Between Ray Leonard and Hearns who do you give the edge in the following categories: Jab Right hand Left hook Body punching 1 punch power Combinations Counter punching Ring generalship Footwork Defence Infighting Hand speed Chin/ Durability Athletic ability Heart/ Mental strength Quality of opponents faced
Between Ray Leonard and Hearns who do you give the edge in the following categories: Jab- Hearns Right hand- Hearns Left hook- Leonard Body punching- Hearns 1 punch power- Hearns Combinations- Leonard Counter punching- Leonard Ring generalship- difficult to say, at his best Hearns dominates the ring very well, Leonard commands it too, I'm edging towards Hearns because he uses the ring very well in addition to dominating it Footwork- Leonard Defence- Leonard, neither are spectacular Infighting- Leonard, neither are spectacular from a technical perspective Hand speed- Leonard Chin/ Durability- Leonard Athletic ability- Leonard Heart/ Mental strength- Leonard Quality of opponents faced- there's not much seperating them
Jab- Hearns Right hand- Hearns Left hook- Leonard (slight) Body punching- Even 1 punch power- Hearns Combinations- Leonard Counter punching- Even Ring generalship- Hearns Footwork- Hearns (slight) Defence- Leonard (slight) Infighting- Leonard Hand speed- Leonard (slight) Chin/ Durability- Leonard Athletic ability- Leonard (slight) Heart/ Mental strength- Leonard (slight) Quality of opponents faced- Even (edge to Hearns if we're bringing quantity into it)
Jab - Hearns Right hand - Hearns Left hook -Leonard Body punching -Leonard 1 punch power -Hearns Combinations -Leonard Counter punching -Leonard Ring generalship -Even Footwork -Leonard Defence -Leonard Infighting -Leonard Hand speed -Leonard Chin/ Durability -Leonard Athletic ability -Leonard Heart/ Mental strength -Leonard Quality of opponents faced -Even
Jab - Hearns, but its closer than some would think. Right hand - Hearns. Left hook -Leonard, but Hearns had an underrated hook. Body punching -Leonard again, but Hearns had an underrated body attack. 1 punch power -Hearns, but Leonard had some beautiful one hitter quitters. Combinations -Leonard. He clearly wins this category. Counter punching -Leonard. Hearns never had a counter punching exhibition near the class of Ray making Duran quit. Ring generalship -Leonard. It wasn't always pretty, but it was rare indeed in a fight that Ray wasn't doing what he wanted to do. Stretches of the first Hearns fight and first Duran fight are notable, but beyond those, it was rare. Footwork -Leonard, but neither were terrific. Hearns had the better stance, but was abysmal on the move. Ray's lateral movement was actually technically lacking, covered by his speed and athleticism. Defence -Leonard. He was harder to hit, thanks in part to superior movement and routinely higher hands. Hearns got clipped quite a bit for a guy that tall. Infighting -Leonard. Not Hearns' fault, he was huge. Hand speed -Leonard. Hearns had good handspeed, possibly even great, but Sugar Ray was greased lightning at his peak. Easily one of the 10 or 15 fastest pair of fists ever. Chin/ Durability -Leonard. This is the most one sided of the categories. Hearns wasn't durable and had a glass jaw, Leonard is an ATG in this category. Athletic ability -Leonard by a hair. He was blessed with speed and reflexes Hearns lacked. What Tommy had, he developed over time. Ray looked like a pro champion as an amateur. Heart/ Mental strength -Leonard, but it's close. Hearns had heart, and soldiered through some adversity. Leonard just did it more, and generally didn't lose when he did. Quality of opponents faced -Even, they fought all the same guys. Hearns bested Duran better than Leonard did, but Leonard actually bested Hagler. Its a wash.
