FightHype.com takes you back in time to revisit all the action of fights gone by. In this unique series, get a firsthand look at what it's like to experience the physical, mental and emotional ups and downs of a professional prizefight. Find out what the fighters were going through before, during and after the fights as they relive some of the highlights of their most memorable bouts. On June, 6, 1988, unheralded Iran "The Blade" Barkley pulled off the Upset of the Year by becoming the middleweight champion of the world when he stopped then-champion Thomas Hearns in the third round at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out how Barkley remembers what turned out to be one of the most definitive moments of his career.
TRAINING CAMP
I was a big underdog in that fight. I knew I had to train hard and really put in that work, so I had went to camp up in the Catskills Mountains. We trained up there for about 6 to 7 weeks I think. It was a rough camp, but I knew I had to put that work in and that's what I did. Tommy was tall and he had a great jab and used his height well, so I got some good sparring for him. I sparred with Vincent Boulware, Dennis Milton and Reggie Burton. Reggie Burton had all of the tools that Tommy had.
PRE-FIGHT
The pre-fight stuff between me and Tommy was the usual stuff. People were there for the hype and we gave it to them. We really didn't like each other all that much anyway, so that gave us an opportunity to let off some steam verbally until fight time. No one thought I would beat him the second time, so my point was to prove that, not once, but twice, and I let him know when we seen each other before the fight. Tommy has great heart and the staredown and all of that on my part was from everything that I learned back here in the projects.
THE FIGHT
I got cut early, but that wasn't a problem at all. I even got down on the scorecards a little bit, but like I said, none of that was a problem. I just knew I was bringing that belt home. The thing with Tommy is even after I dropped him the first time, I knew Tommy was a tough dude, so I knew I still had to deal with him. But I did. I put in a lot of work for that fight and I wasn't going to be denied.
POST-FIGHT
The fight won "Upset of the Year" in Ring Magazine, but, you know, I still never got the respect I deserved. It didn't change anything for me at all. I still wasn't respected. They all expected me to lose because it was Tommy Hearns. Bob Arum and Emanuel Steward felt that I didn't belong, and that's what took the rematch 4 years to happen. They still couldn't really give me the respect that I was an elite fighter. Well, Emanuel knew that I was strong, but Bob Arum and those guys thought it was a lucky punch, so they let Tommy make his money elsewhere until they ran out of options. I went through it man.
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