We all know that Ray left the scene again temporarily after winning his bout with Marvin Hagler and that he was inactive for 19 months until he fought Donny Lalonde in November 1988. But supposing that he decided to have his next fight in late '87. Lloyd Honeyghan stated that he wanted Leonard. So we're looking at the two mixing it up,say,October of that year. Obviously a prime for prime hypothetical meeting would have been a no brainer in favour of Sugar Ray but in 1987 it could well have been competitive. I would still have banked on Leonard but Lloyd may well have given him a battle before succumbing to a late rounds stoppage. A good compromise weight for this would have been the 154lbs limit.
Honeyghan could only fight coming forward. He can’t do that against the bigger guy and have an ounce of success. Leonard turns aggressive early and crushes him in the mid-rounds.
Honey boy gets deposited on his ragamuffin for a KO stoppage within six. This would be similar to Ray’s first iteration wipeout of Dave Boy Green. Too big, too strong, too powerful, too fast … too much.
Depends on how well Leonard is able to still comfortably make 154 and how Honryghan adapts to the rise up as well. On the surface I would favor Leonard. But by 1987 it’s not as much of a no brainer as it would have been years earlier