Hearns Earns Tko

Fighting for the first time in 14 months, six-time world boxing champion Thomas Hearns stopped Karl Willis in the fifth round of their light heavyweight bout.

The 38-year-old Hearns hit Willis with a stiff punch just below the sternum. The referee stopped the fight when the blow sent Willis to his knees. Just a minute earlier, Willis (23-5, 17 KOs) had swung a left hook that put Hearns (57-4-1, 44 KOs) on his heels.

“More than anything else, I was too laid back,” Hearns said afterward in his dressing room. “I wasn’t able to hit him clean. But I knew when he came in close, I wouldn’t have any problem.”

Willis, 28, who weighed 171 pounds, had the advantage in the fifth before the 176-pound Hearns landed his decisive combination.