Wilfred Benítez vs. Thomas Hearns, billed as The Battle of Champions, was a professional boxing match contested on December 3, 1982, for the WBC light middleweight title.

In November 1980 it was announced that the two fighters had been booked for a February 1981 bout in Madison Square Garden that was going to be on a blockbuster fight card billed as "This Is It" that also featured a heavyweight fight between Ken Norton and Gerry Cooney and a light heavyweight title unification bout between WBA title holder Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and WBC champion Matthew Saad Muhammad.

[8] He would then make two successful title defenses against Carlos Santos and Roberto Durán before an agreement was reached in October 1982 to face Hearns on December 3 of that year.

[11] The usually aggressive Hearns, who up to that point had been widely renowned for his power with 32 of his wins coming by knockout, managed to outbox Benítez, highly regarded for his defensive abilities, to score a majority decision victory.

[12] Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated would report: "It has been the lot of Thomas Hearns to be regarded solely as a cannon, something to be rolled into a ring to reduce an opponent to rubble.