WBO super-middleweight title · 1988
Hearns survives a knockdown to win a title at a fifth weight
Thomas Hearns went looking for a world title in a fifth division and nearly lost it to a late substitute. James Kinchen put him down in the fourth; two judges still gave it to Hearns.
Thomas Hearns had already won world titles at four weights: the WBA welterweight belt against José Cuevas in 1980, the WBC light-middleweight title against Wilfred Benítez in 1982, and in 1987 the WBC light-heavyweight and middleweight titles, against Dennis Andries and Juan Roldán. In June 1988 he lost the middleweight title to Iran Barkley.
He went up to super-middleweight for a fifth. The plan was to fight the WBA champion, Fulgencio Obelmejias, but Obelmejias pulled out with a rib injury. His replacement was James Kinchen, "The Heat", from McKinney, Texas, who had won the NABF title by outpointing Marvin Mack three weeks earlier. Two days before the fight, the promoter Bob Arum had the new WBO's first super-middleweight title added to it, to keep a world title on the line.
Hearns was 45–3 and a 7–2 favourite. Kinchen was 43–4–2.
The fourth round
They met at the Las Vegas Hilton on 4 November 1988, in front of 7,523 people. In the fourth Kinchen landed two overhand rights in a row and Hearns went down. He got up and held on, and would not let go, and the referee took a point off him for it.
Hearns lasted the 12 rounds but finished with his right eye nearly closed.
The cards
Two judges scored it for Hearns, 116–112 and 115–112. The third had it 114–114. Hearns had a majority decision, and a place in the record books as the first boxer to win world titles in five weight divisions.
Not everyone watching agreed. The Associated Press had Kinchen winning 114–112, and UPI had him ahead by a point. Of the boxing magazines, KO scored it for Hearns 114–113 and Ring for Hearns 115–112.
Leonard, three days later
Hearns held the distinction on his own for three days. On 7 November, at Caesars Palace, Sugar Ray Leonard beat Donny Lalonde for Lalonde's WBC light-heavyweight title and the new WBC super-middleweight title, and became a champion at five weights too.
In January 1989 Arum announced that the two would meet again. The rematch, on 12 June 1989 at Caesars Palace, was a draw.