Excellent one. Walker used to be rated at the very top echelon of middles but his stock seems to have fallen off as of late. On film, he was deceptively skilled and tenacious. That said, he didn't really beat the best he faced in Greb and Flowers. Leonard has a paper thin resume at middle so we are mostly extrapolating from the Hagler, Hearns and Duran3 results, each of which is problematic. I'm going with Leonard by narrow decision. He does just enough fancy eyecatching work to keep the judges view away from Walker's stuff. Commotion follows.
I’m picking Walker in this intriguing match up. Mickey was skilled, durable and aggressive enough to earn decision.
Bear in mind, at 154lbs, Leonard also defeated an underrated, undefeated Ayub Kahule, and also had victories at Jr. Middle over solid journeymen like Marcotte and Geraldo. Gives you a bit more sense of how he would have been able to fare at the weight had he stuck around, I think. I agree with your prediction, though...and with the way the fight unfolds.
Walker. One of histories great punchers and I believe the greatest left hook to the body in history, both at their greatest, but at 154, "The Toy Bulldog" wins by destructively brutal body punching followed to the noggin, by 11 rd KO. Leonard ain't hanging with the great middleweights. He did nothing to prove he could. Btw, Walker KOs skinny Hearns fast and stops Hagler in a bloody fight in 13. Walker was one of the foundations on which boxing history was built and as tough and rough as a
I have a hard time believing the guy who needed a gift against Flowers would beat Hagler... Or even Hearns.
