Is Sugar Ray Leonard the complete boxer?

If not, what is it that he can't do? He can fight from a distance, be the aggressor, he can punch, throw lightning fast combinations, short punches, be on the backfoot, etc.

 

He couldn't score on the backfoot. I'm going to be specific about this. Throwing jabs while backing away similtaneously. Against Hagler he stopped, threw punches, then got on his bike around the perimeter. Very few fighters can effectively get off or land punches while backing away from their opppnents at the same time. I never seen Leonard do it.

 

No. Why? Because he could not win the hearts of proper blue collar boxing fancy.... He was brilliant, but far too arrogant. We did not need him, we had Hagler, Hearns and Duran.

If he was complete, after the Camacho fight, the fancy would of felt sorry for him, instead there was a feeling of he got what was owed him.

 

That has nothing to do with his ability in the ring.

 

He is probably as close to the complete fighter as i have seen. I don't think here is any fighter ever who is totally complete though

 

But in-ring ability is only part (all be it a significant part) of being a complete boxer. Leonard's arrogance, self importance and detachment from the boxing fancy, meant he was never going to be the complete article in truly the sport of Kings.

 

Sugar Ray Leonard is the most complete boxer of all time in my estimation.

 

I'd say he is pretty close to the complete boxer.

 

I think he's the most complete I've seen. Have to take another look and see how he threw punches while retreating, though.

I agree that he ran, punched, ran against Hagler, but that was after his prime. Off the top of my head, I've never seen a better or more complete perfomance than his fights against Benitez, however.

 

Get out of here. This is fighters we're talking about, not good-will ambassadors.

And who would you rather have? SRR the wife beater maybe, or someone else?

 

I'm purely talking from a boxer's technical perspective, i don't care about ambitions, politics or inspiration here.

 

Duran showed he is not perfectly complete, and Robinson was just as complete with more power. I'd consider him one of the two pretty much complete boxer's we've seen.

 

On my earlier post. Watch parts of Whitaker-Nelson. That sums things up. Whitaker moves back in a straight line and cracks a triple jab through Nelson's guard, similtaneously. Leonard could hit on the move laterally, but not on the backfoot. His effectiveness on the backfoot was all defense, standing stationary, then throwing punches. Thats not boxing on the backfoot. He does score highly with his ring generalship nontheless.