Fights’ One Purpose Is Clear to See : Hagler-Hearns II Is What Bouts Are About

LAS VEGAS — Before Thomas Hearns gets to look forward to the future, which might include a rematch with Marvelous Marvin Hagler, he must reconcile himself to his past, which most definitely does include a devastating, three-round knockout loss to that same man.

It was last spring, on the last day to file income tax returns, that the normally tentative Hagler lit the fuse to that year’s most explosive fight. It was a furious eight minutes, as strategic as a locomotive collision, with as spectacular a conclusion. Hearns, who was challenging for the middleweight title, recalls:

“It was like a shadow shot across the ring. I hit him with a right hand and I seen him stagger. I just started throwing more punches. A man like Hagler, when you fight a man with that head, a piece of steel, well, you’ve got to fight steel with steel. All I had was aluminum.

“I hit the man with my best shot and he kept coming. What’s in your mind to do then? You run. But as I start to run, my legs say no. They say, ‘Tommy, you’re on your own.’ ”

Hearns pauses. “I would have left them right there, but then I’d have been too short to fight Hagler.”

That Hearns has found in that destruction the material for a comedy routine might encourage some of his followers. Because how Hearns has handled that loss is all that matters in the buildup toward a rematch, which begins here tonight. Is he finished, or can he fight through the only devastating loss of his career and take on Hagler with the bravado of old.

Tonight, while Hagler headlines the card at Caesars Palace, fighting undefeated John (The Beast) Mugabi, Hearns must fight James Shuler for his North American Boxing Federation middleweight title. For Hearns, already the World Boxing Council junior middleweight champion and before that the World Boxing Assn. welterweight champion, this amounts to taking a physical, to see if he qualifies for the rematch.

Promoter Bob Arum knows full well that a rematch is only possible if Hearns, the Hit Man turned Sit Man, demolishes the undefeated Shuler. Otherwise, who would pay $26 million, last year’s collection, to see Hagler walk through Hearns again. It is as Hearns says. “I gotta win and look so damn impressive. I gotta go out and put on a show. It’s not on Marvin, it’s on me. All Marvin’s gotta do is win.”

Hagler, 31, who is three successful title defenses short of Carlos Monzon’s record 14, is expected to win big, even though the mysterious Mugabi, 27, has an impressive record of 26-0 with 26 KOs. Hagler, whose record of 61-2-2 with 51 KOs is no less impressive, is considered just too tough inside. And as for taking Mugabi’s considerable punch, well, the question is whether Mugabi can hit him any harder than Hearns did in their last fight.

Anyway, the key to a subsequent rematch is not in Hagler’s pocket. In fact, the worse he looks, short of losing, the more anticipation he restores to a summer showdown with Hearns. The key belongs to Hearns.

But even without the prospect of a rematch, it is Hearns who provides the real mystery to this event. How does a guy, whose image as a steely-eyed assassin has worked on opponents with the same chilling effect as that right hand, remain confident and threatening after his mortality has been exposed? Is it possible?

Eddie Futch, who has been around, wonders. Futch, Shuler’s trainer, says, “I’ve seen both kinds, the kind that can take a licking and then come back better than they ever were, like Muhammad Ali, or the kind who take a licking and are finished. With Tommy, I just don’t know.”

Futch largely discounts Hearns’ only other loss, a 15-round stoppage with his other great rival, Sugar Ray Leonard. “In that, he was winning the fight and he wasn’t being counted out, just laying on the ropes. But in the Hagler fight, it was devastating.”

All the same, Futch wonders whether the loss to Leonard didn’t do more damage to Hearns’ psyche than anyone suspects. “I was up against him in his first fight after the Leonard loss,” Futch says, “and I thought there was same residue of doubt there. I had Ernie Singletary, a last-minute substitute, who had to lose 25 pounds the week of the fight. He lost a decision.”

Hearns himself admits he had some problems after that first loss. “The thought of being the man who could not lose left my mind, I came down to earth, to reality. After that loss I went into a shell.”

He may have been in that shell when he fought Singletary but he did go on the next year to win his junior middleweight title from Wilfred Benitez and he did cut through Roberto Duran, with whom Hagler had some trouble. It is possible to believe he got over that loss. Anyway, he hardly looked like a shell of himself in that shootout with Hagler.

But what of the loss to Hagler? How does he handle that? He says he handles it well. One thing, he has found an excuse, claiming he killed his legs by overtraining, running too many miles in the Miami sand. “I’ve learned how to deal with defeat. The first time was very difficult for me. But it’s easier for me to do now. Not that I want to get too comfortable with it, you understand.”

