Do you consider Ray Leonard among the 20 Greatest fighters of all-time ?

Pound-for-pound, all-time, would Ray Leonard crack your top 20 ?

 

Yes.

 

I'd say Top30ish.His short career prevents him from cracking the Top 20,even with those names on his ledger.

 

Comfortably.

 

I looked at Ring's 80 of the last 80 years, and while I don't agree with all of it, it's at least something to work from. Adjusting that list, I have him at #12. I think 40 fights keeps him from being in the top 8 or so, but his quality of wins are hard to match.

 

Not with so short a career and a record of 35-5. Ray is definitely top ten of the 80s. Of all time it is not certain tho we can safely say he is somewhere in the top 100.

 

Higher than Cervantes, Palomino, Benitez but lower than Terry Norris and Monzon

 

thats interesting having two leonard's back to back!

 

Huh? Whats a short career got to do with it? If a fighter has lets say 30 fights but beats 10 hall of famers who were truely great fighters but because he only had 30 fights his resume counts for nothing? Thats just an example.

A short career shouldn't hold a fighter back for his placing among the greats as long as what he does in the short space of time is exceptional. Leonard's short career was just that.

 

I think his wins over Benitez, Hearns and Hagler are very good, but I think he lacks the dominance and extensive record to be rated among the top 20 of all-time.

I mean, he held the welterweight title for a few months (one defence) before he lost it to Duran, regained it, defended against Bonds, mega-fight with Hearns, Finch, came back beat Hagler for the middleweight title, and immediately retired. Did nothing great after that.

Sure, he's one of the greats, but I think there are at least 20 others with greater career credentials.
I guess it depends on how much weight you attach to a few single results. Really, it's the Hearns and Hagler fights that put Leonard up with the greats.

 

That isn't his career record though. It's 36-3-1 (25). And only 1 of those losses is really worth counting, as the Norris and Camacho defeats were when he was shot. The only real defeat of the guy's career came against one of the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers of all-time, and his resume contains the names Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Benitez. It's wrong to slate that record. He belongs in the top 20, and maybe the top 10.