Thomas Hearns vs Roberto Duran // “Malice at the Palace“ // Full Highlights

TKO 2 // Jun 15, 1984 // Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. // WBC and The Ring light middleweight titles. The fight was lopsided in Hearns’ favor as he dominated Durán en route to a second-round knockout victory. Hearns had both a 5½-inch height advantage and 11-inch reach advantage which caused problems for Durán as he struggled to get inside on his larger opponent as Hearns kept him at bay with his left jab. With a minute left in the first round, Durán tried to attack Hearns with a body shot, but Hearns countered with a left hook that opened a cut above Durán’s eye. 30 seconds later Hearns sent Durán down after catching him flush with a hard right hand. After getting back up and taking the referee’s standing-eight count Durán was allowed to continue but Hearns swarmed Durán with a series of rights and lefts before knocking him down again with an uppercut to the body with only seconds remaining though Durán would again get back and answer the referee’s eight-count as the round came to an end. After the bell rang, a dazed Durán wandered to a neutral corner causing one of his corner-men to grab him and lead him back to his own. In round two, Hearns would back Durán into the ropes and tee off with a series of combinations as Durán desperately tried to fight back. Then just as the first minute of the round came to an end, Hearns landed a devastating right to Durán’s jaw that sent Durán down face-first on the canvas. The referee would stop the fight immediately, giving Hearns a technical knockout victory at 1:07 of the round