Curry was indeed a terrific welterweight during his short prime. I wouldn't confidently pick any welterweight of the last 34 or so years (basically, post-Leonard) over Curry at his peak. Often times there are stories about how a fighter was so good until this happened, whether it's weight drained, a brutal fight, personal issues, etc....and often times I take it with a grain of salt. There's often going to be some sort of excuse. But in this case, it's just really clear to me that the Curry who fought Honeyghan wasn't the same fighter as he had been before. And he didn't just dominate McCrory, he beat a solid group of welterweights with a terrific mix of technical skills, speed, and power. I wouldn't pick him over prime Leonard though, because, well, 1979-82 Leonard is one of the best fighters who ever lived. But even then, he wouldn't get blown out of the water. He'd be competitive, but would lose a clear decision, or perhaps got stopped late. I don't think Duran was inconsistent above lightweight. It was above welterweight where he was inconsistent. In all the fights I've seen him after Dejesus 3 (his last at 135) but before the Leonard rematch, he looked terrific. Looked excellent in taking apart Monroe Brooks. Looked pretty good in beating up Wellington Wheatley. Virtuoso performance against Carlos Palomino. Montreal, no explanation needed. At 154 and up, he was definitely less consistent, and noticeably slower as well.
Well picking the Leonard--Curry result is about as tough as picking who had the best trainer----Dundee or Gorman.
I concur. Curry was weight drained and beset by problems prior to honeyghan.after tgat he was a shot fighter yet he was hardly destroyed by mccalllum,nunn and norris .even a shot curry outboxed those guys in stretches.......the prime curry would have stopped all 3 thats how good he was. Leonard though is just better in every department .curry in his prime was able tp deal with every style and was a master boxer but he never fought superstars and once in a lifetime guys like duran,hearns and srl. The big difference is srl could change his ganeplan on a dime. I see it similar to srl-benitez and a pts win for ray
good post i concur :good i think the tommy hearns that leonard beat at 147 was an absolute beast of height /speed /power and skill / and leanord still won.
I dont think Curry was shot after Honeyghan, he put up excellent performances right after and it wasnt until later on that he showed he was a shot fighter. He was still a very good fighter at this time. Curry was amazing but Curry koing McCallum isnt going to happen, McCallum had a monster chin and although he almost dropped him theres distance between that and him stopping McCallum Curry would most likely always give McCallum trouble with his style but Curry wasnt durable enough to keep it going, I think thats his biggest problem vs Mike. Curry fought Baez and Green at 154 during his 147 reign and that version may well be able to stop Norris, but him stopping Nunn I doubt, the size difference was big and Curry at his prime was a 147/154 fighter.
I don't, tho i can see the merit. Curry at his best is going to make SRL work plenty to win rounds and he's definitely going to take his share. Not enough to win, but enough to make it a hard fought and extremely intriguing battle. Flipside - there's also a possibility SRL could tag him good over the course of 15 and have him struggling to finish. Leonard is a very solid puncher and superb finisher. More chance of a decision tho imo.
Whoever wrote this is very seriously uninformed. First off comparing Duran to a Curry at Welter is more than looking at Duran's record at Welter, which we could throw in Duran won titles north of that vs good peak fighters too, but the style and mental condition of the Duran ray faced. Curry isn't in the same stratosphere as a peak Leonard. Interesting you bring up Kevin Howard . That was not vs a peak or even close to peak or active Leonard. Keep in mind peak Leonard fought and best 4 top All time pound per pounders peak and at their best weight except for Duran who had 8 -11 fights at welter including beating a very good Carlos palomino at Welter prior to fighting Ray. 71-1 record 28 years old going into fight with Ray. Hearns 32-0 30 ko's. Benetiz 38-0-1 two division champ, Hagler no losses in 10 years stopped 11 of 12 prior opponents including the beast who was 25-0 (25 ko's) .. Hagler was only 32. Ray came out of retirement 1 fight 5 years moved up to a close to peak Hagler no catch weight nothing but thumbless gloves..... Kalule 36-0 At jr... Let's never mention a Curry in same breadth as Leonard again
If that was Bobby Joe YOung in there against Curry instead of Jun suk Hwang, he would've been kayoed.
You're right "He" as in Young, would've been stopped by Curry. I know you mean Young would have stopped Curry, but I still have trouble believing you're trying to peddle that theory. Young was too defensively deficient and his own chin wasn't great. Curry would have stopped him by the mid rounds. From 82-87 the only knockdown Curry suffered was the one against Hwang and he wasn't badly hurt. He wasn't wobbling around or anything. It was closer to a flash knockdown than anything else. Yes, Young had power, but could he land his best punch on Curry and take him out before Curry beat the snot out of him? I think not.