"On this day in 1988" Iran "The Blade" Barkley knocked Thomas Hearns silly out of the blue while scoring the "Upset of the Year" and winning the WBC middleweight title with a 3rd round TKO at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hearns had already won world titles in four divisions coming into the Barkley fight. Losses to "Sugar" Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler hurt, but they were understandable. Plus he recovered to win titles at middleweight and, impressively, light heavyweight.

Thomas Hearns vs. Iran Barkley, billed as Knockout Nite, was a professional boxing match contested on June 6, 1988, for the WBC middleweight title. The fight was shown live on pay-per-view and closed circuit television. Hearns was paid $1.5 million and Barkley got $250,000. Hearns was a 4 to 1 favorite. There was a crowd of 8,541 at the Hilton. The Ring named Barkley’s knockout of Hearns Upset of the Year for 1988. knockouts_videos 🥊 #boxingfan #boxinglifestyle #boxingfamily #boxingtraining #bo

Thomas Hearns vs. Iran Barkley, billed as Knockout Nite, was a professional boxing match contested on June 6, 1988, for the WBC middleweight title. The fight was shown live on pay-per-view and closed circuit television. Hearns was paid $1.5 million and Barkley got $250,000. Hearns was a 4 to 1 favorite. There was a crowd of 8,541 at the Hilton. The Ring named Barkley’s knockout of Hearns Upset of the Year for 1988. knockouts_videos 🥊 #boxingfan #boxinglifestyle #boxingfamily #boxingtraining #bo