SUGAR RAY LEONARD vs. THOMAS HEARNS (2) KO 

Description : Here we have a great KO magazine 8 page fold out super-fight special for the long overdue re-match between Leonard & Hearns at Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

After almost eight years, the Leonard-Hearns rematch finally happened. It was promoted as "The War". Leonard (35-1 with 25 KOs) and Hearns (46-3 with 38 KOs) met on June 12, 1989 at Caesar's Palace in a scheduled twelve-rounder for the WBC & WBO super-middleweight titles.

Hearns dropped Leonard with a right cross in the third round, but Leonard came back and battered Hearns around the ring in the fifth round. Early in the seventh round, Hearns hurt Leonard but punched himself out going for the knockout. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. Rounds nine and ten were good rounds for Leonard, but he ran into trouble in the eleventh round. Three booming rights from Hearns sent Leonard down for the second time in the fight. Knowing he needed a big finish, Leonard fought furiously and had a big final round.

Now we get what is known as a "VEGAS" decision!! The judges scored the fight a draw, with both boxers retaining their respective titles. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 113-112 for Hearns, Judge Tom Kazmarek scored it 113-112 for Leonard, and Judge Dalby Shirley scored it 112-112. Shirley was the only judge to give Leonard a 10-8 margin in the twelfth. If he had scored it 10-9, as his two colleagues did, Hearns would have won by a split decision. The decision was soundly booed, as most felt that Tommy Hearns had done more than enough to have won. Eventually, Leonard admitted that Hearns deserved the decision.

There was talk of a third fight, but it never happened. Leonard had his attorney, Mike Trainer, pursue a third fight, but Hearns said that he could no longer make the weight and was returning to light-heavyweight.

Postage: 5.00 UK Postage... 20.00 International registered.