Jake Lamotta vs Ray Leonard

Jake too strong for him and does what Hearns could not...wears him down towards the end but close at the end if Jake don't stop Ray but this Ray was not SRR, still great but a mini Ray

 

Um, this. LaMotta wouldn't be able to deal with a peak Leonard. He'd be getting cracked from every angle, and frankly, he'd have less opportunity to hit Ray than he did SRR because Robinson was more of a warrior. The Ray of the second Duran fight or the Hearns fight runs right over Jake by lopsided decision.

In 1987, Ray was rusty, far from sharp, and past it. LaMotta would roll over him, Ray wasn't a full time fighter. Jake, though no puncher, may have actually stopped him.

 

Strongly disagree, especially with the bolded bit. What gave Robinson the advantage was the ability to box off the back foot, an ability that Leonard did not share. Robinson spent most of his time boxing on his toes, staying behind the jab, and opening up when the opportunity presented itself. If Ray was planning on doing any effective offensive work, he'd have to plant himself more often than Robinson did, which doesn't bode well against LaMotta. He isn't good enough offensively while on the move to trouble Jake with the same game plan that Robinson used.

 

Robinson stood up to LaMotta in the footage I've seen. He took and gave big shots. I sure didn't see a ton of boxing on the back foot, I saw a murderous puncher trying very hard to stop an iron jawed opponent. Ray fought fine on the move, ugly though it was. His Hagler strategy in his prime body would have been enough, in my opinion.

 

I have to ask then, how long's it been since you've watched the 6th fight? That's the only one available (it's also the only one that wasn't close given how badly weight-drained LaMotta was), and in it Robinson's primary strategy is to box behind the jab, constantly circling, while picking his moments to explode with combinations and body shots (particularly the outside looping right to the kidney punch he favoured so much). Only down the stretch once LaMotta's stamina started to wilt did Ray start opening up on a pretty consistent basis.

Leonard moved on the move, he didn't punch, not convincingly, anyway. Even against Hagler he relied primarily on movement to neutralise Hagler's game, not to pile up points against him. He'd nullify Hagler's work with consistent movement before piling it on at the end of the round. I don't think that works against a superior pressure fighter in LaMotta.

 

I was a wee bit drunk and got carried away. See my follow up post.