Hit Man - Brian Hughes [79]
The details of the second shooting incident involving his family slowly began to emerge. Henry Hearns, aged twenty-two, was being held in the Southfield City jail, accused of killing his fiancée, nineteen-year-old Nancy Ann Barile. The couple had been in a turbulent relationship and had apparently argued in a bedroom at Thomas Hearns’s home. A witness reported hearing Henry say, “I’m going to blow your brains out.” Then he shot Barile once in the head with a .44 Magnum pistol. Henry, who had been pursuing a career as a musician and who was described by his lawyer as “a very gentle kid,” was eventually tried and found guilty of second degree murder and was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment.
If extra spice was needed, it was added just a couple of days before the fight when Hearns accused Leonard of bulking up by illegal means. Leonard was furious. “For some crazy reasons, Tommy has got it into his head I have used steroids,” said Leonard. “And it’s just not true. I take the charges very, very personally. But what annoys me even more is what these allegations have done to boxing. We have enough criticism as it is. For someone like Hearns, who makes a good living out of the sport, to taint it in that way makes him a fool.” Hearns, however, refused to back down. “Everyone is suspicious about what it took to get Leonard in the shape he’s in today,” said Hearns. “It seems like he got pumped up overnight.”
The weigh-in took place at noon on the day of the fight. In their final public encounter, Hearns refused to answer questions about his domestic turmoil but admitted, “A fight of this magnitude is never going to be easy.” He promised the watching public that they would see the war that they expected. “Somewhere inside the twelve rounds, I will catch up with Leonard and take him out,” he predicted. Leonard was less circumspect and suggested that a long tactical contest would ensue. “Hearns usually follows whatever I do,” he claimed, and so he planned “to dance around the ring for a few rounds before I pick up the pace in the later rounds.” He dismissed speculation linking him with a fight against the middleweight champion, Michael Nunn. “Everyone seems to have it in their heads that this is an easy fight,” Leonard raged. “This is Tommy Hearns. I don’t care if his legs are weak, if his chin is weak. I’m going into this fight with just one thing on my mind, which is to get him out of there as quickly as I can.”
The weight limit for the super-middleweight division was 12 stone. It was something of a surprise then, when Hearns weighed in light at 11st 8½lbs, adding fuel to the speculation that a secret deal had been insisted on by Leonard’s camp. Leonard, who came in at only 11st 6lbs, clearly did not want to be heavily outweighed by the bigger Hearns, and for weeks before the fight, stories had circulated that he had insisted his opponent weigh no more than 11st 10lbs. These rumours were denied by Mike Trainer, Emanuel Steward and Bob Arum, yet were subsequently revealed to have been true: Hearns would have suffered a $2 million deduction from his purse had he weighed in over 11st 10lbs. It was the kind of deal at which Leonard and Trainer were adept.
Steward told reporters that the loser of this encounter should retire immediately. He reasoned that both men had been through enough difficult fights and should not risk their health. Leonard had also been showing signs of vulnerability, having been dropped in his previous fight by Donny Lalonde. Steward pointed out that both men could boast vast wealth and should enjoy it. The $11 million he had secured for this bout ensured that Hearns’ career earnings were around $30 million. Leonard’s attorney, Mike Trainer, mused that his fighter’s $13 million payment pushed his fortune to $83 million, the highest amount ever earned by an individual sportsman. Hearns, ranked as a 3-1 outsider, dismissed his manager’s concerns and argued, “It is up to each individual when he should retire.” He refused to discuss it