It Isn’t Pretty, but Hearns Easily Beats Olajide

It took a ninth-round knockdown by Thomas Hearns to bring out the fighting desire of Michael Olajide Saturday night at the Taj Majal Hotel.

But it was too late to prevent Hearns from winning a unanimous 12-round decision in the World Boxing Organization super-middleweight title bout.

Hearns, fighting for the first time since a draw with Sugar Ray Leonard last June 12, said he wasn’t entirely pleased with his performance, rating it a “six or seven” on a scale of 1-10.

“It wasn’t an easy night for me,” Hearns said. “My punches were not crisp and sharp.”

One that was crisp and sharp was the right hand that dropped Olajide early in the ninth round. Olajide got up at the count of seven and withstood a barrage of punches while on the ropes.

The punches seemed to tire Hearns and bring Olajide out of his defensive shell. The challenger landed several rights near the end of the round, the first round that had any real exchanges.

“He got a little bit reckless,” Olajide said. “I tried to wait out the storm. I knew it was going to be formidable.

“Maybe I should have thrown caution to the wind a little earlier,” Olajide said.

Olajide appeared to wobble Hearns briefly at the start of the 10th round with a right, but Hearns re-established his jab, as he had in the early rounds.

The two exchanged solid rights in the 11th, but Hearns managed to keep away from Olajide for the rest of the fight and score solidly with left hooks and jabs.

Referee Tony Orlando deducted a point from Olajide in the fourth round for a low blow that disabled Hearns for about 30 seconds. Hearns had dominated the round up to that point, leaving both his arms at his side and taunting Olajide between blows.

That set the pattern for rounds 5 though 8, with Hearns landing occasional left hooks to the body before Olajide danced away.

“It’s hard to hit him when he’s constantly moving,” Hearns said. “Every time I tried to cut off the ring he runs and he ducks.”

Judge Vincent Rainone scored the fight 119-107, Samuel Conde had it 120-107 and Cesar Ramos scored it 119-110.

Hearns is 47-3-1 with 38 knockouts, and Olajide is 27-3 with 19 knockouts. Hearns, 31, of Detroit, weighed 168, the maximum for the super-middleweight class. Olajide, 26, of New York, weighed 166 1/2.

Hearns, the only man to win titles in five weight classes, was making his 17th appearance in a major title fight. He won his first championship as a 147-pound welterweight in 1980.

His career has included knockout losses in classic bouts with Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Leonard, plus last year’s controversial draw with Leonard--a fight many thought that he won.

He said he again would like to fight Leonard, who sat next to Donald Trump, the owner of the Taj Majal Hotel.