Tommy Hearnes Jr. (son of Detroit boxing great Thomas “Hitman” Hearns) isn’t just another boxing heir benefitting from his father’s notoriety.

He is an accomplished businessman that has more than asserted his own identity both in the ring and outside of it— one of a budding fighter, digital creator, and innovator in the boxing promotion space.

By the time Tommy Hearnes Jr. first entered Kronk Gym as a teen, he was already very familiar with the city’s legendary fight culture thanks to his father.

That said, Tommy never wanted to be viewed as just the “Hitman’s” son.

From an early age, he made it his mission to forge his own course.

Over the course of his career, he has constructed his own unique boxing identity, one he’s dedicated to ensuring is something of his own…not just another footnote in his father’s legacy.

A skilled fighter and creator, Tommy had a brief stint of going undefeated in amateur combat in the early 2000s, eventually winning a National Middleweight amateur Championship in 2004.

He even infamously knocked out his own father in April 2004 in his Detroit Joe Louis arena pro debut – an incident that had all of Detroit’s boxing world buzzing at the time.

From there, Tommy became a digital creator right at a time when the internet and social media were beginning to take hold of society, focusing on his love of boxing, fitness, and fashion.

Today, Tommy runs “Virtual Fights Unlimited,” a digital site for boxing content and community, where he takes pride in getting involved with fans in a way few boxing legends ever would.

Tommy has transmuted his family’s legacy rather than just benefitting from his famous late name.

His startup has brilliantly fused fitness, fashion, and fighting for a 21st-century audience, turning fighting into a community fans can actively engage with online – all while reminding the world that Detroit still dominates the boxing world today.

He is living proof that a known name is not an excuse not to strive for more, but rather, an invitation to write your own story on your own terms and make it count for something.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 22, 2025