Joe Gans v Benny Leoanard

I can't decide but am looking forward to read the replies

Gans I give the edge in power
Gans also probably takes the pole position here where strength is concerned
Leonard I edge toward him being just possibly the better boxer
Leonard maybe also be the fighter of the two with the better fitness (conditioning)

Both are true titans of the sport masters of their art

Both very clever leonard maybe the best of his time at controlling distance a supremely clever fighter but gans did beat Erne who was not only a very fast fighter but also an extremely clever one

 

Gans has the punch and the chin which should normally be enough to make a pick but I can't sleep on Leonard. How many rounds McGrain? I'd favor Gans in a fight to the finish.

 

First Gans V Leonard of 2014. Man, we'll never get this settled. I'm leaning towards Gans. Today.

 

I don't know man. Leonard was durable too.

 

they say he was dying of tuberculosis for a couple of years and in that time did 38 rounds with battling nelson....thats durable alright.

 

Good point.

 

Very slight edge to Leonard.Benny was asked how he felt about being compared to Gans , he said he was content to be bracketed with him. Jack Johnson said Gans was the best fighter he ever saw.

 

Gans a brilliant fighter with one hundred knockouts to go along with his one hundred forty five victories. Went the distance with men like Sam Langford, losing a 15-round decision and by most newspaper accounts was edged by maybe one round by Barbados Joe Walcott, another absolute all-time great fighter. I could not picture Leonard, as great as he surely was, seeing the final bell against the likes of the much heavier Langford. Gans did and by all accounts gave the legendary Boston tar baby all he could handle in a losing effort. Leonard was all but unbeatable during his title reign. However, I think Gans in his prime would be a little too much for the Ghetto Wizard to handle. Gans by comfortable decision.

 

Fight to the finish: I'm definitely going with Gans. Anything 12 or under, Benny Leonard.

P.S. I still haven't forgiven you, McGrain for how dirty you did Leonard in your otherwise tremendous Top-100 ranking. And that's really just saying something about Leonard considering you have him at 11.

 

I would rank Gans and Leonard 2 and 3 at lightweight with Duran as number one. The order I put Gans and Leonard in always changes as they are so evenly matched.

Benny Leonard was called the pride of the ghetto, he was a fast, skilled, intelligent and surprisingly tough fighter. He fought well over 100 contests, reigned as lightweight champion for seven years and beat most of his days top lightweights.

Gans was also a skilled and intelligent boxer and a KO artist with over 100 KO wins. He also had great durability going 42 rounds against Battling Nelson and he could handle bigger men.
Gans was slightly more primitave in terms of fighting style than Leonard but I would say he edges Leonard in stamina and power.

The fight would be a pick 'em, I think it would go the 15 and at the end there would be very little to seperate them, I would pick Gans by a narrow margin but it could just as easily go to Leonard.
Source: Yahooanswers

 

Leonard can be hurt and hurt BAD. Richie Mitchell, Ever Hammer, Charley White and Lew Tendler all hurt him. Gans took it from Langford, Walcott, Blackburn, etc. without flinching. He could take it better than Benny. Benny has a better defense, better movement and a more modern style. And he had a devastating punch. As did Gans.


Hell, this could go either way. Can't pick a winner.

 

I read in an old boxing book an article by a famous boxing scribe in which he quotes
Jack Britton,the great WW champion who as a youngster boxed with Joe Gans several times. And of course Fought the smaller Benny Leonard 3 times losing twice and in 1922
was dropped by Leonard who inexplicably ran over to the fallen Britton and walloped the
prostrate Britton on the temple, and the referee disqualified Leonard...When asked by
the boxing writer," who would win a match between Joe Gans and Benny Leonard",
the answer by Jack Britton chose Benny Leonard...For what it's worth...
I say "pick em fight, 15 rounds...

 

I am going to go with Leonard by a close decision both great

 

In a finish fight Gans' experience and overall ruggedness puts him in good stead to come away the winner. Fifteen rounds is the better question.

Something that may surprise is Leonard's pop. Unlike Harry Greb or Willie Pep, Leonard could really dig in between skating about; it was very difficult to brace for what came your way, and it's much easier to suss your foe if you can keep him honest.

Gans had brilliant, precise footwork with a knack for timing bombs. There's no doubt he could stagger Benny, and a steady jab would be key to upset his rhythm. Could he stop him? Could he buzz him enough to win rounds? This strikes me as the difference between victory and defeat.

The pro-Gans argument, one that historian Monte Cox champions, is that Gans would be too powerful for a guy who got a hurt a few times. The problem here is that Leonard's hairy moments also speak of his strength. Anyone can be hurt, so we should be more interested in what you do when the inevitable happens. In Leonard's case it was dominate the most competitive era in 135lbs history. His ability to adapt, against Charley White, Richie Mitchell and Lew Tendler proved just how many layers there were to his game. Hurt him and the puzzle multiplies.

This really is a 60/40 type of affair, The Old Master could beat any man, but, meditating on Leonard's quick feet and ambiguous style, I think there is enough depth to his game that even Gans' by-the-book brilliance would find it difficult to overrule. At the final bell, heavily bruised and dog tired, Leonard is still there. And that should mean the scorecards favour him, if only by a couple of points.