Don Curry - Could have been ATG or simply overrated?

Understood.

Yeah, I'd agree that a lot of their areas of strength were the same and that Leonard was the stronger in just about every area. I just wonder how well he would cope with Curry's style (however familiarly it echoed aspects of his own) being unused to looking across the ring at it.

 

RAY WOULD OF SLAUGHTERED DONALD AT ANY POINT OF HIS CAREER. i, HAVE NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT WHATSOEVER!!

 

A valid point. Which is precisely why I would have picked Curry to win once Leonard had become the more tarnished of the two.

 

I honestly think Curry would have given SRL fits, he's got a great shot at beating Leonard, Curry had a great defence, a true sharpshooter & Leonard was not that hard to hit, an intriguing match-up indeed & it's Leonard who has to solve the puzzle here. Now Leonard was what I call a 'cluster puncher' and he'd really have to stay right in the pocket & bang it out, literally have to smash Curry's defence apart, a war of attrition for him, much like with the Benitez fight, but Curry had amazing reflexes that more than matched Leonards. Of all the opponants I definitely pick Curry to be the one to outpoint Leonard, just down to the style factor. Would Leonard go onto the back foot to play the countering game? Would Curry oblige? It's a coin toss, a really hard nights in store for Leonard IMHO.

 

While you are noted for, to put it mildly, not being overly fond of Leonard, this is very well put. :thumbsup

 

Excellent post.

 

fof, would love your Leonard vs. Curry input.

 

:good

 

Yeh I loathe him, as you all well know, but I'm not blind to his guts, grit & ability. With hind sight I don't think Leonard had much left in him at 147, brutal schedule he undertook in such a short space of time, and everyone's entitled to a stinker especially depending on opponent, i.e Larry Bonds, but he was not keen on any rematches, much preferred Finch & Stafford. The Howard comeback fight was a prelim for him to take McCrory next & then Curry, he wanted no part of Hagler, even after talking his way into it! In 84 He could have had Duran at 154 or Hearns, big mega $$$$$$ rematches, but he opted to have the Howard warm up to shed the rust & then go back to 147, no doubt he thought that he could dispose of these two squatters, Curry & McCrory. But the next up coming generation at 147 were an imposing bunch indeed. Just that short time out, convinced Leonard that he did'nt have it anymore, he couldn't flee the sport fast enough, if Howard could make him look a fool, he knew it was certain doom, at any weight, on a competitive level playing field that is!!!!

 

Thanks man, but I think Magoo and Duranimal have covered most of the bases already.
My opinion is that it would be a chess match for much of the fight; each guy testing the other's defenses with probing punches and throwing feints, neither committing to too much because both would be aware that each can hurt the other.
I can see Curry getting some heavy shots in here and there, he was so good at making hard things look easy, and his timing was excellent. He was so smooth at his best. I think it's possible that Curry could outbox Leonard in center ring, to the surprise of some.
How Ray would react (my bet) is that it would get him to start fighting more aggressively. Ray was a pretty solid puncher and had relentless determination, and I think he might do better in a fight where both are fighting aggressively and where the fight is less of a chess match.

I don't want to pick an outright winner because for me it's not an easy fight to call. Curry for a spell really was something else and reputation aside, it's a fight Leonard could conceivably lose.

 

LOL at Colin Jones and Nino LaRocca being some kind of ATG-level defining fights.

His defense was very suspect. Honeyghan ran him out of the ring and nobody's putting Lloyd in the HoF. Starling was an exceptional defensive fighter but hardly an offensive whiz, although very clever.

Curry didn't all of a sudden burn out mid-prime. He just reached a ceiling.

 

Honeyghan really was a shooting comet burning spectacularly and bright and burning out super fast . Lloyd's lifestyle really took it's toll very quickly he could of gone on to be a star for longer than he was . That's why he's underrated :yep

If curry had simply moved up to middle to fight hagler as was thought would happen instead of fighting honeyghan . Curry may have taken a more damaging beating at the hands of the marvelous one but it would of caused less damage to his reputation in the long run

 

Donald was a very good fighter during most of his time at welter and special for a couple of them.He didn't have best chin, however, and there were times he could look flat (i.e Finch).Timing probably also worked in his favor for a bit. If that was Bobby Joe Young in there with him instead of Jun-Sok Hwang that night, he would have lost.Also, if the McCory fight was held in 1983 like they started to instead of the actual 1985 date, he would have been edged.Otherwise, if not for certain circumstances, would have gone very far.

 

I guess for some the glass will always be half empty. :conf


I suppose a little devil's advocacy may have been in order to balance the scales after so much positivity. :think Even so, these posts have the same vibe towards Curry as duranimal's often do toward SRL. :yep

 

The guy's resume speaks for itself: very good fighter but hardly a great one. If people are pointing to wins over Colin Jones and Nino LaRocca to prove he could hang with Leonard and Hearns, well, some glasses get shattered.