He was without a doubt technically well rounded. Always in balance and a very sharp combination puncher. But he wasn't as adept at fighting in the pocket as the Durans, Moores and McCallums of this world. And I don't think his footwork quite matches up that of for example SRR and Ali either, for example. For me he had very good technique, but not quite up there with the ATG technicians. Your thoughts?
Not that highly, technically he made mistakes and you could see his defense being very leaky against Mayweather, HEarns, Duran 1, Benitez
He's not a technician IMO; his style is too heavily reflex-based/reliant on physical attributes. He's not unorthodox in any real way and isn't somebody you'd describe as overtly aggressive, so that can lead to the perception that he's a textbook fighter and therefore a technician... in reality, a technician is more than just a well-rounded boxer with no glaring weirdo traits. If you want to go into detail, his vulnerability to counters (if you're quick enough), occasional tendency to wild punching, casual defence are all examples of absence of technicianship.
Not that I think he was a bad fighter or anything, just not strictly a technician. In a way it was an advantage, made him more adaptable where somebody like Hopkins got unstuck.
He had problems with the taller,rangy Thomas Hearns. On the whole he was pretty well gifted,technically. As you say though,he had weaknesses that certain types could exploit.
Basically your asking about his skill set? I would say a strong 9 out of 10. He got hit some but show me a guy who fights Benitez, Duran and Hagler that doesn't get found.
Very good at the least. His sheer speed and combination of speed, power and ability probably allowed him not to have to refine his technical adeptness to pinnacle levels.
I basically agree with all of this. I think he was more of a speed and power athlete who overwhelmed with his physical advantages than a technician. Far more Roy Jones than Floyd Mayweather.
That's a fair summary - When you could move like Leonard could, the rest just kind of fell into place. His footwork was pretty much as good as it gets, from my perspective, with which he set up his rapid-fire assaults, from a wide-ranging armory. This, despite perhaps not being quite textbook.
