Floyd Mayweather Vs Sugar Ray Leonard who wins prime for prime

Leonard invented the catchweight for his title shot at “175.”

 

I don’t buy into that notion that those men were better then the past mentioned. It’s an era that’s way overblown imo. Great fighters in their own right but they weren’t super human. They were all bearable.

 

The modern era is the most overrated era on this forum.

Boxing hasn't been all that in the 21st century.

 

Why exactly?

 

I don’t think the modern era is all that amazing. I don’t take to much stock in “this era is so much better then this one”. Every era has its competitors some are more top heavy then others but the rest is usually all pretty close.

 

Cause of what he has achieved and the way he dominates his era.

 

Meh.

His record isn't that special compared to the greats of previous eras.

 

It's not like I'm putting him in the top 10, but he's definitely top 50.
There's no way there are 50 boxers out there with a better career than him.

 

At least 75.

 

Over 100 pd fr pd, no special rules or hometowns 15 rds, I would pick to beat him.

 

75 ?!???
You must be joking. Due name them please. When you have time.

 

Floyd was better defensively.

He was a defensive counterpuncher for most of his fights at the higher weights.

Leonard and Duran were just as accurate, and Leonard was better offensively than what Floyd was.

They all had great accuracy and timing.

Leonard had a bigger repertoire of shots.

As great as Floyd was, his overall skill set wasn’t above Leonard’s and Duran’s. Being better defensively and being more conservative doesn’t mean that he had better overall skills. And to claim that he was more skilful and that it wasn’t even close, is just fantasy talk that is based on nothing.


Yes, Floyd didn’t get hit a lot. Again, he was a genius, pure and simple. But although he’s one of the greatest to ever lace them up, the simple fact is: He’d have gotten hit more had he have faced better opponents.

Now you can try and convince me, yourself and others that he beat really great fighters, but you have to take into account the following factors:

1. He never fought a prime ATG.

2. He never faced anyone who could match him for speed and skills together.

3. He never faced anyone who could match him for speed and skills, AND who was also bigger, stronger and more powerful than what he was.


I don’t think Floyd would have been blown out by guys like Leonard and Hearns. But he wouldn’t have beaten them, as he didn’t have the offence needed to have beaten them.

It’s great that you fight his corner. But when it comes down to it, all you can offer as evidence that Floyd would have beaten them, is that he was accurate etc, before then reminding us all of his record.

Sorry, but it’s not enough.

Highlighting his resume is pointless when he never encountered anybody like Leonard before.

You also never look at how they’d realistically have matched up stylistically.

You also never even consider the psychological aspect of things.


I watched Floyd’s career in its entirety.

I don’t like him as a person, but see him as being one of the greatest of all time. But I know that he’d never have been supremely confident in beating a prime version of Ray Leonard, and I know that had Ray have fought him aggressively, that he’d have shelled up and fought defensively, as to not have gotten hurt.

There’s no nostalgic bias here.

Floyd was a safety first fighter with hand issues for the majority of his time at WW and JMW.

Floyd had the better defence, but that wouldn’t have gotten him the win. Floyd would have needed a lot of offence to beat Ray.

Ray had the better offence, and he could match Floyd for speed, skills and reach, and he was bigger, stronger and more powerful, whilst also possessing supreme confidence and arrogance.

Nobody at the time that Floyd fought them, even compares to a prime version of Ray Leonard.


Ray would have been a significant favourite.

 

Floyd couldn’t have matched Ray if Ray had fought him.

He wasn’t as big, as strong or as powerful.

Ray would have shut down his offence and made him fight defensively.

There’s no way that Floyd would have fought Ray in a shootout at WW.

It’s a fantasy.

It’s why Ray would have been the favourite.

For the first time in his career, Floyd would have encountered a guy who had equal skills, speed and reach, but again, an opponent who was also bigger and more powerful than what he was.

 

It’s just a statement based on nothing.

What he did against the others is irrelevant here.

Yes, he beat the others by making them miss and countering. But once again, he had a reach advantage over almost everyone he fought. He had a speed advantage over everyone he fought. He was more skilful than everyone he fought. And none of the guys were truly great when he fought them.

Again, Ray would have matched him for speed, skills and reach, but he’d have exceeded him in size, strength and power.

He wouldn’t have just made Ray miss before countering him.

We’re talking about a prime ATG here. And again, even if Ray had been getting outboxed by Floyd like how he was against Hearns, Floyd would have had no answer had Ray have put his foot on the pedal and fought Floyd aggressively instead of boxing him.

 

I suggest that you go and familiarise yourself with Ray’s career.

Yes, Floyd matches up well against almost anyone in history. But although he’s a top P4P fighter, like every other great, there’s opponents who possessed styles that he wouldn’t have matched up well against.

Even the greats have a stylistic nemesis.

Ray Leonard would have been a significant favourite over Floyd.

It doesn’t matter if Floyd was undefeated and had better longevity.

It doesn’t matter if he had better stats and was more professional.

All you’re looking at, is a H2H fight at WW.

A H2H fight at WW would have favoured Leonard due to styles.

It’s that simple.

The only thing that’s ever relevant, is how they’d have matched up stylistically.