Ray Leonard: Best Fighter of the 80's?

The media were very pro-leonard for me any way. I can't remember my exact scorecard but I am pretty sure I had hagler up by two PTs but no more than that I think I have mentioned before that my brother watched it a few years back and he felt hagler edged it , but my step dad thought leonard won as did my eldest son when he watched

 

Yes, I think it's one of them fights open to interpretation. I think really as well that a lot of people couldn't believe wahat was unravelling in front of their eyes. Not many people at the time really thought Leonard had a chance, one unimpressive win at welter in the last 4 or 5 years.

 

AL was the Howard fight at light-middle

Have you ever met leonard to talk to AL at the conventions you have been to

 

No, it was at welter and the only time he'd fought a middleweight was against Marcos Geraldo before he won the welterweight title. I've never seen that fight but I'm sure I remember reading that he had a tough night.
I've never met him, I'd like to though. I'd ask him why he ducked Tony Ayala jnr.

 

Just read the weights and they were 149 & 150 and a half lbs.

Ayala didn't leonard hearns Duran and hagler duck him

 

You are priceless !! Most (in the know ) boxing people, knew that Norris was a major risk for SRL, given that SRL was miles past his prime. Please, don`t make a fool of yourself by trying to say that this ws anywhere near prime Leonard. The whole Norris story is so old because he lost to several mediocre fighters, cherry picked guys either coming up in weight, or not in their respective primes.

 

If quality of opponents and victories over them were the only criteria,then Ray would take the fighter of the eighties award. His lay offs during 1982-84 through '87 prevent him from taking it.

 

Great point ! He won significant fights during this time period. the long layoffs hurt his standing though.

 

Hopkins did what Hagler never had the bottle to do, and stepped out of his comfort zone and fought a top fighter above his own weight.This is something that Hagler would never have contemplated doing, because there is a lot less risk involved in calling out smaller fighters to define your legacy.


And any way you look at it, losing two ridiculously close fights to a good, young middleweight contender is a lot less embarrassing than losing to a washed up, inactive, coke-addicted welterweight with a well documented history of eye trouble.

 

if that were true, then many in the know would have stepped forward and predicted a Norris win

still havent seen one name of those in the know that have done so

therefore you made it up

Norris was just better. he proved it in the ring where it counts

He had his chance and blew it. he couldnt prove himself, that's what it comes down to. he had problems with boxers like Norris & Nunn, boxers with SPEED!

personally I think Leonard never took the fight with Hagler b/c he knew he wasnt worthy of stepping in the ring with him.

and IMO, wasnt worthy of stepping in the ring w Norris. He proved that also

and every time he ducked a fighter, it only lowers his status even further which is why I can say without hesitation that he isnt close to being fighter of the 80s.

beter fighters: Hagler, Spinks, Pryor, Hearns, Sanchez, Tyson, ...fighters with real careers and no contrived layoffs

 

Hagler was a MW and fought at MW, he took on all contenders. The MW crown was only 2nd the the HW crown and Hagler was the MW king.

The only reason Hopkins left MW to go north was because he could not beat the new MW champ, what was he to do? stay at MW and wait for someone to beat JT, while he goes back to fighting contenders?.

 

i wish we would have seen srl vs pryor

 

his layoffs were by his own choosing. What really sent him downhill was the fight with Norris. knowing a mentally sensative fighter Leonard was, he was probably hanging his head for a week