Is Sugar Ray Leonard, A Top Ten ATG Fighter?

Some very good and thought through posts on the thread ... talent wise and performance wise I can say possibly yes but as noted the shortage of fights is not the best ..

 

Damn, Mr. Magoo, you make a great point

I too think he has the best resume for a fighter with 40 fights or less

I wont mention the Norris fight but instead bring up his PLUSSES such as Andres Aldama, Benitez, Duran, Hearns, Kalule

He was getting there!

People too forget his contributions to the world of color commentary. Very underrated

Am I a nice guy or what!

 

Leonard was hugely favored to win. He hadnt lost a fight in 11 years

You couldnt find a sportswriter picking him to lose

The writers just didnt realize how fast Norris was. And he was dangerous which made him a double threat on offense

Add to that, he had no holes in his defense.

 

If he had another 15-20 wins against good competition to go along
with his wins against the fighters he beat. It would be
without question he deserved to be. But he fails the longevity
question. In my opinion he's right outside the top ten.
But as far competition goes and who he beat, and when
he beat them , their is no question he deserved to be.

 

Agreed, also would have Duran, Leonard, JCC, above him, so would put him just outside the top 12/15 on balance. stay safe guys.

 

Don't know If I have seen JCC talked about being so high before, but the guy had a great career. A bit the opposite to Leonard's in that there weren't those kind of legendary wins, but a long time of dominance.

No Mas puts Duran back a few places and behind SRL imo, but Benny Leonard certainly has a case.

 

Talent, skill, big fight performances and head to head, for me, he’s unquestionably top 10 but lack of a long reign perhaps keep him just outside the top 10. I know, Langford never had a reign, but comparatively, Leonard had far fewer bouts.

 

Can't put him that high, though he probably ranks about the highest for somebody with so few fights. Never made any real list worth any scrutiny but somewhere around 30-40 sounds about right.

 

Agreed.

 

I don't think Norris is necessarily that much better than him but I think he has the perfect style to beat him every time

10/10 either by lopsided decision or tko

154 was just right for the Norris fight. He was struggling with a faded hearns for two reasons; one is Tommy's height and two, 168 is too high a weight for Leonard who doesnt have the frame for it

He was much better and faster for the Norris fight

 

sounds good SSF. Too many people ahead of him

 

No.
He had the ability to perhaps contend for that rare air. You could say he was on his way until that eye injury derailed his career along with substance abuse.
His comeback was smoke and mirrors. He did fight a tough smart fight vs Hagler but overall he was a part time boxer picking his spots. By his early 30s he could no longer compete with the top fighters in the division. He didn't even try to honestly.