Ray Leonard vs Donald Curry

Curry wanted to fight all big names [ Hearns , Duran , Hagler , SRL , Benitez ...] but they did not have any motivation to box him in 1985 or 86 ....after the Honeyghan fight all was lost anyway....

 

Ray takes this fight either on tight decision, because he wasn't the best defensive fighter in the world, or mid-to-late round stoppage.Curry is damn good, but no Ray Charles Leonard.

 

Where is your evidence?

 

Actually as most of you know I'm a huge Hearns fan but I really think Manny Steward wouldn't have taken a bout with Curry.

 

I can explain it even easier. SRL retired before Curry came on and Curry was a spent force by the time he fought Hagler. Hearns? Curry would have had to fight him at 154, and while flapping the gums a bit about fighting Hearns never seemed to get there. It's often said how Curry stayed at 147 too long and had struggled to make the weight for a while. Funny thing, Hearns was the champ there from 82 all the way till 86

 

You've simply got to be kidding me. By the time Curry really put him name up with the stars Hearns had been beaten by Hagler and was actively seeking a rematch, actually earned it in an eliminator but SRL jumped the queue. Curry was still 13 pounds lower and was mopped up by Honeyghan at the exact time a Hearns match could have been made. Hearns had just eased back to 154 and hammered Medal, but 3 months later Curry was stopped. No way on earth would Hearns be worried about fighting Curry. Unlike his good to excellent opponents at 147, Hearn's would have had no problem getting his shots in and testing the infamous Curry family chin.

I'm a huge fan of Don, and think that one loss destroyed him, but lets not go silly. He'd be a tough fight for near anyone, and beat most, but not Hearn's and SRL. SRL possesses just a little more of everything, and would stop Curry late IMO.

 

I am and was a big big Don Curry. No one needs to preach to me about the formidable skills and attributes he possessed and displayed until the Honeyghan fight. However as much I dislike SRL and believe me I really do I think it is in the category of the intangibles that SRL would defeat Curry.

 

JT. Did you know that pride was part of the reason Curry got his ass handed to him by Honeyghan. He liked being one of only two undisupted champions in boxing at the time, the other was Hagler of course. His manager, Dave Gorman, insisted he move up to 154lbs after he beat McCrory. Struggling to make weight for so long caught up with him. He was stubborn, to put it mildly.

 

I know the weight drain thing Robbi, i also give Honeyghan a bit of credit for being wayyyyy better than thought. Agree it was a depleted Cobra tho.

 

Curry was struggling with making 147lbs as far back as 1982. Four years before he lost to Honeyghan.

Curry balloned up to 168 between his fights with Rodriguez and Honeyghan, and was 158lbs a week before he squared off against Honeyghan.


Manager, Gorman, advised Curry to move up to 154lbs, he stubbornly refused. "I like being one of only two undisupted champions" he said "I don't want to give up my title after winning it".


On Curry changing his training camp to New Orleans. Goram said, "When a guy is trying to make weight he should be working in a dry climate, not a humid one. Humidity saps too much strength. And besides all that, fighters are creatures of habit. Change isn't always good".

 

Good comments, i agree he struggled. I still don't see him beating a Leonard or Hearns tho. The thing is, Donald ended up being one of these fighters that is never quite the same ever again after a single loss. I'd go close to putting Meldrick Taylor in the same basket. George Foreman was similar. Different is a Hearns, Duran, Leonard, guys that can come back near as good as ever or even better.

 

Agreed.

 

Vargas was ruined from the demolition at the hands of Trinidad. Taylor and Vargas were destroyed mentally and physically. They were never the same again due to long hard gruelling fights, weight not being a problem. Many fighters careers went downhill after Chavez and Trinidad got a hold of them.

Curry's case was a slightly different scenario. Two things ultimatley led to his defeat. Weight problems and the class of Honeyghan. Curry almost went down from a right hand, and he was behind on points at the time of the stoppage. But he never took heavy artillery during every round. He was getting outscored, more than destroyed. His corners decision to pull him out of the fight was down to a number of reasons. Bad cut over the eye, behind on points, being outclassed, and they seen he simply "never had it on the night".