6 of the greatest , if not the greatest , lightweight fighters of all time pitted against each other. Ok so each fighter will fight every other fighter. Who comes out with the most wins? Does anyone loose all their fights? Anyone win all their fights? Benny Leonard Roberto Duran Tony Canzoneri Pernell Whitaker Ike Williams Joe Gans :bbb
Interesting thread, I would like to see it get the input it deserves . My ATG list would be Leonard Gans Williams Duran In this context lets have some posters giving their opinions.
M, just as I would have it ! Benny Leonard by all accounts of observers who had seen him in his prime, raved about his great all-around abilities,ruling over the best contenders in lightweight history for SEVEN years. It was said Leonard ,held back from koing many of his top opponents, so he could get lucrative rematches with them. I rate him ,as Ray Arcel did, the lightweight equivalent of the Welterweight Ray Robinson. "A perfect fighter ".
Who comes out with the most wins? Benny Leonard in my opinion, he was the most complete of the bunch........Duran would be tough because he was too powerful and big for Whitaker and Canzoneri....
Well my opinion on it is that Benny is the greatest of the 6. Thats not in debate for me. H2H i think Benny , Duran and Pea are the best 3 but not sure any of the 6 would come out with 5 wins. Benny vs Pea/Duran would be very interesting fights. I would say that although Leonard has the superior boxing skills and ring IQ that Pea and Duran have greater physical attributes with them being more athletic.
Hard to envision anyone getting close to a prime whittaker, but would he be throw enough to win over 15 rounds? Duran has a great shout because he's relentless. I'd love to comment on benny but i'm not qualified.
Benny Leonard Roberto Duran Tony Canzoneri Pernell Whitaker Ike Williams Joe Gans Leonard vs Gans = Leonard Leonard vs Duran = Duran Leonard vs Canzoneri = Leonard Leonard vs Whitaker = Whitaker Leonard vs Williams = Williams 2 wins Duran vs Gans = Duran Duran vs Leonard = Duran Duran vs Whitaker = Whitaker Duran vs Williams = Williams Duran vs Canzoneri = Duran 3 wins Gans vs Williams = Williams Gans vs Canzoneri = Gans Gans vs Duran = Duran Gans vs Whitaker = Whitaker Gans vs Leonard = Leonard 1 win Williams vs Gans = Gans Williams vs Duran = Duran Williams vs Leonard = Williams Williams vs Whitaker = Whitaker Williams vs Canzoneri = Williams 2 wins Canzoneri vs Williams = Williams Canzoneri vs Duran = Duran Canzoneri vs Gans = Gans Canzoneri vs Whitaker = Whitaker Canzoneri vs Leonard = Leonard 0 wins Whitaker vs Duran = Whitaker Whitaker vs Williams = Whitaker Whitaker vs Canzoneri = Whitaker Whitaker vs Leonard = Whitaker Whitaker vs Gans = Whitaker 5 wins Therefore, Whitaker has the most as if therefore the best H2H. However, if we had to rank them on an ATG Lightweight list... 1. Gans 2. Duran 3. Leonard 4. Williams 5. Whitaker 6. Canzoneri