Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Mike McCallum

Nice to see him upright for once :good

 

:good



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This is very hard to pick , i pick Leonard though , i could just as easily pick McCallum though , as i believe him to be either number 1 or 2 at LHW ATG. Dont know why , but i think Leonard would do this

 

Oh no not again,its ground hog time! RR,Norris,s champion surfaces!

 

I see a close fight with Ray,s speed edging it ,but McCallum had the tools to win.SRL by dec ,possibly split.

 

What a fight that would be. Lean towards Leonard but it would be tough.

 

A very tough call indeed. This fight has distance written all over it. McCallum's style would present Leonard's with major problems. Not out of the question McCallum could win, as he clearly has the tools to do so. However, Leonard via close decision.

 

Too bad that wasnt Ray Leonard in there scoring the big one.

 

Rooster. Give me your opinions on these fights.

Leonard v Trinidad, 154lbs.
Leonard v Hopkins, 160lbs.
Leonard v Toney, 160lbs.

Im not hinting your going to pick against Leonard in all three. Just want your geniune predictions.

 

This is a good one.

It's very hard to choose against Leonard. He was a shameless (some would say savvy, I'll stick with shameless) politician outside of the ring but he was a beautiful boxer inside. Adaptable, innovative, good puncher, you name it. Leonard is for me a true ring general, and he became that earlier and with fewer fights than anyone I know of. He may have been the most natural ring general in boxing.

Leonard knew how dangerous McCallum was. I don't think that he would have fought the Body Snatcher unless there was a hue and cry that rivalled the one he got for not fighting Hearns soon enough.

I'm going with McCallum. He has a great claim as the greatest JMW in history. While few fighters are more talented than Ray and Ray is skilled, he is not more skilled than Mike. Mike is bigger, stronger, and the speed differential is not great enough to dazzle Mike. Ray would know going in that he has no chance of stopping Mike and it would be a mistake to try, so he would be on wheels. But then Mike would do what Hagler should have done -cut the ring off, rip the body, and go at him. Ray would have great moments and would make it difficult for judges not to be dazzled, even if Mike isn't.

McCallum SD

 

Smart pick. I definitley feel that McCallum has the tools to give Leonard a real tussle over the distance. Leonard would not have an easy time with him, no matter who a certain individual picks in this one. Its a close fight, SD was a very wise pick.

McCallum's intelligence and arsenal of weapons at his disposal are impressive. He was never one to get flustered or careless. Defensively aware, goes to the body well, had a superb jab, and fights well down the stretch. However, he did have some problems with Curry's slick boxing when they squared off at 154lbs. That was until McCallum's sweeping left hook left Curry looking up at the lights during the 5th round. Curry picked his shots accurately, wobbled McCallum during the 2nd round, and used his legs to get himself in and out of range.

I feel Leonard has the tools to do a similar job on McCallum, but his durability would see him last longer than Curry did. It's not a confident pick, Leonard via SD.

 

Curry was slightly edging McCallum over the 4 completed rounds until he was KO'd. He wasn't dominating McCallum the way some people tend to think. Curry was either 3-1 up in rounds or it was level at 2-2. A couple of those rounds were touch and go, so they could have went either way.

 

My pleasure Robbi.

leonard would outpoint Trinidad. I'm fairly certain of that.

He could outpoint Toney if James gets lazy. You have to remember that James takes a lot of time off like Leonard did so who winds up the loser depends on who does less.

Since James does almost as little as Leonard, then I have to go with Leonard by decision. BUT,, if James starts early and is super motivated and realizing that leonard ALWAYS wins close decisions, then I see him putting him in trouble a couple times too often. This would make it too hard for even the judges to give it to Leonard.

I just think that james is going to hit him with the kind of results that are going to give Ray difficulty staying on his feet. Come to think of it, if he knock out a full blown middleweight like Nunn and almost take out McCallum who is ten times more durable than Leonard, he should soundly beat him.

Hpokins? Hopkins would beat him for sure. The way he put pressure on Trinidad, leonard would never get the decision. He'd be lucky to win four rounds. Hopkins doesnt have the big punch so that helps leonard survive but Bernard still wins-one sidedly.

 

Your picks seem fair to me. One pick I agree with strongly, Hopkins to beat Leonard at middleweight. As great as Leonard was in some superfights, thats one I'd pick him to lose. Hopkins had Hagler's durablity, much better reflexes and handspeed than the 87 Hagler, height and reach advantages over Leonard himself, and the tactical smartness.

Hopkins could fight Leonard either way, attack or sit back cautiously and still win. But attacking Leonard with a sensible head would be the easier way to victory.

 

Exactly. Hagler's reflexes and speed had become apallingly slow after his fight with the Hitman.

Bernard would not be nearly as slow even though he was 36. And he wouldn't be as intimidated by Leonard and his speed. In fact, I think Bernard would be up for this one the way he was for Felix. Back in the early 80's just about everyone was fantasying over getting Leonard in the ring.