The British Boxing Forum's 'What if?' Thread

Leonard was winning that fight clearly,and it was only ever going in one direction,regardless of what the scorecards may have read.The speed and movement Leonard gave Duran in the rematch is unlike anything Duran had ever experienced in his life.And no,Edwin Viruet,Villomar Fernandez and Lou Bizzarro aren't comparable to Leonard.


And who cares how many fights he had? It hadn't been an issue up until that point,and he sure as hell hadn't shown any signs of truly declining.He was coming off of a great win(many say the greatest of recent times) and the greatest performance of his life - there is no evidence to suggest that he wasn't at his peak.



@Fle aman - I never said Moore wasn't a good fighter and I never criticized Duran for losing to the elite fighters.I just don't want to listen to the silly excuses made for him when losing to these elite fighters.

 

I think it depends what sort of Johnson turns up. A Johnson that trains hard takes his opponent seriously and Langford was obviously one to put the fear into him would have a decent chance in all honesty Langford was an always improving fighter but I wouldnt say he was a dead cert to beat Johnson during his reign. Yes if he had caught him when Willard did but when Johnson was truly at his best focused and determined I think he beats Langford again.

Obviously he wouldnt dare risk the title against Langford because thrived on being the Black heavyweight champion of the world and I that Johnson would have been even more annoyed if a black heavyweight had taken the title from him. hence never wanting to engage a live black opponent like Langford for the title.

 

Did you seriously just use a fight that was thirteen pounds above and five and a half years after Leonard had beaten Duran as evidence for his decline? I suppose we should rip away credit from Ken Norton for beating Ali after Leon Spinks whooped Ali five years later,too,huh?


Do you have any idea just how significant that 'No Mas' fight was and what it did to Duran's reputation? It was devastating.Not physically,but mentally.There are so many examples of boxers who began a dramatic loss after a crushing loss - Duran isn't alone in that department.



And how did you expect Duran to look against a speed demon that refused to provide a stationary target? He looked as good as Leonard allowed him to look.

 

What if Hearns-Leonard was 12 rounds?

What if Wlad was the only Klit?

 

Leonard late stoppage.

 

Leonard steps up the pressure earlier and gets the stoppage in the 10th or 11th.

 

I've always fancied Leonard over 12 in that fight. Hearns wasn't right for a few rounds BEFORE Leonard stepped it up and got stopped when the pressure came. IMHO the end would have come earlier if Leonard had of paced the fight for 12 rounds and pressed earlier.

 

What if Bruno didn't have stamina issues and knew what to do when he was hurt??:think

 

Bruno was most DEFINITELY a top ten HW.