Remind me again. What did he do in his prime? When discussing Leonard's prime, we arent really saying much. This is not the same as discussing Hagler's prime or Jones or Robinson. We're basically talking 4 fights: Duran 1 which Duran jumped two weight classes and won; the rematch in which Randy Gordon testified Duran sweating off 40 pounds-10 pounds in the last 3 days alone; the Kalule fight, an opponent in which Terry could have probably beaten in half the time, and Hearns, a guy with a china chin who badly outboxed Sugar with his trainer yelling how he was blowing it. I almost forgot the Benitez fight. That's how boring and insignificant it was. I'm sure there will always be able to find someone that got a hard on over it telling us "it was a technically perfect performance" :tired Not a whole lot out there to talk about "Leonard's prime". Who did Ray fight that had Terry's speed? Terry's versatility? Terry's toughness? Terry's defense? Terry's footwork? Terry's late round stamina? Terry's determination to win? Terry's mind blowing power? Now put them all together and what do you get? The man that completely mastered Leonard no problem! :smoke
This has already been attempted in secret, only it has never competely worked out. My logic is the glue which holds this forum together and my opinions are some of the most highly regarded because I back up what I say using facts and results that can't be disputed. Many have tried and many have died in the attempt no matter where or when. I've even had parents begging (not asking) me to train their own children in the sport even though I tell them that's never trained anyone ever. That is how compelling I am when people see me in my full glory. So go ahead and see how long you can stay away from responding to my posts. Nobody's ever done it, nobody ever will.
It's unfortunate that Spinks ended the decade being so badly dominated in 91 seconds, he could've been ranked higher. Even so, I think really highly of what he did. Established himself as one of the greatest light-heavyweights ever, and moved up to become the lineal HW champ. It's interesting, not many people (including me) would really argue against Tyson being ahead of Spinks for the 80s. Yet I doubt many people would seriously try to claim that Tyson is greater historically than Spinks. Despite beating some contenders and titleholders after the 80s, it's like Tyson's all-time ranking went down a decent amount afterwards. I don't have a problem with Leonard or Hagler at the top (I had their bout 114-114 BTW). Leonard had some huge wins but was also inactive for much of the decade, while Hagler was consistently fighting and beating good (or great) fighters from 80 through 86.