Sugar Ray Leonard vs Carlos Palomino

Speed kills...Leonard by TKO late

 

Leonard beat Benitez convincingly and that's what the card shows:



Ray Leonard 146 lbs beat Wilfred Benitez 144 lbs by TKO at 2:54 in round 15 of 15

• Date: 1979-11-30
• Location: Caesars Palace, Sports Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
• Referee: Carlos Padilla
• Judge: Harry Gibbs 136-134
• Judge: Art Lurie 137-130
• Judge: Ray Solis 137-133

 

This … I was not a Leonard fan in real time, I really am not a fan now, but I have to appreciate and acknowledge greatness. There’s a retroactive effort to denigrate him as with Ali, another flashpoint for boxing fans. SRL at 147 takes Palomino and he takes him a lot easier than folks posting in this thread think and it very well could end well shy of the distance.

Leonard is in the conversation for GOAT. Palomino is no jabroni and he’s another of those beloved guys but I might could get him in the Top 25.

 

Duran toyed with Palomino.

 

Leonard`s 3 inch reach advantage would have been too much, he was a big welter.

 

Only because he had a 4 inch reach advantage.

 

This is one of these fights from a technical view. Leonard and Palomino are about equal. But from a athleticism view , Leonard was a mile ahead.
That's the biggest difference and the reason Leonard would beat Palomino convincingly.
Leonard in my opinion would give the referee no choice but to stop the fight between 10-14 rds
Though Palomino may not get knocked off his feet.
Leonard's superiority would clearly be evident and there'd be no reason to let the fight continue with the brave but outclassed and battered Palomino taking unesssasery punishment.

 

This is why I prefer Classic you guys are real boxing fans not fans of a boxer.

 

Peak Leonard will always be a load for any defensive boxer, any boxer his size, and even some boxers bigger than him.

 

I think McCallum would have beaten him at 154 and 160.

 

No way Palomino gets dropped or stopped. This one's going to the final bell. Ray takes the decision, but his body would be all black and blue, just as it was after Montreal.

 

Lenard was not losing to Benitez. Carlos was very tough but Ray was about two classes above him and either wins a wide decision or a possible TKO.

 

I think Ray outboxes him and at points plants and outfights Carlos.

Palomino was a strong body puncher but I don’t think he gets close enough often enough to wear Ray down. It wouldn’t devolve into the kind of grueling fight Carlos would need it to be in order to win.

Ray pulls away and cruises to a points win, along the lines of 12-3 or 11-4. Too much speed and his combos would find a home far more often than Palomino’s body work.

 

Carlos Palomino wasn't Roberto Duran.