Forum Bout a Tuneup for Hearns

Thomas Hearns, with an eye on his May 17 date with light-heavyweight champion Virgil Hill, will fight Kemper Morton at the Forum tonight in a 10-round tuneup match.

Not much is expected from Morton, who is 17-6-1 and has lost two of his last four matches. Only Hearns’ sharpness should be in question tonight. Among those at ringside will be Hill, the unbeaten North Dakota champion.

The Forum, which is promoting Hearns-Hill in Las Vegas, wants Hill, too, to fight at the Forum next month.

Hearns, 32, has 38 knockouts in his 47-3-1 record. The former welterweight champion from Detroit said a year ago he wanted a third match with Sugar Ray Leonard. Later he decided he could no longer make 160 pounds.

Hill, meanwhile, eagerly sought a Hearns match. It will provide him with his first $1-million-plus payday. Hearns will make about $4 million at the Caesars Palace fight.

In a companion 10-rounder tonight, Genaro Hernandez (22-0) of Los Angeles will fight Pedro Arroyo (15-3) of Puerto Rico in a super-featherweight bout.