Thomas Hearns Says Marvin Hagler Was ‘Different Class’ — Ray Leonard Did the Most Damage
Thomas Hearns has revisited his epic run against the other members of boxing’s Four Kings, naming Marvin Hagler as the hardest puncher he ever faced while conceding that Sugar Ray Leonard inflicted the most damage on him.
Thomas Hearns on power: Hagler the hardest puncher
In a recent interview, Thomas Hearns described Marvin Hagler as being on another level when it came to punching power. Hearns said Hagler was "different class" compared with Roberto Duran and that Hagler was the hardest puncher he fought. That assessment references their three-round middleweight clash, a fight that remains one of the most celebrated three-round battles in the sport, with Hagler emerging as the unified world champion from the encounter.
The comment underscores a view shaped by weight classes and physicality: Hagler was a natural middleweight in that meeting, and Hearns singled him out specifically for the raw power he absorbed during their short but brutal contest.
Damage and drama: Leonard left the deepest mark
Despite praising Hagler’s power, Thomas Hearns also said that Sugar Ray Leonard dealt the most sustained damage across their meetings. Hearns pointed to the length and intensity of his battles with Leonard — the pair shared 26 rounds across two high-profile fights — and concluded that the Leonard fights resulted in the greatest cumulative toll.
Hearns’ recollections reference several concrete outcomes from those rivalries: he was stopped by Leonard a 14th-round defeat in their 1981 meeting, and the two later fought to a controversial draw in 1989. Against Roberto Duran, Hearns recorded a second-round knockout to retain his WBC super-welterweight title, while his bout with Hagler was the explosive three-round middleweight showdown that left Hagler unified champion.
These details form the basis of Hearns’ distinction between power and damage — acknowledging Hagler’s single-fight power while recognizing Leonard’s ability to inflict the most overall harm across longer contests.
Legacy and record left on the table
Hearns also reflected on his wider career figures while discussing those rivalries. Across his professional career he amassed 61 wins, including 48 stoppages out of those victories, and finished with a record of 61-5-1. He compiled those totals across a near three-decade span in the ring, campaigning between multiple weight divisions and ultimately becoming a five-division world champion.
The comparisons Hearns draws between Hagler, Leonard and Duran are rooted in a catalogue of memorable outcomes: the 14th-round stoppage by Leonard, the second-round knockout of Duran to retain a title at super-welterweight, and the three-round war with Hagler that crowned a unified middleweight champion. In naming Hagler the hardest puncher he faced while crediting Leonard with doing the most damage, Hearns has added another personal layer to how those classic fights are remembered.
His reflections highlight the different ways fighters measure impact inside the ring — raw knockout power in a single exchange versus the accumulative effect over multiple rounds — and they bring fresh perspective to some of boxing’s most storied clashes.
