Hit Man - Brian Hughes [71]
Round four was equally extraordinary. Roldan stepped out of his corner in a buoyant mood. His wild swings drove Hearns into a corner where Roldan suddenly connected with a sizzling left hook. Not for the first time in his career, Hearns’s legs turned to jelly, but the Hit Man ducked, swayed and held on until his head was clear. As Roldan went wild, Hearns began to hit back, firing sizzling punches with ferocious intent. He whipped in a right cross that hit Roldan on top of his head and suddenly it was his turn to stagger. Hearns switched his attack to the body, whipping in left hooks to the ribs to further open up Roldan’s already porous defence. And when the chance arose, he unleashed another booming right to the side of Roldan’s face, causing him to topple forward against Hearns, who stepped back and watched the courageous South American fall to the floor. He lay there on his front, his face buried in the canvas, before flopping over onto his back with his arms splayed as Mills Lane completed the ten count before waving it off after two minutes and one second of the round.
Hearns, who must have been hugely relieved that his opponent had finally stayed down, celebrated wildly, pumping his fist before throwing his arms aloft as his entourage crowded into the ring and lifted him into the air. He had achieved his long-spoken dream of becoming the first world champion at four weights. The statistics recorded that Roldan had thrown two hundred and forty-two punches throughout the four rounds but just twenty-seven percent had connected. In contrast, Hearns was much more sparing with his punches, delivering one hundred and sixty-three yet he was much more accurate and landed with fifty seven per cent. This accuracy was reflected on the judges’ scorecards, with all three having Hearns clearly ahead at the finish. But this fight was never going to be about the scorecards. “It was,” said Boxing News, “the sort of fight where one daren’t take one’s eye from the ring for fear of missing something sensational.” Months later, Hearns would tell an interviewer, “I have never been hit like Roldan hit me. The more I hurt him, the stronger he got. Thought maybe I shouldn’t hurt him so much!”
AT THE POST-FIGHT press conference Hearns was still euphoric and keen to emphasise the historical significance of his victory, even hinting that he might now go after a fifth title, at cruiserweight. “Being in a class all by myself is like living in a country where nobody else is there,” he mused. In a pointed reference to Hagler and Leonard, whom he was hoping to lure from retirement and who were sitting at ringside, Hearns said, “I am now my own boss. I call the shots.” Steward suggested that Leonard and Hagler must pick up the gauntlet which had been thrown,