Sugar Ray Leonard-Pipino Cuevas 1979-Who Wins?

Cuevas was much more feared and revered than Benitez. Who was afraid of Benitez?

Speaking of apprehension, that apprehension would only worsen after taking a few bone breaking power shots from Pipino and he might literally begin to freeze up. No one comes out of a fight with Pipino without showing visible effects and I dont care what anyone says, Ray is not going to shrug off the effects and keep going till he reaches round 15. This is not Wilfred Benitez we're talking about. Was Ray able to shake off the effects of TN's uppercut and hang on for a points win? atsch

It's only logical to conclude that the puncher is going to score the knockout, not the stylist. Even as good a stylist as Ray Leonard was, he's only human.

 

I've ignored this thread beacuse I thought the question was ridiculous but now that it is five pages I decided to check it out ...

Cuevas was a brutal punching machine that was highly feared in the late 1970's before he was destroyed by Hearns ... that being said he was not close to being in Ray Leonard's league. Ray would have stopped him somewhere in the middle rounds.

Ray never ducked anyone at this point of his career. He defeated Benetiez and went to Duran who was a far better fighter than Pipino. He then went to Hearns .. gthe whole thing is really not that competitive ..

 

Ray stops Pipino in five.He's in another league than Cuevas, and even if Pipino landed, Leonard could take it.

 

Ray fought Benitez almost in front of him for much of the fight in 1979, he could not do that with Cuevas. The pre-Duran Leonard who did not learn that he has to fight his fight, might have had a tough time with Cuevas but I still think his handspeed would be too much and he would stop Pipino in the late rounds in a grueling fight. Post Duran, Ray outboxes Cuevas and wins a relatively easy fight when he hurts Pipino and then goes in when Cuevas is hurt and the fight is stopped. The Duran fight meant everything to Ray and his becoming a more complete great fighter.

 

1983 Cuevas after the Stafford fight. Not really the same Cuevas of his welt. reign.

 

Ray was not dropped with guys like Duran,Hearns and Benitez. Ray had great defense. Do I think he had a great chin? Yeah it was good and dependable, but his defense had a lot to do with that, and his concentration. He was so concentrated during his fights. A guy like Hagler I think had a better chin since he stood up to clean punches from Hearns and Mugabi, punches that Ray never really was hit with, even in his rematch with Hearns.

 

Leonard would have outboxed Cuevas to a clear decision,but I would n't have ruled out Pipino scoring a knockdown at some point.

 

I often feel that way, but I usually fight the urge, go in and make a sarcastic or unabashedly stupid comment and I feel better about everything afterward, usually.