Is Sugar Ray Leonard the best fighter ever?

Where does Keith Mullings rank in this conversation ? He starched Chinny Norris

 

To answer the question - don't know, but up there.

Jones is probably the one that looked the most superior, but he didn't face several of the best of his time, so there will always be a question mark there.

Too bad we have so little footage of SRR at his very best, but even a bit removed from it he looked amazing.

Duran was also an amazingly complete fighter that showed he could tangle with much bigger men.

Pac is of course not done yet, but the way he's looked at several different weights really impresses me. Think he will lose to Floyd if they meet, but he's naturally the smaller man.

Those are the ones off the top of my head that I've seen that I think have a case for being better than Leonard. Not saying they necessarily were, though.

When it comes to the likes of Greb, Langford, Fitz etc they definitely have the achievements to prove their greatness, but considering the lack of footage and how the sport has changed I can't really say if they were better than SRL or not. Probably greater in terms of achievements, though.

 

My point exactly! :good

 

Lets flip that...

Why is Floyd fighting RG instead of Manny?

Why is Floyd fighting Maidana instead of Khan?

 

No. The detached retina interrupted his career when he was at his peak. Also, even though he fought Duran's fight in their first fight, the fact is he lost to a fighter who was 12 lbs. above his best weight. Wins over Benitez and Hearns are very, very impressive. Other than those great wins, we're left with the second Duran fight in which he moved around and failed to engage a bloated, ill trained Duran. And the win over Hagler was impressive but it was not over a prime Marvin. If these two had fought in 1982 and Leonard won, it would have been a much bigger achievement in my opinion. Leonard was a great fighter and I don't think he is overrated, but he is not the best fighter in history.

 

Well, who would have beaten him at his best?

 

that's a different question

 

RJJ - No, had the athletic talent but his resume isn't strong enough.
SRL - in my opinion, one of the best ever. Beat Benitez, Duran, Hearns and Hagler. Can't compare Floyd to SRL as he had the killer instinct Floyd never had. Floyd has never lost.....but never fought Pacquiao in his prime. Thats the risk you take when you fight fellow ATG's....you could lose. The fact he came out on top of the group of 4 makes him one of the best ever, and certainly his skill set H2H compares well with any fighter.
Don't agree he is the best ever though, never had the longevity nor the amount of fights required to be called that, but for sure a legendary fighter.

 

:good

 

Whos is Floyd supposed to fight? PAc? Lost twice the same year

the only thing I dont like is him dictating purse and %s. that's what Leonard once did with Pryor and I believe it was so that he could duck out of it and save face. He id the same thing with Hearns saying "I won't give Tommy a rematch unless he admits he couldnt continue"

these are lame excuses why he wont fight. he pulled the same stunt after fighting Howard. He pulled out of the sport again claiming "it wasnt there"

that's lame I know but his fans accept lame excuses for him which is why he feels no obligation to give his fans attractive matches but instead matches such as SRL Lalonde

I thought he was retired! so what's he doing fighting Lalonde? and for two titles. did he say his eye prevented him from fighting?

see? it was all bull

as for Floyd, he's better than Ray becuz Floyd can not only keep up with today's young lions, but better them

whereas, Leonard was completely and unexpectedly bested at age 34 after only 38 fights

therefore, Floyd is the better fighter becuz he can handle the opposition whereas Leonard will wait several years for a fighter like Hagler to fade like a week old balloon

his fans will accept this kind of garbage. they'll take anything from him , even farces like Hagler-srl,, so long as they get to add another name to his resume. that's how hard up they are

but the instant Camacho gets to add Leonard's name to his list of eight other champs they say "oh no, that doesnt count"

 

No sane person factors the Camacho fight into Leonard's legacy. Including people who never liked him.

 

If he moved up to fight Hagler in 1982, he would've lost.

 

If longevity was the only determining factor of greatness than George Foreman must have been a hell of a lot better than Muhammad Ali was.

 

H2H two of the greatest. Records are not up there.

 

It would have been a great fight though. Far better than the actual fight years later.