35 years ago

Date: 4th November 1988

Title: vacant WBO World Super-middleweight Title

Promoter: Top Rank

Tv:

Thomas Hearns
( 45 - 3 - 0 )
Weight: 165½ lbs

James Kinchen
( 44 - 4 - 2 )
Weight: 166 lbs

The fight between Thomas Hearns and James Kinchen took place on November 4, 1988, at the Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, and was for the vacant WBO World Super-middleweight Title. The match was promoted by Top Rank and the referee was Richard Steele. Going into the fight, Hearns had a record of 45-3-0, while Kinchen had a record of 44-4-2, weighing 166lbs and 165.5lbs respectively.

Thomas Hearns, originally from Detroit, Michigan, was a 7 to 2 favourite to win the fight. James Kinchen, from San Diego, California, was a late replacement for Fulgencio Obelmejias, who pulled out of the fight due to an injury to his ribs. Kinchen had made his way to the fight after outpointing Marvin Mack to win the NABF super middleweight title on October 13. The WBO announced that they would sanction the fight for their inaugural super middleweight title just two days before the match.

The fight was intense from the start, with both Hearns and Kinchen exchanging blows in the early rounds. However, in the fourth round, Hearns was knocked down, but when he got up, he grabbed Kinchen and refused to let go. Referee Mills Lane tried to break them up, but when Hearns refused to let go, Lane deducted a point from Hearns for breaking the rules. Despite this setback, Hearns continued to battle it out with Kinchen and went on to win the fight by a 12-round majority decision, with scores of 69-64, 69-63 and 68-66.

The fight had a crowd of 7,523 spectators at the Hilton Center. The victory was a huge boost for Hearns, who had been working hard to reclaim his title as one of the top fighters in the world after his loss to Iran Barkley in his previous bout. On the other hand, Kinchen, who had put up a tough fight, would go on to continue his career in the super middleweight division.