Hit Man - Brian Hughes [24]
After boxing as an amateur, Primera had quit the sport for seven years. During this exile from the ring, he had opened an automobile paint shop in Caracas, which he operated with two of his eight brothers. He also played baseball and sang in a Latin jazz group. His interest in boxing was reignited when he visited a gym to watch a friend spar and he turned professional in 1976. All his fifteen fights had taken place in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and twelve of them were won by knockout, a run that had earned him the world number five ranking. When he arrived in Detroit, his first time on American soil, he was shocked to see snow and suffered with the bitter cold, as he had brought only light summer suits with him. Once he had acclimatised, however, his workouts impressed Detroit’s worldly onlookers. Primera looked a natural athlete, with good footwork and quick hands. He attributed this to his amateur baseball days as a shortstop and pitcher.
Hearns was determined to make his first defence a successful one and he set a fast pace from the first round. Primera was undeterred and met the champion with his own attack, forcing him to use his left jab to ward him away. The Detroit fans were thrilled at the fast-paced contest and sportingly applauded both fighters as the bell to end the first round sounded. In the second, Hearns seemed to find his range and began to find Primera’s jaw. Two violent right hands saw him drop to the canvas. Primera had recovered by the count of nine and displayed huge reserves of courage by responding with a stunning right cross which cautioned the Detroit assassin from making any reckless attacks.
The fight ebbed and flowed through the next three rounds, with Hearns giving a passable impersonation of Muhammad Ali in his prime, dancing on his toes and holding his left hand low to try to tempt Primera into leading, before unleashing his own blur-fast ripostes. But Primera keep his guard high and tight and his chin down, plodding forward and winging back with hooks. In round five, Hearns got down to business. He stopped bouncing around, held the centre of the ring and closed the distance, looking to pick his spots and throwing punches with what Mike Tyson would call “bad intentions.” His left hook, in particular, lashed again and again into the body of the Venezuelan. Primera refused to buckle and continued to hit back, but just before the bell a particularly violent series of blows, concluded with a right cross, sent him to the canvas, gasping for air. Once again, his fighting instinct brought him back to his feet and he finished the round.
The end was imminent though, and it came amid some confusion in the next round. Primera missed with a couple of huge left swings while Hearns continued to enjoy success with his own sickle-like left. He finally cut it deep into Primera’s ribcage, causing him to pitch forward to the floor, howling in agony. While he attempted to find his feet, his own corner waved frantically to alert referee Ismelia Fernandez that they wanted to stop the fight. Fernandez ignored their request and instead counted out the brave Venezuelan. This was the Hit Man’s thirtieth win and twenty-eighth stoppage victory.
IN APRIL 1981, Randy Shields, a blond-haired, blue-eyed fighter from Hollywood, California, was sanctioned as the opponent for Hearns’s second world title defence. Shields, the world number four, was perceived as a legitimate opponent who had consistently mixed in good company throughout his forty-four professional fights, and was expected to present a decent test, although Hearns was the overwhelming favourite. As an amateur he had been a Golden Gloves champion and had achieved the rare distinction of winning a decision over Ray Leonard, though Leonard avenged this over ten rounds in the pro ranks. He had also fought WBC champion Wilfred Benitez, losing on cuts in six rounds. In January 1979, he had taken Jose Cuevas the full fifteen rounds before