would Leonard be ranked had he stayed at welter another year, defeated both Pryor and Curry? I think it could be done for someone of Leonard's talents. Just a couple more wins and he could be ranked with Robinson. Fair or no?
I suppose.... Do you have a Harvey Dent thing going on with Ray Leonard??? One day you downplay him and everything he did to the extreme and accuse him of chickening out of fights with Pryor and Curry but today you reckon he's talented and has the goods to beat both of them. Very strange :huh
I dont rate Sugar Ray Leonard as high as most do. I dont think he's anywhere near Robinson. He wouldn't make my top 5 all-time welters, he might scrape in to the top 10. But I think beating Curry and Pryor would have improved his standing tremendously.
Beating Hagler was Leonard's best P4P achievement. I would rate him lower, unless he fought significantly more fights and beat a few more names at 147.
It would certainly elevate him. His crowning moment was the win over Hagler, & at the time it was a massive upset. Now in hindsight, it's not so much of a shocker when you consider how far Hagler had slipped, & how slow he looked. So he must be judged by the pre-retirement years & not the cherry picking comeback. There were some great wins, no doubt, but too few to be compared with Robinson.
I didnt say he'd win without a struggle but that it's in his favor to win. As good as people think his accomplishments are, they must admit it would look even better with a couple more names. After that a future possible matchup with McCallum then a couple of defenses if he gets by.
What did Aaron Pryor do at welterweight that would elevate Leonard's standing so much? I didn't even think he'd had a welterweight fight by the time Leonard left.
Yeah, he was fighting at 140. But even so, I think he'd represent a better challenge that Green, Bonds, or Finch.
Still hard to "blatantly duck" a guy who isn't campaigning in your weight class, imo to get a shot at the real recognized linear title.
the problem with pryor is that he was always a lightweight. even when he fought at 140 he was tiny for the weight class. he would have had to move way beyond his comfort zone to face leonard and though he wanted it, he didn't bring the money need to lure leonard. it would have been a big enough fight but not huge and for the risk that pryor potentially brought, not worth it in the least. i love pryor but i don't give him much of a chance against leonard. even still, his style would have bothered leonard enough that he probably said "**** this, i'll look elsewhere" if he beat a pryor and a prime curry though, seals top 5 welter all time
Yeah, he would be giving away a lot of size, so why not prove he can hang with the top guys at the weight before acting like the champion has any obligation whatsoever to fight him? I just don't see it. I wouldn't say it's bad for a champ to defend against a champ from the weight class below him, per say. But he's certainly not obligated to do so, imo. And because he was unproven at 147 and small to begin with there, why would it enhance Leonard's legacy so much for welterweight status to fight him?
the only reason it would enhance his legacy significantly beyond a great defense is how highly many rate pryor. i've seen him off, at the bottom and at the top of ATG lists. for some, pryor is one of the modern eras best fighters and a win over him would enhance anyone's legacy, regardless of the weight
As good as Don Curry was, there were always questions about his chin, thanks merely to his genetic link with brother Bruce. I expect that Ray would knock him out, as he had the necessary power. He'd have gotten more credit and mileage for defeating Pryor, and this match would have been highly marketable. The Hawk would have whipped public interest into a frenzy with his crazed histrionics.