Leonard`s reach would be too much, he would out jab Meldrick that`s why Taylor struggled at welter along with not being able to take a solid welter shot.
I hardly give Taylor much of a chance and beating Leonard. Leonard was better than Taylor in every aspect of the sport except maybe for handspeed, and Leonard was extremely fast too. Taylor was excellent during his peak at 140 and good for short time at 147, but Leonard from 1979-82 is one of the best fighters there’s ever been. Plus he also is naturally bigger than Taylor.
Taylor fought the wrong fight against Chavez. He got way to close and that neutralized his hand speed.
Chavez taylor for me. