Hit Man - Brian Hughes [51]
Hearns viewed life with an endearing simplicity. He enjoyed nothing better than spending time with his friends from his younger days. They would play for hours on the various computer and arcade games which Hearns had acquired over the years and he admitted that his warrior’s instinct was sometimes evident during these competitions, because he “absolutely hated to lose at anything.” He also spoke about his ambitions outside the ring. As a teenager he had wanted to become a policeman. He had enlisted for fifteen weeks’ training at the Detroit Metro Police Academy and became one of the city’s fifteen hundred police reserves. He eagerly volunteered his time at least three times a week, which involved riding in a scout car, carrying a gun and making arrests along with his regular partner, Terry Hodge, who had been a Detroit policeman for over eleven years. Hearns explained that he did it simply because “it was something I like doing. I couldn’t just sit around and box all the time. I’d get bored.”
His police partner, Hodge, said, “He’s not at all fearful. In fact, he has a great deal of common sense. When we encounter a situation, he’s very quick to perceive what is happening and to act. When we hear about a fight on the radio, he wants to be first on the scene. His influence shows, especially with kids, because when Tommy shows up in uniform, the fight is over. They’re more interested in knowing about him and playfully sparring with him.” He recounted, “I’ve seen the guy get up from a meal and go out and stop a couple of kids scuffling on the streets. The kids’ eyes magnify ten times their size. A lot of regular police officers wouldn’t get up from a meal and go and do that. He’s not like a world champion on the job. He’s a partner.”
Hearns was especially candid about his relationship with his family. His blood father, Thomas Jackson, had died a few months before in Jackson, Tennessee. Hearns had attended the funeral and expressed regret at never having had a relationship with him. “It was sad that I never met him but I actually felt more sadness for my half-brothers and sisters who were there.” He was effusive in his praise for his mother and all she went through with her nine children. “I’ve tried to show her that I care for her, but you can only do so much with money. I’ve stopped trying to buy her things and just show her with my heart. That means a lot more than trying to go out and buy her the world.”
He also used the interview to address rumours about alleged cocaine abuse and his supposed involvement in a fight at Southfield’s Blend Disco, where a man was fatally shot. Hearns had been at the disco during the killing and the rumour mill had gone into overdrive. Tommy George put the allegations to him, including one that he had found the gun in a trash bin and another that he had chased the gunman and held him until police arrived. Hearns denied all these rumours. “I’ve always considered my health and I don’t drink or even like to be around people that smoke. There was never any interest in that or cocaine or any other substance for me. People always try and say bad things about me. I have lots of friends from childhood who were involved in lots of things, but that doesn’t make me guilty by association. I don’t judge what anybody does. The other stuff about the gun is all untrue. I’ve heard it all and I have learned to take no notice. People will talk no matter what I do.”
When he discussed his relationships with the Kronk gym, Hearns was effusive in his praise for two particular individuals. He thanked Prentiss Byrd and Emanuel Steward for helping him cope with the status his boxing success had bestowed on him. Byrd was an adviser, a public relations man and a big brother. “He’s more than a PR man to me,” said Hearns, “he’s more like my buddy. I depend on him.” When he spoke about his relationship with Steward, his voice dropped to a soft whisper, “He’s like a daddy. I have a great deal of love for Emanuel. He was there for me when no one else was. Emanuel is the one who made my career happen.