Who is greater P4P fighter Joe Louis or Sugar Ray Leonard?

25 consecutive defenses (a record that still stands) carries its own exponential difficulty though, as does beating world class opponents w/ double digit weight advantages (a separate challenge in itself that Leonard didn't have to overcome). & while I wouldn't disagree that Leonard may have had better individual wins, Louis still amassed arguably the 2nd greatest resume in his division's history behind only Ali.

 

25 consecutive defences in a single division (one of the weaker glamour divisions in terms of competition). Julio Cesar Chavez, Floyd Mayweather and Naoya Inoue accomplished this feat whilst moving up in weight but I don't think people would have them over SRL either.

And the extent to dealing with weight disadvantages is negligible the further you go back in time. The talent pool for Super Heavies was awful up until the 90's.

 

You are acting like Schmeling was some barroom brawler who answered a Craigslist ad to sub in at the last minute for Louis' opponent who pulled out, or some journeyman with a record of 21-6-37.

Schmeling was a crafty, cagey veteran and a former champion who spent tons of time in the gym studying and analyzing Louis to come up with one of the most brilliant strategies in the history of the HW division exploiting a weakness many people hadn't noticed. Rather than bashing Louis for losing to Schmeling, you should praise Schmeling for pulling off a huge upset.

If Leonard was thoroughly studied by a smart veteran, he might have gotten dismantled as well. Just saying.

Leonard was also very lucky to get a draw against Hearns in the 2nd fight (he even admits Hearns won that match), and the fight wihr Hagler remains one of the most hotly disputed title fights of all time. If we're scrutinizing careers, there's plenty to scrutinize with Leonard as well, he wasn't perfect. Like getting decked by Donny Lalond.

 

I forgot the fight with lalonde. thanks

Still, Schmeling was rather stiff footed and Leonard had the edge in foot speed . I cant see him hanging around waiting to get nailed. the fact that he can outmaneuver and even thrive on these types, has to make him the favorite. Its boxers with speed and movement that have proven to be Leonard's kryptonite throughout his career