For his part, Futch expects Hearns to come out as of old, all macho, pressing the action. “If he can hit you and hurt you early, he will,” Futch says. “He has been called a good front runner. I don’t know about that, but he does try to get out in front early. I saw him do it once when it absolutely insane. I had a fighter who was not in his class and the only thing, really, he could do was bang. But instead of boxing him, winning easily, Thomas punches with him. I asked him about it after the fight and you know what he said? He said, ‘A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.’ ”

If Hagler hasn’t beaten that philosophy out of him, the 26-year-old Shuler, unbeaten in his 22 fights, will likely be in for some serious action. And it’s more than likely that Hearns, 27, will move through Shuler and get that rematch.

“Then, I can go on to win my four titles and retire happy,” Hearns says. “After 1987, all I’ll have to do is go to the fights, sit back and smile.”

Otherwise, Hearns, who has had 40 victories, could be famous for his two losses instead.

Although Hearns could end up turning in a dramatic performance tonight, the star of the show is unquestionably Hagler. Hagler, whose fierce visage and shaven head inspire a kind of dread, is expected once more to terrorize another middleweight, even one named, however deservedly, The Beast.

Hagler’s work ethic being what it is, there is little reason to believe he is in anything but top shape for the Ugandan. The conventional thinking is that nothing can stop Hagler but age. He claims to be 31, although Mugabi’s manager, Mickey Duff, says he’s really 34. Other estimates go all the up to 37. Certainly, he fights younger.

At any rate, Hagler is not considering early retirement. He has decided he wants the record for consecutive title defenses, which should take him a year or more unless somebody gets in his way. The long-range plan, of course, is for him to finish up with welterweight champion Donald Curry, who is expected to begin moving up in weight soon.

For this fight, Hagler has projected a boorish confidence, amazing his followers with his word play on Mugabi. “Feast on the Beast,” after all, is the camp’s theme. At a recent press conference, for example, he held up a bloodied doll, a representation of Mugabi and announced, “Marvin’s doing the carving.” Then, after a sparring session in Johnny Tocco’s gym in downtown Las Vegas, he talked about “barbecuing some ribs,” meaning Mugabi was going to be taking some shots to the body.

“I’m staying hungry,” Hagler said, satisfied with his new theme. “And he’ll be well done when I’m through.”

Beyond that bluster, though, is Hagler’s usual intensity. He really has stayed hungry, his trainer, Goody Petronelli, says. “He’s still going to school. He’s never lost that fire.” The better, presumably, to boast and roast.

Fight Notes These fights originally were scheduled for last Nov. 14 but were postponed when Marvelous Marvin Hagler suffered a broken nose in training. The postponement didn’t slow demand for tickets, as Caesars has long since sold out the 15,000 outdoor stadium, with ticket prices ranging from $50 to $400. Promoter Bob Arum says sales at the 500 closed circuit stations have been better than expected. . . . Of the money brought in, at last $2.6 million will go to Hagler. With percentages of the take considered, Hagler should make at least $5 million. His challenger, John Mugabi, the top-ranked middleweight, will earn $800,000. In the NABF middleweight fight, Thomas Hearns will earn $1 million, while James Shuler will take in $250,000. . . . The Hagler-Mugabi fight will be scheduled for 12 rounds under the rules of the World Boxing Council. The Hearns-Shuler fight will be 12 rounds, as well, but the title fight between World Boxing Assn. champion Richie Sandoval and Gaby Ganizales will be scheduled for 15 rounds. . . . Although Arum has promised that the winners of the Hagler-Mugabi and Hearns-Shuler fights would be matched, there is no assurance that the fight would return to Caesars Palace. Mugabi-Shuler, for example, would not likely sell out the stadium.

The Lineup 6:05 p.m.--Richie Sandoval vs. Gaby Ganizales; 7:05 p.m.--Tommy Hearns vs. James Shuler; 8:05 p.m.--Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi.

Where to See Fights Home TV (pay-per-view)--SelecTV and the following addressable cable systems: Group W in Fullerton, El Monte, Hawthorne, Gardena, Lawndale, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, South Gate and Torrance; Storer in Anaheim; Valley in Chatsworth; United in City of Industry; Heritage in Compton and El Monte; Buenavision in East L.A.; Rogers in Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Mirada and El Centro; Sammons in Glendale and Whittier; Utility Systems in Laguna Beach; Tribune Cable in Lakewood; Community Cable in Newport Beach; Jones Intercable in Oxnard and Walnut; Falcon in Pasadena, Alhambra, Riverside and West Covina; Cox Cable in Santa Barbara and San Diego; Televents in Camarillo; Avenue TV in Ventura.

Closed circuit--Beverly Hills Theater, Irvine Marriott.

Bar/restaurants--12 Red Onions; Legends in Long Beach; Sports Deli in Century City; Hamburger Hamlets in Brentwood, Costa Mesa and Pasadena; Players in Long Beach; Yankee Doodles in Long Beach; Tom’s Burgers in Carson. (Note: $10 cover charge at most establishments)