Back in the day,although I marvelled at Ray's skills,I never took to him as a person. Always found him to be almost too perfect and calculating. In recent times,though,I've warmed to him considerably.
what did he have to say about Terry Norris? also, does he discuss the possible matchup with Micheal Nunn? What went wrong there? Does he admit he was afraid?
cuz if he dont mention Mike its becuz he knows this would happen [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS2rv-ArTbA&playnext=1&list=PLDABE52CC5F3DBFA2[/ame]
He only mentioned Norris in passing during the "How To" section at the back of the book. On his chapter on how to throw the left jab he uses the example of Simon Brown flooring Terry with a jab to show how effective it is as a punch if thrown and landed correctly on a glass jawed fighter.
...Why does Ray insist on spoon-feeding his fans that myth after all these years? This is no different than it ever was. He always was "gracious" -never rude, but that wasn't the problem that many have had with Ray. The problem was that he was a conniver with a fake smile, an all-about-me back-stabber. I hope that his memories of his great fights aren't just a continuation of his and Angelo's 'talking points'.
Leonard couldve taken some lessons himself on how to land on TN's chin. A fast moving Terry Norris was a far more elusive foe than any Ray Leonard had faced before
I will probably buy it. Ya know as we get older and time goes on, more and more people that we remember watching ourselves will be writing books. We'll see how they thought about things as they're happening now...
You should read it and decide for yourself. And I, and many others, don't think its a myth. I just dont think it'd have made a decisive difference.
Have you read the book? I enjoy your writing, but shy away from anything related to Duran/Leonard. Most everybody has a hero, but I do think your bias detracts from your otherwise great work. Just my opinion. No offense meant.
The fact is Ray beat Tommy in the first fight when he was the closest to his prime when both were welterweights, so even if Tommy had won that fight in 1989 which he deserved to, Ray always has the edge over Tommy. Now had Tommy beaten him immediately after the fight in 1981 in a rematch, then the first win wouldn't have meant as much, but Ray knew not to give Tommy a rematch until 8 years later.
it wasn't that. The Leonard of 1991 was not that sharp and was following Terry around the ring like he was a slugger, when really that was never Ray's game. Ray really was not as great from 1987 to 1989 as people thought. He beat Hagler by studying Hagler, and Hagler was aging at the same rate as Ray and actually more since he was active and had wars with Hearns and Mugabi in the two fights previous to Ray the last 2 years in 85 and 86. Ray fought Hearns in 1989 and since he knew Hearns, I think that helped him not look as bad since he already fought him and knew what to expect. Had he never fought Hearns before 1989 I think Tommy would have stopped him. And the Duran fight again another opponent like Hearns where he was from a similar era as Ray and he already fought him.. Terry in 1991 was 12 years after Ray first won his title and Terry was too fast for a Ray who should not have fought at 154. It was the handspeed which beat Ray. He was just too old at that point and could not fight a fast handspeed fight which at 154 was necessary. When he fought at 160-168 he tried to use power to win the fights post Hagler. But even against the limited Lalonde, the last knockdown was scored with punches on the break. The last time Ray was really great was Hearns in 1981. The Hagler fight was great timing on Ray's part and a great performance, but it was not a great Ray. Had he fought Hearns on the night of April 6, 1987 at 160 Tommy would have probably beaten him. I truly believe this. He studied Hagler all the years he was on HBO and knew when to duck and how to fight him.