One of the most dramatic fights in Sugar Ray Leonard’s career almost went very badly for the legendary boxer.
In 1981, two of the Four Kings faced off when WBA Welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard and WBC Welterweight champion Thomas Hearns clashed in a unification bout at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
The fight was one of the best of both men’s careers and one of the most anticipated super fights in boxing’s history.
Unfathomably, it managed to live up to the extraordinary hype, as Leonard fought back from behind to knock out Hearns in the penultimate round of the fight.
It was one of boxing’s greatest comebacks, although Leonard admitted that he finally understood something Muhammad Ali told him years prior.
Sugar Ray Leonard admitted he felt ‘close to death’ in the ring with Thomas Hearns
Leonard finally understood what Ali had confessed to him years before when he stepped into the ring with Hearns for the first time.
In 2018, Leonard spoke with GQ Sports about his most famous fights, including his first bout with Hearns in 1981.
He recalled how difficult it was to fight the taller and quicker Hearns, revealing he felt “closest to death” during the bout.
Muhammad Ali had previously told him that was how he felt during his fight against Joe Frazier, and it took until he stepped into the ring with Hearns for Leonard to truly understand what he meant.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be in the ring against someone so great as Tommy Hearns.
“It wasn’t until Muhammad Ali told me many years ago – he said, ‘Ray, when I fought Joe Frazier, it was the closest thing to death’ – and I didn’t quite understand that.
“I couldn’t digest that. The fight with Tommy Hearns was the closest thing to death because you’re exhausted, you can’t keep your hands up, you know this guy – if you give him a chance – would knock your block off.”
Hearns was stopped by Leonard in the 14th round, which stopped there being a huge controversy after the bout finished.
The knockout saved Sugar Ray Leonard from a bigger judging controversy
If the Hearns/Leonard fight had gone the distance, the controversy surrounding the judges’ scoring would have been even bigger.
Despite Hearns being the better man in the early rounds, Leonard dominated rounds six and seven, battering the WBC champion and causing some real damage.
However, the judges’ scorecards didn’t reflect this, only awarding Leonard the 10-9 victory in those rounds.
Had the fight gone the distance, there is a chance it would have been a close fight, and Leonard could have lost his title thanks to the controversial scoring by the judges.