As fans may well have read or heard, former three-weight king Iran Barkley – sometimes dubbed ‘The Fifth King,’ this after Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, and Duran – suffered a stroke last week. Currently on the mend and recovering, 64 year old Barkley has had a ton of good wishes sent his way by members of the boxing community (and never let it be forgotten how the boxing world always comes together to support one of its own if hard times come calling).
Barkley, known as “The Blade” during his thrilling, blood and guts ring career, engaged in some truly memorable battles during the 1980s and 1990s. Today – March 20 – marks the anniversary of one of his most satisfying wins.
Barkley had pulled off the upset of the 1980s when he scorched the great Thomas Hearns in 1988, taking the middleweight title. But the critics said Barkley had, to quote a description of what a badly bleeding Barkley had done in turning the fight completely around by KO’ing Hearns in the third round, ‘caught lightning in a bottle.’
This bugged Barkley, and in the 1992 rematch, he was determined to prove his big win was no fluke.
The rematch took place up at light heavyweight, and both men vowed victory. The two fighters promoted the fight very well, as all those who have seen the dual appearance of Barkley and Hearns on ‘The Arsenio Hall Show’ know (the footage is still up on YouTube, and it’s up for grabs who got the better of the verbal exchanges during the show).
The rematch took place in Las Vegas, this the scene of the first fight, and the action was brutal. Barkley, fighting like a man possessed, gave Hearns no room to breathe, while Hearns, the superior boxer of the two, looked good in spurts.
Barkley scored a flash knockdown in round four, one that proved to be crucial at the end of the fight. Hearns often fought off the ropes, and by the later rounds, the punishment Hearns had taken (and while we’re at it, the whole stigma that still, to this day, surrounds Hearns as being a ‘chinny’ fighter is surely nonsense, as the savage shots Tommy took in this fight, and in others, without falling, prove) saw his face swell.
It was only Hearns’ astonishing heart that kept him in there to the bitter end. Barkley too was busted up some, and he had given all he had in order to get the win. The win came, but only via a split decision. Indeed, had Hearns not gone down in the fourth, Barkley would not have gone home a winner.
There was, some years later, talk of a third fight between Barkley and Hearns, but it never happened. Most likely, this was a good thing. Together, these two legends shared a ring for a little under 15 rounds in total. Hearns may well have won as many of these rounds as Barkley won, but in the end, “The Blade” was too sharp for “The Hitman.”
Barkley is in the record books as being the only man to have beaten Hearns twice.
