I can't see Hearns winning this one. Hearns jumps out to an early lead, pounding Saad and landing pretty much at will. Saad is rocked a few times and is cut, but somewhere around the mid point of the fight Saad starts his usual rally and gets back into the fight and eventually gets to Hearns sometime after round 10.
I dunno.... I actually give Hearns a REALLY good chance in this one. As tough as Saad was, its still NEVER a good idea to take too many flushes right hands from Hearns. And even at 175 Tommy was quicker and more skilled then Saad. I see it as basically a 50-50 fight. Saad to me is sometimes overrated. Spinks would have kicked the living shit outta him, and Qawi would have beaten ANY version of him.
I don't know. I am a pretty huge Hearns fan, but Saad had an amazing ability to regroup and come back strong later in the fight. If it were a 12 rounder, I think I might go with Hearns, but in a 15 rounder against Saad, I don't know. I guess the question is can Hearns bust up Saad enough to stop him before the later rounds? Saad could be hurt and cut early on. And I don't know about him having no chance against Qawi, Saad was at the end at that point. I have no problem seeing Saad from a few years earlier beating Qawi. And Spinks had troubles against many of his light-heavy title defense opponents, none of which were as good as Saad. I don't see that as an easy fight for Spinks either.
Saad wasnt the LEAST bit competitive in either fight with Qawi. Theres NOTHING in those fights that suggest he could ever beat Qawi. Be more competitive yes, but not win. The bottom line is Saad always had a shitty defense, and Qawi would always exploit it. I just see Qawi as being just an overall better fighter than Saad ever was.
Saad knocks Tommy out... I have no doubt about it... he can absorb too muych punishment and he hit like a bastard... he would get to Tommy eventually
C'mon X, this isn't rocket science, and you're better than this line of reasoning. Of course Saad was beaten up by Qawi, because he was at the end of the line. When a good fighter at the end of the road fights a good fighter in his prime, this is what usually happens. There are endless examples of this. Picking a prime Saad over Qawi is by no means a stretch. I'm not saying it's a slam dunk for Saad either. But to dismiss Saad's chances based on his spent performances against Qawi doesn't work for me.
agreed.... Saad was very clearly a spent force by the time he fought Qawi... hell, he had to drop nearly 7 pounds in 12 hours just to make weight for the first fight... I dont think a fight with a still fresh Saad would have looked anything like that
Qawi plain and simple was a better fighter then Saad. Stronger, quicker, more refined skills, and his compact short punching would have always been too much for Saad, though a fresher Saad would have been more competitive. I mean a "prime" Saad still went life and death with Yauqi Lopez, and Lopez although a very good fighter, couldnt carry Qawi's jock. Saad is often overrated I find.
Lopez was an excellent fighter... as two close fights with Saad and a pair of close ones with Galindez illustrate... Qawi would have had as much trouble with him as they did... I also think you underrate Saad's skillset... his MINDSET was to go for that KO, but he could also counter effectively when he needed to change tactics, he had a terrific jab and he hit HARD... part of what made him so remarkable was that he could adjust and that he had the toughness to withstand punishment and still be strong enough to fight back when he made adjustments... Saad was so clearly not the same guy when he fought Qawi if anyone is overrated here, it is Qawi... Qawi NEEDED to be able to come forward in order to win, he needed to be able to counter over the right hand of Saad to win... Saad made both of those things absurdly easy by the fact that he had absolutely no strength left to push Qawi back, his punches had no sting on them, his right hand was suddenly slow and easy to time... he looked nothing like the guy who fought Lopez and Johnson... he looked nothing like the guy EMM called "the hardest hitter I ever faced... man, could he punch" ... Those fights are not at all an accurate depiction of Saad Muhammad
I think he had the style to give him problems and maybe beat him as well, but NOT LIKE HE DID IN THOSE FIGHTS
