Could Sugar Ray Leonard be top 10 fighter of all time?

Resume-wise, he has everything you could want. It still amazes me when you realize he not only beat all those great names, but he also TKO'd all of them but Hagler. Easily one of the best finishers of all time. Skill-wise, he has everything you want. Fast, adaptable, durable, good power, very good ring intelligence.

I guess the only real knock against him was that he obviously went too long and had some bad losses/robberies. Still, I don't know why Leonard gets so much put on him for losing to three great fighters in Hearns, Norris, and Camacho, particularly the last 2 given his age. And if the only knock against your record is that Duran and Hearns on their best night can eek out a decision win against you, that's hardly a bad position to be in H2H-wise.

I'd also wonder if there's a pattern with his tougher fights though. It seems like if he gets hurt early (Duran I, Hearns I, Norris, Camacho), Leonard can be taken out, or at least put out of his comfort zone enough to start taking rounds from him. I just wonder if anyone knows of any counterarguments for that. Maybe Lalonde, but not many other names come to mind immediately.

 

possibly.

 

Top 5.

 

Top 20-25.

 

I have him at no.21 on my list.

 

He also beat a bunch of good contenders in 1978 and 1979 before fighting benitez. He also beat 2 very good fighters like kalule and lalonde. He is definetly in my top 15.

 

Yes i have him between 6 and 8.

 

Hm, he is a difficult. He really defines top quality wins. But what he lacks is depth and longevity.Very hard to judge IMO. Factor in that in most fights he got them when he wanted them and exactly on his terms. That´s a knock I think.

 

Elaborate:huh I dont recall him doing any of that pre Hagler.

 

Didn´t he fight Hagler when he wanted him? Didn´t Hagler wati for years for that fight? Exactly.

 

That is true but what you fail to mention is that Hagler was heavily favored and most thought(myself included) that Hagler was gonna go right thru the inactive Leonard. Leonard moving up and not being active made this a great win. If ESB were around back then anyone who picked Leonard would have been laughed off this site and considered a troll.

 

Of course Hagler was favoured. Of course it was a great win. That never was my point.

 

Your point what is that it hurt his legacy in your opinion you even stated that, but it ended up making his legacy even greater.