Many will be surprised to discover that Thomas Hearns, one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of his era, did not name Sugar Ray Leonard or Marvin Hagler as the best overall opponent he ever faced.
The pair then collided once more in 1989, this time at a catchweight of 164lbs, with many believing that Hearns was unfortunate to come away with a draw.
Based on their two iconic matchups, though, Hearns has nonetheless credited Leonard as having the greater skills, power, hand speed, boxing IQ and jab than any of his other opponents.
As for Hagler, their scintillating three-round middleweight war, which took place in 1985, was ultimately enough for Hearns to regard him as having the greatest chin and strength of any fighter that he came up against.
But despite losing to both Leonard and Hagler, the American has named Wilfred Benitez, a man he outpointed in 1982, as his best overall opponent.
The pair squared off in a super-welterweight encounter where Benitez, who had just beaten Roberto Duran, was making the third defence of his WBC world title.
For this particular assignment, Hearns was forced to adopt a far more measured approach – against a slick technician – to what he had shown in previous fights, which ultimately saw him edge a majority decision.
Speaking with Ring Magazine, Hearns praised his former opponent’s crafty movement and overall skillset, declaring him to have been slightly better than Leonard and Hagler.
“I would say Wilfred Benitez was very good. He was slick and very crafty. I like Benitez’s craft. He moved well and fights all around the ring.”
