Hit Man - Brian Hughes [46]
Hearns settled into the luxurious Sheraton Hotel two weeks before the fight and his training routine intensified. He was a stickler for punctuality and decided that at precisely 5:42 a.m. he should meet nine of his Kronk teammates and head to the City Park for a daily dawn run of four miles, which he completed in twenty-one minutes. Back at the hotel, he would return to his bed for an hour of sleep before rising again at eight o’clock to order room service. His breakfast was also precise and consisted of two eggs, hash browns, muesli with strawberries and a large glass of milk. Except for two oranges and an occasional treat of his favourite Chinese food at dinner, this was all he would consume for the day. He would then spend the whole afternoon in the gym but he also resolved to take heed of Don King’s warnings and vowed to be more co-operative with the media for the Benitez fight, agreeing to conduct four interviews a day.
Throughout the build-up, Hearns had shown his rival the respect he felt was deserved. This approach changed when he felt that it was not being reciprocated. Both fighters had agreed to ride on a float through downtown New Orleans during one of the city’s celebrations in order to drum up more ticket sales for the fight, which were not going well at the box office. Hearns arrived on time and was infuriated that Benitez did not appear at all. When they next met at the pre-fight weigh-in, Benitez tried to stare down Hearns. Rather than indulge him, Hearns studiously ignored Benitez. Emanuel Steward told Walter Smith, the veteran cornerman, that he had never seen Hearns look so serious.
When the Detroit Hit Man and The Radar finally stepped through the New Orleans Superdome ropes, Benitez repeated his tactics, marching across the ring to confront Hearns. The two stood chest-to-chest in a prolonged stare-out as their respective camps watched and hurled insults. But once the bout began, Hearns set the early pace with fast footwork, snappy jabbing and a willingness to use the whole ring. By the end of round two, a red mark had appeared under Benitez’s left eye. Hearns was in the ascendant, and in the third, Benitez noticeably showed respect for his pulverising right, ducking out of range whenever it looked as though the challenger was about to pull the trigger. Benitez finally came to life late in the round when he scored with a solid left hook, but Hearns again won the points. Hearns squandered a point in the fourth round when, despite continued warnings from Mexican referee Octavio Meyran, he held the champion’s head down. This seemed to spur on Hearns, and in the following round he felled Benitez with a thundering right cross which landed directly on the jaw. The champion dropped down on his gloves but immediately jumped up to take a standing eight count.
This notable success had a strange effect on Hearns. His tactics, which had been proving highly effective, changed and he seemed gripped by caution, electing to win the fight on points rather than force the advantage he had so obviously seized. Benitez sought to lure him to the ropes, where he intended to drag him into a brawl – the Puerto Rican was exceptional at infighting with his back against the hemp. Hearns declined to follow and stayed in the centre of the ring. There was a stand-off, which Hearns tried to break by drawing out Benitez. Benitez stuck to his guns and refused to be suckered, making for a dull strategic fight rather than the classic it had promised to be.
Hearns did enjoy some success. He nearly finished Benitez with a sizzling right hand with just ten seconds left in the sixth round. The champion sagged into the ropes but was rescued by the bell. In the eighth round, Hearns threw another solid right that