What's your Opinion Of Sugar Ray Leonard?

I agree with all except for the last sentence. As much as I can't stand him, he was fantastic.

 

Not that it matters, but I don't think Camacho was that light a puncher. I mean he was because he he rarely sat down on his punches, but when he decided to put some fizz on his shots, he could.

 

Cheers. The old Ray could be polarising.

It was interesting to read Leonard say how he never really “felt” the punches in his hey day the way he felt them against the relatively light hitting Camacho. You could literally see Leonard smarting with each and every shot landed on him - it wasn’t looking good from the outset.

Though I will say an older, heavier, less mobile Hector was sitting down on his punches better, it just goes to show that when a fighter has “lost it”, it all goes, including resilience in both physical and psychological terms.

 

LOL. Your post didn’t appear when I submitted mine, good stuff, great minds think alike….Ha!

 

I didn't like some of the less honorable things he did especially out of the ring. I'm referring to his boxing career. He was a true Superstar and had the power to get his way where most fighters never could dream.
Having an organization break their own rules so Ray could tell himself he won titles in 5 weight classes. That was fraudulent. Period.
The Hagler/Leonard fight stinks to high heaven. I've haven't been a huge Hagler fan other than respecting all he earned (the hard way). The referee was bought as was at least one judge. 118-110 Nobody can talk around that.
There was some corruption around Ray. A draw in the Hearns rematch just another cowinky dink. Montreal being scored so close. Some of Leonard fans have been conditioned to believe he should have won. A fight that Leonard got his tail whipped.
Cosell had an influence with his bias for Leonard. Howard had alot of charisma.
There's always the party in Baltimore where he humiliated Hagler to get attention for himself one night. That was 100% a dickmove.

People get irritated that I raise some of these questionable things pointing more to his character than as a boxer. Ray Leonard was an exceptional talent, one of the best, most complete boxers I have ever seen.

I'm a fan of who Ray Leonard is today. I admire his honesty regarding his addiction. I believe he has changed alot. That takes a great man. He is a great ambassador for the sport.

 

Well he couldn't have come in over 160 in his defenses. Early fights.

 

I know he had to vist the scales twice and strip naked to make the weight for the Minter fight.

 

Wow. I did not know that. He had a big reputation about easily making weight.

 

Exactly. Do you know which early fights?

 

Maybe he did easily make weight. On the day he was half a pound over but that doesn't mean he'd struggled much to get there.

 

Thanks Unforgiven

 

The closest thing to the perfect fighting machine. Power, blinding speed ,boxing brain, chin stamina and ruthless finisher.

 

The Errol Spence of his day, one of the most dangerous fighters of that era a great athlete but had average fundamentals, Duran schooled him in theuir first clash despite being a small welter, Leonard use an active guard and his welter reach to fustrate Duran in their rematch, he was overrated but had amazing hand speed.

 

It's all on boxrec Clint. Start from his earliest fights and it will take about 20 seconds to see them all.

 

You're very free with the accusations, Guerra's card was disgraceful but what evidence is there that Steele the referee was bought? The fight was so close it could reasonably have gone either way. Hagler' s corner had the veto on the judges and turned down Harry Gibbs who watched it onTV and scored it for Hagler.
What evidence is there that Leonard had any input into the scoring of the Hearns rematch?
Ray himself has said Hearns won the fight. Many of the press seemed to think Ray deserved the win.

• Judge
• [url]Tom Kaczmarek[/url] 113-112
  Judge: [url]Dalby Shirley[/url] 112-112
• Judge: [url]Jerry Roth[/url] 112-113
• Unofficial AP scorecard: 113-112 Leonard
• Unofficial UPI scorecard: 113-112 Leonard
• Unofficial Boston Herald scorecard: 113-112 Hearns
• Unofficial [url]KO Magazine[/url] scorecard: 115-112 Hearns
• [url]WBC[/url] World Super Middleweight Title (1st defense by Leonard)