Thomas Hearns says Marvin Hagler was the hardest puncher he faced and names Leonard fight as the most damaging

Thomas Hearns told Marko Boxing that Marvin Hagler was "a different class" as a puncher, even as he singled out his wars with Sugar Ray Leonard as the contests that did the most damage to him. The former five-division world champion pointed to both the three-round tear-up with Hagler and his lengthy rivalry with Leonard when weighing who hit hardest and who left the deepest toll.

Thomas Hearns says Hagler was 'a different class'

Hearns gave Hagler special billing when asked to rank the power he faced. "Marvin Hagler was [in] a different class [to] Roberto Duran. I think Marvin was the hardest puncher [I fought], " he said. The two men met in an iconic three-round middleweight contest in 1985, a fight that left a lasting impression on Hearns despite its short duration; Hagler emerged from that bout as the unified world champion.

Hearns: Leonard 'did the most damage' across their fights

At the same time, Hearns described his fights with Sugar Ray Leonard as the most damaging to him physically. "[Who gave me] the most trouble? I really didn’t have too much trouble with anybody but the biggest fight was probably the fight with me and Ray, " he said. Hearns and Leonard shared 26 rounds across their meetings; Hearns suffered a 14th-round stoppage defeat to Leonard in 1981 and later fought to a controversial draw in a 1989 rematch at super-middleweight.

Knockouts, titles and the Duran knockout

Hearns also reflected on Roberto Duran, whom he stopped in the second round to retain the WBC super-welterweight title in 1984. Known as a knockout specialist, Hearns finished that encounter quickly, while his broader résumé featured 48 stoppages in 61 victories and the claim of becoming boxing’s first five-division world champion.

Across four fights with his fellow "Four Kings"—Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler—Hearns compiled a 1-2-1 record against that elite trio, halting Duran but being stopped by Leonard and Hagler and drawing in the 1989 rematch with Leonard.

Hearns continued to compete until 2006, ending a near 30-year professional career with a record of 61-5-1. His comments to Marko Boxing come nearly four decades after the 1985 fight with Hagler and after decades of high-profile bouts against the era’s top names.