K.O.W. – Hit, Man
I was going through some of my old fight DVD’s recently and trying to catalog them and I came across an epic knockout, one that recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, one that seemed like it needed immediate enshrinement as an official No Mas Knockout of the Week.
I remember I was at the opening of the Golden Gloves one year and Bill Gallo was introducing all the old fighters who were in attendance and when he said, “And here’s a guy who beat Tommy Hearns a couple of times,” I thought to myself, man, what a way to get introduced for the rest of your life.
Iran “The Blade” Barkley did indeed beat Hearns twice, and the first time it was on one of those swinging-for-the-fences type of knockouts that is the very definition of the puncher’s chance.
On June 6, 1988, Hearns and Barkley met with the Hitman’s WBC middleweight belt on the line and by the third round the Blade was all sliced up. Badly cut and taking a monster beating, Barkley started desperately winging around the kind of full-body haymakers that could knock out dinosaurs. Of course, such punches rarely connect, but when they do, oh man. Tommy stepped into one, did a Frankenstein two-step, and then fell back timber-style, while Barkley, seeing what had happened, stepped in and gave Hearns one more right to the kisser to take with him down to the canvas.
It was the Ring Upset of the Year, and for good reason. Tommy would attempt to get revenge in a light-heavyweight title fight against Barkley in 1992 in one of the most memorable and brutal fights of the decade. He lost, of course, a narrow split decision in which the margin of victory boiled down to a knockdown that Barkley scored in the fourth round.
(The video below has the second and third rounds of Barkley/Hearns I – the knockout happens at around 6:50).
June 24th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I hate to remind you of this because I would hate for it to become KO of the week since I love the guy. But when Tommy “THE MOTOR CITY KING COBRA” took out Duran with one punch…wow! Yes, and for the record, Tommy had more nick names and monikers than Apollo Creed when he fought the Russian.
June 24th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Oh…forgot to mention that Duran went on to beat THE BLADE! I remember that fight like it was yesterday…Dear God where Duran got that will from to take those shots.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Duran/Barkley – one of the greatest fights of the 90′s, no doubt Rooster.
My favorite Tommy KO was one of the very first No Mas Knockouts of the Week, his beheading of Pipino Cuevas where Cuevas did one of the great suspended unconscious in mid-air swivels of all time. But yes, it’s true Rooster, what Hearns did to Duran was insane.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Barkley/Duran – not the 90′s. ’89. Just remembered that.
June 24th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
did anyone see the fenech/nelson debacle?
I’m ashamed to call myself australian.. and I didn’t even watch it!
April 14th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
excellent points altogether, you simply gained a new reader. What would you suggest in regards to your post that you made some days ago? Any positive?