images/Getty Images
The following article is a guest submission from Discord server patron Matt Gioia (@Gioiabeans), a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who studies history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Matt is one of the most appreciated and active patrons of The Fight Site. We know him well for his admiration of the likes of Robert Whittaker, Nieky Holzken, Keenan Cornelius and the ‘Motor City Cobra’ Thomas Hearns.
Opinions expressed in this piece are the author’s alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Fight Site staff.
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Versatility has always been a prized attribute amongst fighters. The most impressive wins in combat sports history have come when a legendary fighter overcomes what should be a crippling stylistic matchup to achieve victory. Spectacles such as Duran-Leonard 1 will always be etched into boxing lore, yet there is also something beautiful in watching a fighter master a style of fighting, where he only needs to make slight tweaks to achieve victory. There is no other fighter that has had the same level of success, critical acclaim, and consistent ability to deliver jaw dropping violence with the same tactics and strategy as Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns.
Hearns has been characterized by some as just a power puncher, which is a gross oversimplification of one of the greatest boxers in history. While Hearns did capitalize on his height and reach, it is impossible to ignore the tactics and pure skill Hearns displayed on his way toward becoming a five weight world champion.
While Hearns was notorious for his cross, his jab was the engine of his offensive attack. Hearns predominantly used two types of jabs, a flicker jab and the pawing jab. As Hearns was at his best when controlling the rhythm of the fight, he primarily used his pawing jab to put his opponents on the back foot. For a great many of his fights, Hearns’ first actions consisted of either throwing or feinting a series of flicker jabs, to establish both a rhythm and a distance.
Here, Hearns starts the fight by employing the flicker jab to freeze Kinchen, taking the center of the ring.
Hearns immediately fires off the flicker jab to stop Cuevas from slipping inside. This forces Cuevas to retreat and fight at the distance that favors Hearns.
Even when the flicker jab doesn’t connect, it forces Hearns’ opponents to retreat to a distance favorable to Hearns. Duran, the sport’s greatest in-fighter cannot get into his optimal range due to the threat of the flicker jab.
As a predominant front foot fighter, it was absolutely critical for Hearns to force his opponents to fight at his range while controlling the pace of the bout, making the flicker jab an ideal part of his game.
The flicker jab was employed by Hearns to back his opponents into the ropes without diminishing the distance between him and his opponent.
Hearns effortlessly backs up his opponent while keeping the optimal distance.
Hearns uses his flicker jab to back Duran up against the rope, with the assistance of the threat of the cross.
In itself, the flicker jab can be a dangerous weapon, but when a fighter is able to use it to manipulate rhythm, it becomes deadly. Hearns manipulated rhythm in two ways, through feinting and attacking on the half beat.
One of the most interesting ways Hearns feinted was by moving his hand in a scything motion. This motion mirrored the manner in which Hearns threw his jab making it extremely difficult to decipher when Hearns was actually going to throw his flicker jab.
Hearns employment of this type of feint makes Duran hesitant to close the distance between the two.
Here, the scything motion lulls Espada, until Hearns lands two flicker jabs against the ropes.
Hearns combines the scything motion with feints to back Duran into the ropes.
Hearns lulls Leonard with this motion before he explodes with his patented 1-2 combination.
While Hearns’ cross was dangerous by itself, when paired with his flicker jab, Hearns was able to devastate opponents. His primary tactic in deploying this combination was attacking opponents on the half beat with his cross following a series of flicker jabs.
Both of Hearns’ jabs come on the one beat, forcing his opponent to become accustomed to that rhythm, which he promptly breaks by throwing his cross on the half beat.
After backing Cuevas into the ropes, Hearns once again throws a 1-1-2 combination, with the cross coming on the half beat.
This tactic was not exclusively aimed at the head of his opponents, as Hearns was an adept body puncher. He often used the flicker jab to lower the guard of his opponent to open up more opportunities to land a flush cross.
