Did Sugar Ray Leonard cherry pick Donny Lalonde?

Ray absolutely cherry picked Lalonde, and the weight 168 and two titles was a terrible insult on boxing history. He is one of the greats ever but this fight was not legit.. not for two titles.

 

Leonard definitely found a fighter he was sure he could beat.

Much like Canelo Alvarez, later in his career Leonard was about accomplishments and legacy. That being said, Leonard liked to give himself the best chance possible before he got in the ring. He wanted to win a title in a fourth weight class and Lalonde was an available and relatively safe option. Lalonde wasn't a bum but he was levels below Ray. I seriously doubt Ray would have taken the fight if the champ was somebody like Michael Spinks or Matthew Saad Muhammad.

Also, if a champion, be that Leonard, Alvarez, Andre Ward or anyone else can dictate the rules, more power to them. Nobody makes the opposing parties acquiesce to the champ's demands.

 

Yep, Lalonde was supposed to be the easiest mark and more so under Ray’s self advantaging catch weight specifications. Almost came undone though.

Was Ray Robinson somewhat particular about certain aspects - though of course not to the degree of Leonard?

I read a great anecdote years ago.

Ray demanded a certain size ring. The promoter told him no prob, here it is. Ray scrutinised the ring just with his eyes and said no, this ring is smaller than what I asked for. The promoter pulled out a measuring tape and said “Here, check it for yourself”. And so Ray did and after making his due measurements ,Ray scratched his head, apologised and said he could’ve sworn the ring looked smaller.

Unbeknownst to Ray, the promoter had previously cut out the exact discrepancy that Ray calculated with his own eyes from a mid way point in the tape and then reaffixed the remaining ends.

As Jack Palance might’ve said “BS or not?”Who knows but a great yarn all the same.

 

Yes he did

 

Yep, without a doubt.

 

a 24' Ring allows the 'athletic' type a lot of space for running & escaping danger...

 

Leonard = Canelo
Their ways to accomplishments and career managements are basically the same. And yes, he cherry picked Lalonde.

 

Absolutely yes and used his star power to bait LaLonde to fight at 168 for there money when LaLonde was a natural 175 pounder .. Ray was in addition to being an exceptional fighter a master manipulator ..

 

Probably yes, as Lalonde was arguably the weakest title holder at 175 at the time. But I still consider it a very good win and an action packed fight. Leonard was still taking a risk fighting him given that Lalonde was a hard puncher in prime.

 

The win over Lalonde was alright, the fight being for an additional vacant title at a weight class that neither had ever seriously competed for before was not.

 

Yes, of course.

 

Yow...I can see Quawi knocking him senseless.