How great was Ray Leonard really?

He did not have the career of a SRR or a Willie Pep but in the snapshot of his prime he was a great fighter, he showed his skill power and speed vs Benitez in a classic chess match. He showed his heart and ability vs Hearns and showed he could follow a careful plan in the rematch with Duran and Hagler...compared to fights like SRR who was 128-1-2 going into the 1st Turpin fight and 131-2-2 after the Graziano fight...Pep was 134-1-1 going into the 1st Saddler fight and 151-2-1 going into the 3rd Saddler fight and the Saddler fights were after a plane crash and a broken back and severe injuries.

Leonard had a short career but fought some great fighters and beat them for the most part...In the snapshot of his prime he was one of the best at 147lbs but hard to really compare with the amazing amount of fights of guys like Greb,SRR or Pep

 

Just the styles he fought and beat and the greats puts him in the 1-2 top welterweight, and 1-10 ATG.

 

A very fair look at it.

His 150 fight amateur career(A big reason his pro career wasn't as long, he was a committed amateur and didn't even want to turn pro) and his legitimate and devastating eye injury and semi-retirement are massive factors in his short career. He didn't have as large a body of work, but he has some of the best wins a boxer has ever racked up.