I have a bit of a hard time seeing even the best version of Leonard at this weight beating the best version of Curry. Curry was just so fast and so skilled. Would Curry's chin be a problem? Your thoughts?
Curry looked fast with Mike McCallum, but Ray is faster than Mike. Curry would do ok in the early rounds but I think Ray would come on with his bigger heart and knock out Curry in 9-12 rounds. Curry would do well as long as it lasts and might even be winning the rounds.
Going by a prime leonard's showing against Ayub Kalule,I reckon he could beat Curry. It would be a very good fight for the first third,but Leonard would slowly take over,and beat The Cobra on a tko,sometime after the tenth. Ray had just that little bit more than Don.
So only Duran could ? Did Curry have a worse chin / power / technique / size/reach / speed than Duran ?
I've got to give the nod to Curry here. I see the Cobra's effective punching attack edge this for a UD.
It's generally over looked nowadays but ,Curry was at one time seen to be as good as Leonard ,and perceived as the next challenger for Hagler .His subsequent stoppage by Honeghan should not detract from his earlier ,impressive performances.Leonard v Curry ,would be a pick em, imo.
currys problem would be the same thing that got him put on his arse against the bodysnacther ,curry had a habit of leavibg his chin up in the air when pulling back leonards speed would make this a very dangerous thing to do
Curry would end up beating Ray in the early rounds, but Ray would find his rhythm in the middle rounds, ending up in the 11th, where Leonard stops Don after a couple of knockdowns.It's also possible that a coldcock could happen, considering Donald's somewhat mixed success at 154.
The fight starts out even, but Ray knocks out Donald in the sixth round, after leaving 147, Curry's psyche was fragile, but you had to be a certain fighter to exploit it.
stylewise I don't see how Curry could beat Hagler. Curry stood with his feet too wide apart for a guy who had such a great jab as Marvin Hagler. This fight almost looks like a picking apart fight where he stops Donald in 5. And it would not be a war.