Originally billed simply as ‘The Fight’, the world middleweight championship bout between Thomas ‘Hitman’ Hearns and ‘Marvelous’ Marvin Hagler at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas on April 15, 1985 lasted just three rounds, yet was named ‘Fight of the Year’ by ‘The Ring’ magazine.Hagler, 30, was the undisputed world middleweight champion – and had been since September, 1980 – while Hearns, 26, was the reigning WBC light-middleweight, but moved up in weight to face Hagler.
The opening round was truly unforgettable. Both fighters started aggressively, with Hearns hurting Hagler, more than once, with flush right-hand punches – one which fractured his hand – and Hagler countering, with a right hand of his own, late in the round. After a breathless, action-packed first round, the tempo had to drop and it did. Nevertheless, boxing on the outside, Hearns used his jab to open cuts, which bled copiously, over both the eyes of his opponent. Hagler responded by increasing his work rate on the inside and, late on in round two, trapped Hearns against the ropes and hurt him with several blows to his head and body.
In the third, and final, round, Hearns once again started on the outside, but after a short timeout, for the ringside doctor to examine Hagler, the defending champion resumed with renewed vigour. Shortly afterwards, he caught Hearns with a right hand, followed by another, and another, which dropped him to the canvas. Remarkably, Hearns rose to his feet at the count of nine, but was clearly unfit to continue and the fight was stopped.