Hearns’ two body jabs force Duran to lower his guard to protect his midsection, as Hearns follows the second jab with a cross on the half beat to drop Duran.
Hearns finishes Duran with the exact same combination, attacking with the cross on the half beat.
While Hearns’ flicker jab was amazing within itself, it was not the only type of jab he relied on. Hearns used the pawing jab to measure opponents before delivering the kill shot.
The purpose of the pawing jab is to obstruct the line of sight of your opponent and to measure the distance between you and your opponent using your own hand as a frame. This type of jab was such a lethal tool for Hearns as he was able to keep his opponent at the end of his reach, where they would not be able to touch him.
In this sequence, Hearns uses the pawing jab to measure his opponent. He keeps his glove on the neck of his opponent to stop him from countering. When his opponent tries to come in, Hearns starts to throw his cross before he extracts his lead hand to block the view of his cross. Right before his cross connects, he pulls his lead hand back surprising his opponent, as his pawing jab was obstructing his opponents vision, resulting in a finish.
Hearns was even able to turn the pawing jab into a collar tie to off balance his opponents and to put them into compromising positions.
Even though the flicker jab and the pawing jab were instrumental in Hearns’ success, it is impossible to deny that his greatest attribute was his right cross. Hearns’ cross differed from most crosses in the history of the sport due to the height advantage he had over the vast majority of his opponents. Instead of throwing the cross straight across his body, Hearn’s cross had a downward arc to it.
This technique allowed Hearns to put the optimal amount of power behind his cross, coming down on his opponent like an overhand.
Hearns did employ other tactics other than these three weapons. When opponents either shelled up or parried Hearns’ jab, Hearns attacked with a left hook to both the head and the body.
Leonard attempts to parry Hearns’ jab, Hearns responds by throwing a left hook behind the ear.
As Leonard shells up in response to the pawing jab, Hearns loads up on a left hook to the body as a counter.
The left hook was an optimal weapon for Hearns following his cross, as the force of his hook makes Hearns somewhat square to his opponent, creating an angle to throw his hook to the body
Hearns’ forward momentum due to his cross makes the left hook to the body the natural follow up, due to the danger associated with Hearns’ cross, opponents were protecting their chins, leaving their torso vulnerable.
Hearns connects with a 1-2 combination, forcing Leonard to shell up, creating the opening for the left hook to the body.
When using the left hook Hearns sometimes employed lever punching, throwing a jab to the head as a either a lead or a follow up to the hook.
Anticipating a cross to follow the jab, Leonard brings up his lead hand to protect himself against the cross while dropping his back hand to protect against the anticipated hook to the body, Hearns counters by throwing a left hook to the head.
The threat of Hearns’ 1-2 forces Leonard to shell up, giving Hearns a perfect opportunity to work the body, which he uses a left hook for, with a follow up jab.
When the distance between Hearns and his opponent was closed, Hearns used two primary weapons, a tight left hook and a rear hand uppercut.
Hearns is no longer at the proper distance to utilize his jab or cross so he attacks Leonard’s body with left hooks to the body.
In this sequence, against an aggressive opponent desperate to stay on the inside with Hearns, Hearns uses a rear hand uppercut to force Hagler to take a step back.
Facing yet another hard charge by Hagler, Hearns uses a combination of rear hand uppercuts and hooks to create space to throw his patented cross.
While it is true that Hearns preferred to be out at range where he could use his physical gifts to his advantage, it is also clear that he was not at a complete disadvantage when forced to compete outside of his comfort zone.
Tommy Hearns was the most explosive fighter of his day, with perhaps the most feared punch in all of boxing history. But, to think of him as just a physical dynamo is a disservice to the man known as “The Hitman”. Hearns employed a deft left hand that set up his devastating cross in multiple ways. His fights with Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvin Hagler are still talked about to this day, with the latter considered to be the greatest boxing match in history. Tommy Hearns didn’t just have great physical tools, he had a style that maximized them, leading him to become the icon that he is today.