Maybe but Ray was one of the most dangerous fighters during an era when fighters were quicker and much better than modern fighters, Hearns would have destroyed Manny.
Really hard to say. Both have good cases depending on what you like. Manny has all those wins in title fights from FW to JMW, and arguably the greatest achievement in boxing in beating both the current lineal FW champion and the future lineal MW champion. But SRL has arguably the best four wins of any fighter, so they both have unique achievements in different ways. It boils down to what you like, really.
SRL for sure (5-1-1 or 5-2-0 against Benitez, Duran, Hearns & Hagler is ridiculous), add to that underrated wins against Kalule, Green, Bonds, Viruet, Ranzany and Lalonde and IMO it's a clear win for SRL.
Ray. Quality over quantity. He beat a peak Benitez. He psyched out Duran. He was getting outboxed by Hearns, then turned up the heat and went toe to toe to knock him out. He had a 3 and half year lay off and moved up to beat Marvin. Manny was great. A true ATG. He has many, many fantastic wins. But he doesn't have any better wins than what Ray has.
For me it's SRL based on his top shelf wins. Those matter more to me. I'd rather 4 wins against ATG, than 10 wins against good fighters.
Nah. Ray had big advantages in height and reach, and he too had unbelievable speed and one punch knockout power. He would have been too much for Manny at WW. Manny wouldn't have boxed him. He'd have fought him. That would have been his undoing.
