More skilled: Pernell Whitaker or Sugar Ray Leonard

In terms of defensive ability, Benitez gets rated right around the same level as someone like Locce and Mayweather, and just a shade under Pep and Whitaker. Check out El Radar's fight with Cervantes for evidence of that. Again, Leonard out-defended him, which gives an indication of how good his defense could be when so inclined.

As for the Duran rematch, Leonard used his legs and made Duran chase him. It was up to Duran to adjust, and yet he couldn't. Maybe you didn't like the show-boating Leonard did. Duran sure as hell didn't. Fact is though, SRL employed an entirely different strat in this fight than in the first one. That's a sign of versatility.

Want another sign?

Try the fact that Leonard turned into a seek and destroy monster to obliterate a crafty vet in Andy Price and defeated El Radar in a chess match in his next fight. Try the fact that he turned from boxer to slugger against Hearns and that he lured Hagler into a boxing match in his return. That's versatility. And a variety of skills are needed to do something like this.

In that regard, he's better than Sweet Pea, who rarely went into monster mode (Hurtado fight not withstanding). And he sure is hell is better and more skilled than Bradley, who fought the same way from round to round against Pac.

There's a reason why fighters like Leonard are considered great. It's because they were.

Await your reply. Try and break it up into paragraphs, svp. Makes it easier to read.:good

 

LOL NO he does not get rated up their with Mayweather. GTFO! SRL tried to fight Duran toe to toe because Duran got in his head. He did NOT show versatility in the rematch, because He wasnt SUCCESSFUL at fighting toe to toe, fore he did not have the skills to pull it off. He ran in the rematch because that was his best defense. I actually liked the rematch. But my point is that, it was his best defense. I never thought he was versitile with Herns. He did what any scared fighter would do once they realize they have the power to hurt their opponent. He started coming forward. Whether Floyd can hurt you or not, he's coming forward. If that dont work, he will fight off the backfoot. SRL ran from Hagler because that was the only way he could avoid the shots. That fight was the same as the rematch with Duran, except Hagler was bigger and more competitive. Sweet Pea is just a raw fundamentalist. Very educated on boxing. Bradley actually beat Pac. Every fight Brad has, he changes up his style. Fighters like him and Ward can change for each and every fight. SRL is from an era where they couldnt do that. If so, he would have done it against Duran. He went into that fight with one gameplan. Toe to toe, and get the azzwhoopin! He should have changed his gameplan by the 3rd round. SRL is great, because of his resume, the guys he beat, and his ability to face adversity, while coming back stronger. He lost to Duran, then in the rematch DOMINATED him. THAT is greatness. Or how he retired, and came back to beat everyone, then retired, came back, and beat the next hot guy. My bad, I didnt break it into paragraphs because Im reading your post as I type. Great convo btw!

 

Message to everybody.... do not even respond to this ***** murkaveli, no matter what he says just ignore the dumb ****, he`s obviously at it, just skip straight by his posts without reading them & read the normal ones.

 

I find it a little odd he needed the extra motivation. I want to read his book, but I have not bought it yet. Is it good?

 

Read it now, during the vacation. Like it a lot.

Sure, like just about every fighter he makes excuses for his losses, but he's also very straight forward and honest with many things. Not only the advantages he sought in some of his biggest fights, but also his drug use, adultery etc. And I feel that he's respectful of his opponents, which is kind of crucial.

I found it especially interesting to read what he had to say about the mental and psychological aspect of pro boxing. For example, Duran's behaviour ahead of their first fight and how he succesfully managed to psyche Leonard, who himself normally was a master at that game. But also just the overall importance of having the right mindset and focus, and how difficult it is to maintain it.

 

Not really when you think about it. If you're a multi millionaire and can get all the beautiful girls and swanky parties you want, it will become hard to find the motivation to get up at 6 A.M every morning to train. Especially if you're facing a guys you know are nowhere near your class.

That's why so many burn out quickly. With all the money and temptations in modern boxing, it must be hard to keep focus.

 

Your just mad because someone has the guts to say something so "Blasphemous" LOL. It is what it is, he runs because he isnt skilled enough to stand toe to toe, unlike Floyd who has the skills to take chances, stand toe to toe with punchers, without getting grazed.

 

What if we broke it down like...

Jab
Cross
Hooks
Ring Generalship
Defense Upper Body
Defense Lower Body
Footwork
Countering
Body Work
Uppercut
Radar/Timing
Power
Chin

How would that look between these two

 

Leonard: 6
Whitaker: 7

 

I will have to read it soon then. It is hard to find a really good book written by a boxer. I always felt that about Ray what you said about the advantages and disadvantages and how he used both to win- he knew the dangers of his opponents and that made him hyper sensitive in the ring and you could see his concentration, especially against Hearns since he knew the right hand could knock him out at any moment. I would have thought that kind of concentration might wear him out in the later rounds, since it takes a lot of energy but he handled it well. He was an every facet of the game type of fighter. Not many guys like that now. Boxing has gone down quite a bit since those days.
Duran was a brilliant in how he got Ray to fight his fight in the first fight. Many guys on here get upset when I say Ray fought Duran's fight, but that is part of the game. I don't insult Duran for it, but I do know that after Ray fought Duran the first time he would probably beat him 9 out of 10 every time out after that. I give Duran maybe one fight out of the 10 just on a lucky punch maybe which stuns Ray and gets Ray into brawling mode.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsB1WTgCwLA[/ame]

 

LEONARD BY KO. Just like he would over Floyd AND Whitakre. One punch would stun then a blizzard puts them down. I think he gets Mayw inside of 8 rds. Seriously. Hurt him to the body and head. Leonard had the fastest hands I ever saw. And with power. He woukd stomp Floyd. Whitakre he just outskills and stops . Prob late.

 

I'm not really convinced on who has the best uppercut, but Leonard had a pretty solid jab, probably better than Pernell's.

 

Leonard didn't have an all time best jab... Whitaker did... They aren't even in the same tier imo

 

That's a hot issue, alright, but I can say is that Leonard treats it like part of the game and most professionals probably do. Leonard was extra diligent in working his opponents beforehand, though, and he makes no bones about it. He's for example very matter of fact with trying to set the rematch early, so Duran wouldn't have time to prepare properly and that Roberto therefore wasn't the same fighter as in the first fight.

I think it's quite naive to believe anything else than that Duran's frequent insults and challenges towards Ray before their first fight was part of a plan as well. That's what you do when you're a true pro. Try to work the angles.