The Sporting-Views
Welterweight summer.. ..
... Hearns is best
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE
In the world of boxing, this has been the summer of the welterweights.
Back on June 20, it was WBC champ Sugar Ray Leonard putting his title on
the line against the man with "fists of stone," Roberto Duran. That fight at-
tracted more attention than any other since the Muhammad Ali era.
In a close fight that lasted the full 15 rounds, it was Duran who left th1
Olympic Stadium in Montreal wearing the WBC belt.
Then on August 2 came "World War II", as the promoters called it. It
was the pride of the Motor City, Thomas Hearns, vs. the man who had held
the WBA version of the title for four years. Jose 'Pipino' Cuevas. This fight
only lasted 1 rounds, however. That's how long it took Hearns before he
sent the Mexican falling to the canvas. That's also how long it took Hearns to
convince any remaining skeptic that the young Detroiter was undeniably the
best fighter among the welterweights.
I must admit that I underestimated Hearns before the fight. He had
never really been hit in any of his previous 28 pro buts, so no one knew how
well he could take a punch. He had never fought an opponent the quality of
Cuevas, either. He didn't seem to be as invincible as everyone was saying he
was.
Cuevas was no pushover
But after seeing what he did to Cuevas, I'm a believer. To understand
the full significance of the fight,.one must realize a few things about the
dethroned champion. Cuevas had never even been knocked down in a pro
fight before he met Hearns. That's since he turned pro eight years ago, at
age 15.
He won the title at age 18 and defended it successfully 11 times before
Hearns, came along. He certainly did not seem to be a pushover for the
"Hitman". But in spite of these glowing credentials, Hearns demolished
Cuevas.
The fight seemed like a mismatch right from the opening bell. Hearns
never let up on his shorter opponent. Cuevas only landed one solid punch - a
left hook in the first round. But nothing seemed to bother Hearns. He simply
spent the first round getting to know his opponent before disposing of him in
the second with two devastating rights to the head.
After seeing both the "Brawl in Montreal" and the "Showdown in
Motown", I am convinced beyond any doubt that Thomas Hearns is the best
fighter in what is boxing's toughest division.
Take Duran, for instance. The WBC champ is much like Cuevas except
for the fact that he doesn't possess the kind of knockout punch that Cuevas
has. That would make Duran an even easier target for Hearns than Cuevas
was. Hearns would destroy Duran, "fists of stone" and all. But I wouldn't
think that Duran would be too eager to jump in the ring with Hearns after
seeing what happened to Cuevas.
Leonard would fare the best
The fighter with the best chance against the "Motor City Cobra" would
be Leonard. Sugar Ray is almost as tall as Hearns, which would negate one
of Hearns' biggest assets. He is also a fine technical boxer. The only thing
that Leonard lacks is the type of killer instinct that it takes to be the best in
the ring. It's sad to say, but Leonard is too much of a "nice guy" when it
comes to boxing. Hearns isn't.
Although he's one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet outside
the ring, once he puts on the gloves he fights like a man possessed. One could
see during the last fight the single-minded fury in Hearns' eyes. He has in-
credible concentration. That's what sets him apart from Leonard.
But we aren't likely to see Hearns fight Leonard anyway, at least not for
a while. After he won the crown, Hearns indicated that he wants to make
Leonard wait for a shot at the title. "When Sugar was the champ, he wouldn't
give us a shot," said Hearns. "So now I think it's fair that we should make
him wait."
According to Emmanuel Steward, the boxing genius behind both Hearns
and WBA lightweight champ Hilmer Kenty, the schedule calls for Hearns to
fight again in the fall, probably against some relative unknown. Then he
would face a major opponent in January, such as Duran, Leonard or maybe
even Wilfred Benitez, the ex-WBC champ who lost the title to Leonard.
Whoever it is, Hearns will most likely win in the same fashion that he's
won 27 of his 29 fights, by knockout. Steward has said that pound for pound,
Hearns is the best fighter since the famed middleweight, Sugar Ray Robin-
son. That may well be true.
Detroit finally has its champion, and he is a great one. And from the
looks of things, Thomas Hearns should remain one for quite a while.
The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, August 12, 1980-Page 15
Sports
SIGNS WITH WINNIPEG
Eaves goes pro
By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE tin. "But the real question mark is how
First-year Michigan hockey coach much offensive power we're going to be
Wilf Martin has been dealt a blow to his able to produce.
plans for a winning season this winter. "IF BRUNO BASSEOTO continues at
Murray Eaves, the sophomore center the same pace as last year, then he
from Windsor who led the Wolverine should be able to help us considerably,"
icers in scoring last season, has chosen said the Blue coach.
to play professional hockey with the The loss of Eaves, who was the first
Winnipeg Jets next year. college player selected in the draft,
Eaves, chosen in the third round of came as no surprise to Martin, who in-
June's hockey draft by the Jets, dicated after the draft that the icer
decided to give up his remaining two would probably sign with the Jets "if
years of eligibility with Michigan to the money is right." The terms of the
play for Winnipeg. contract were undisclosed, but ob-
"IT'S NOT EASY to say at this time viously the money was right.
'Any time a team loses its
leading scorer, it has to
hurt.'
-Hockey coach
Wilf Martin
what the effect will be on us," said Mar-
tin. "But any time a team loses its
leading scorer, then it has to hurt."
Martin-also indicated that the other
Wolverines selected in the draft, goalie
Paul Fricker and defensemen Dave
Richter and Brian Lundberg, would all
be returning to Ann Arbor next year.
The loss of Eaves is bound to hurt the
Blue icers offensively, according to
Martin. "We have all our goalies and
defensemen coming back," said Mar-
Eaves
... leaves Michigan
MSU ehief asks
for NCAA, probe
EAST LANSING (UPI) - Michigan
State University President Cecil
Mackey has asked for an NCAA in-
vestigation into alleged travel
irregularities involving the parents of
Spartan basketball players.
An aide to Athletic Director Doug
Weaver said Monday the NCAA in-
vestigation was requested routinely
about two months ago when Mackey
asked for a Big Ten Conference probe
into the alumni association-sponsored
trip.
BUT AN association official who
asked not to be identified said Mackey
pushed for the NCAA investigation
"within the last two weeks."
At that time, the official said, the
furor surrounding the investigation had
begun to die down because no im-
mediate action was taken by the Big
Ten.
Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke
has had no comment on the in-
vestigation and has not responded to
the university's request for a probe.
THE PRESIDENT asked the league
and the NCAA to look into allegations
surrounding the MSU Alumni
Association's official tour to the NCAA
finals in Salt Lake City.
Michigan State won the tournament,
defeating Indiana State, cheered on by
about 1,500 personswho.traveled~from.
East Lansing to Salt Lake City. The
association's tour offered travel and
hotel accommodations to persons
already holding tickets for the finals.
Alumni association officials have
denied any wrongdoing, saying records
of the tour prove no one except travel
agency employees received free trips.
FREE TRIPS by parents violate Big
Ten rules, but the NCAA would have to
assess penalties. These could include
fines, limits on the number of scholar-
ships or probation.
Michigan State's football program
was placed on NCAA probation four
years ago as a result of recruiting
viplations.
Alumni association officials have
viewed the investigation of the tour as
another in a series of squabbles bet-
ween association president Jack Kin-
ney and Mackey.
Mackey- last spring demanded Kin-
ney's resignation and tried to return
control of the now-incorporated alumni
association to the university. Kinney
refused to resign at an emotional