Thomas Hearns made more than $100 million as a serial knockout artist. Now he has dementia

Thomas Hearns once stopped Mexican knockout artist Pipino Cuevas in two rounds at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, winning the WBA welterweight title at 21. Known as “The Hitman” and, in Detroit, “La Cobra,” he went on to become a five-division champion and one of boxing’s Four Kings alongside Ray Leonard, Roberto Durán and Marvin Hagler.

His memorable fights, including his 1984 knockout of Durán, helped generate more than $100 million in purses. But the money did not secure the future often associated with carefully managed sports fortunes. Hearns, now 67, is estimated to have no more than $500,000 left.

Videos that circulated a year ago showed Hearns moving slowly during rehabilitation and using walkers with medical assistance nearby. The immediate alarm eased when it emerged that he had undergone hip-replacement surgery after years of intense boxing and the effects of age had caused severe wear and pain.

The news then took a more serious turn. In March 2026, a judge in Oakland County, Michigan, appointed Ronald Hearns, Thomas’s eldest son, as his father’s guardian and legal conservator. Ronald can now make medical and financial decisions on his behalf. The court process disclosed that Hearns had been diagnosed with dementia.

Hearns himself later offered a less dramatic message than some accounts surrounding the decision. “I’m fine. I want the world to know that I’m fine. I feel fine,” he said publicly. Ronald explained that his priority was allowing his father to enjoy his life while ensuring that no one took advantage of him financially or physically.

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I’m fine. I want the world to know that I’m fine. I feel fine.