Thomas Hearns vs Pablo Baez

On June 25th 1981, Thomas Hearns made his third successful defense of his WBA World Welterweight Title against Pablo Baez at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The fight was promoted by Top Rank and refereed by Ken Morita. Hearns entered the ring with a record of 31-0-0, while Baez was 10-9-2. Hearns weighed in at 147lbs and Baez weighed in at 144 3/4lbs.

Baez, from Los Angeles, California by way of the Dominican Republic, was ranked 9th by the WBA going into the fight. Despite his lower ranking, Baez put up a good fight against Hearns, but it was clear from the start that Hearns was the superior fighter. In the 4th round, Hearns landed a series of hard punches that had Baez reeling on the ropes. Referee Ken Morita stopped the fight while Baez was being punished, giving Hearns the win by TKO.

Hearns earned a substantial sum for his victory, taking home $525,000, while Baez received $75,000. The undercard of the evening was no less exciting, as Sugar Ray Leonard defeated Ayub Kalule to win the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship. The card was a huge success, with the Thomas Hearns vs Pablo Baez fight being shown live on closed-circuit television and rebroadcast by NBC Sportsworld on July 5.