Boxing
Tommy Hitman Hearns Reflects on His Powerful Knockout Victory Over Barkley
Barkley brought a 24-4 record and little of Hearns’ glamour. The Bronx pressure fighter had already failed in one title bid, losing a 15-round decision to Sumbu Kalambay in 1987. A fifth-round stoppage of Michael Olajide earned him another opportunity, but the 4-1 odds reflected how the public viewed it. Barkley was tough enough to absorb punishment, not skilled enough to defeat Hearns.
Those opening two rounds supported that judgment. Hearns controlled the distance with his long jab, drove right hands through Barkley’s guard, and ripped punches into the body. A cut opened above Barkley’s left eye in the first round. By the end of the second, he had also suffered a cut over his right eye and a laceration on his lower lip.
Each judge had Hearns ahead 20-18. He had landed 52 percent of his 157 punches, compared with 31 percent of 122 for Barkley. Attempting 157 in slightly more than eight minutes also revealed the risk hidden inside his dominance. He was not content to conduct a long-range boxing lesson. He kept stepping within Barkley’s reach to deliver sustained power combinations.
Such aggression ran against the safest strategy available to Hearns. His height, reach, jab, and superior hand speed allowed him to score without accepting equal danger. Once Barkley began bleeding, however, Hearns fought as though a stoppage was waiting to be collected. Instead of using his legs after each attack, he stayed in range to admire his work and reload.
Attacking the body was effective, but it required Hearns to spend more time at midrange. Barkley was being hurt without being physically displaced. Every combination gave him another chance to recognize when Hearns entered, which hand returned slowly, and where the champion moved after finishing.
Although Hearns had carried his power through several divisions, the added muscle did not eliminate defensive habits formed at lighter weights. He often held his lead hand near his waist before snapping the flicker jab upward from an unusual angle. Against shorter welterweights, that style made the jab difficult to read and created a long barrier they had to cross.
At 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds, Barkley was neither markedly shorter nor physically fragile. He possessed the thicker upper body of a natural middleweight, absorbed punches that had overwhelmed smaller opponents, and retained enough strength to throw with full force after taking sustained punishment.
Those injuries increased the urgency. With cuts above both eyes and another on his lip, Barkley could not count on receiving unlimited time. A cautious response would have let Hearns keep widening the lead while the damage worsened. Barkley instead accepted that he might have only a few opportunities left and began searching for one decisive counter.
Hearns’ low lead hand supplied the target. He repeatedly jabbed, lowered his left glove, and moved in the same direction after punching. Barkley started tracking that exit. He did not need to match Hearns’ speed if he could anticipate where the champion’s head would be.
Late in the third, Hearns jabbed and drifted to his left with the lead hand dropping. Barkley did not answer with a standard straight punch. His right hand traveled in an arc over the downward path of Hearns’ glove and entered the blind spot produced by the champion’s upright retreat.
It landed flush and instantly separated Hearns from his legs. Another right sent him flat onto his back.
Although Hearns managed to rise before referee Richard Steele completed the count, standing was not the same as recovering. His legs crossed beneath him, his posture remained unstable, and he could not establish a defensive position. Steele gave him an opportunity to continue because he had beaten the count, then watched Barkley drive him helplessly backward through the ropes.
Stopping the fight at 2:39 of the third round prevented Barkley from landing further unreturned punches. Steele did not need to diagnose what Hearns was seeing. The champion’s equilibrium and inability to protect himself supplied enough evidence.
Offensive control can conceal defensive danger, as the finish demonstrated. Hearns had the faster hands, straighter punches, and greater command of range. His high output magnified the cost of every lapse, while his desire to force a stoppage repeatedly placed him where Barkley’s heavier, looping punches could reach him.
Victory still required exceptional risk tolerance from Barkley. He had to withstand the jab, body shots, and right hands while staying within countering range. Bloodied and falling behind, he recognized one repeated flaw and committed fully to exploiting it.
The Ring named Barkley’s victory its 1988 Upset of the Year. Hearns briefly discussed retirement, then returned to defeat James Kinchen for the inaugural WBO super middleweight title. Barkley lost the WBC belt to Roberto Duran in his first defense the following February.
Four years later, Barkley challenged Hearns for the WBA light-heavyweight championship on March 20, 1992. In the fourth round, he countered a Hearns right hand with a left hook to score the fight’s only knockdown. That moment proved decisive when Barkley earned a split decision after 12 punishing rounds.
Barkley remains the only boxer to defeat Hearns twice. The first victory required him to survive a beating, identify one repeated flaw, and trust that a single right hand could erase everything that had happened before it.
Photo: AI-improved.
Principality Stadium secures the British heavyweight fight, with a London press conference next week and the undercard to follow.
Anthony Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) and Tyson Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) will fight at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday, December 11. Netflix will broadcast the full event exclusively after organizers secured a British venue for the heavyweights’ first professional meeting.
Turki Alalshikh announced the fight, and Joshua and Fury are scheduled to attend a London press conference next week. The supporting card will be announced later; no undercard opponents were named in the supplied announcement.
The December date replaces the November plan discussed earlier in negotiations. Wembley had been Joshua’s preferred destination, but Cardiff secured the event following talks over whether the fight would remain in Britain or move to the United States.
Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn insisted on a UK venue. His contract included that requirement, and their position held despite discussions involving New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Dana White said: “For more than a decade, boxing fans have been clamoring for the heavyweight showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Together, they bring 66 wins, 52 knockouts and multiple heavyweight world titles into the ring. On December 11, two of the biggest heavyweights of this generation finally collide and the winner will take a significant place in heavyweight history.”
Netflix to broadcast the full Cardiff card
Netflix’s preference for an evening American broadcast drove the push to stage the fight across the Atlantic. Madison Square Garden emerged as the leading US option before negotiations returned to Britain.
Cardiff keeps the contest on British soil, with a late opening bell expected to accommodate viewers in the United States.
The main event is expected around 1 a.m. UK timealthough the exact time has not been confirmed. If that schedule holds. A 1 a.m. GMT start would put the main event at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, December 11 for viewers on America’s east coast.
The fight is expected to take place beneath Principality Stadium’s retractable roof.
London press conference scheduled for next week
Alalshikh welcomed the agreement after months of negotiations over the event.
“Two of the best heavyweights of this generation, finally in the ring together. This will be one of the biggest fights in boxing history, I am very happy to make this fight happen for the fans,” he said.
Joshua and Fury previously signed a two-fight agreement in 2021. That booking collapsed after an arbitration ruling required Fury to face Deontay Wilder again.
Their December meeting now has a confirmed date, venue and broadcaster. Next week’s press conference will bring both fighters to London, with the remaining card and precise event timetable still to follow.
Eddie Hearn says Netflix ‘didn’t get the memo’ on Dana White, Fury-Joshua
UFC pulls Mickey Gall from long-awaited return for medical reasons
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua finally confirmed for Dec. 11 in Cardiff
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