Sugar Ray Leonard - Greatness Cut Short?

Leonard had Hearns snapping long jab in his face with the threat of the right hand behind it so we can hardly blame him for picking his moments. And what fighter would have kept up with Duran going toe to toe? No shame there. The spurts comment comes from his conservation of energy vs Hagler in which he hung with him for 2.30 or whatever for some rounds and whipped up some round winning combo's and flashes near the end of the stanza's. Worked perfectly :good

 

Imagine Norris in there with Duran fighting him like Leonard did in Montreal. I'm pretty sure the paramedics would need the oxygen tank and a stretcher. Not for Duran of course.

 

Hearns could barely make the extra weight count at 160 when he fought Leonard in 1989, he nearly got KO'd twice at a time when he was a lot closer to his prime then Leonard was. I think if Leonard had of stayed active then in wins a Hearns fight at 154 lbs from 1981 -1984.

 

Hell, given the Norris chin Hector Camacho may well have been powerful enough to stagger him.

 

Norris at 30 years old in with journeyman, Keith Mullings. That sure was a case of humpty dumpty falling to pieces. Crumbled like digestive biscuit.

 

Better still, peak vs faded Simon Brown.,

 

i don't think hearns was clsoer to his prime at all. In the fights leading up to it Tommy looked like a fighter with no punch resistance left. I thought it would be a massacre. Hearns surprised Leonard with what he had left because at that point in his career Leonard was not taking any risks.

 

What the fighters looked before the fight isn't really the issue IMHO. if you look at both fighters records after the fight then Hearns looks to have had more left than Leonard at the time, you've even said yourself Hearns surprised Leonard with what he had left.

 

Leonard is an under-appreciated all time great. Anyone saying he ducked people or used angles to notch up his victories are ridiclious people.

 

Why is it ridiculous to say Leonard ducked people or used angles? Can you elaborate? I mean Leonard pretty much admitted it: "this time it was a young guy against an old guy" in the immediate post fight interview after the Hagler fight. How did he NOT duck rematches with Hearns and a bout with Hagler before he was over the hill? Please explain. I would have thought most staunch Leonard fans with their eyes fully open could see this? No? Still a great fighter, but fought very much on his own terms.

 

"Wouldve couldve shouldve" words of a sore loser. Norris kicked his ass fair and square, no disputes of any sort. Just accept that Norris did what many thought to be impossible. Biggest upset since Tyson - Douglas, Clay-Liston and Foreman - Frazier.

 

Leonard was 30 years old coming off a 5 year layoff up 2 weight classes

Hagler was 32 fighting activley 7 year reigning world champion


I would say leonard was the old guy

fighting hall of famers Wilfred Benitez, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler is what you call ducking??? LOL.

 

Sugar Ray Leonard fought durans type fight, stupid type fight because durans prefight tuants made leonard brawl, and leonard fighting in that style still did extremley well vs duran.


Sugar Ray Leonard in the rematch when he fought the right kind of style beat duran convincingly. When Leonard decided to box rather than slug he did much better vs duran and he outboxed duran and outdazzled him, and outbullied the bully making duran quit.

IMO if leonard fought with the 2nd fight strategy in the montreal fight, leonard wins. This was also a prime duran leonard faced in the 2 fights.......not the fat duran hagler fought.

 

Hey argue it out with the man himself....Im quoting him.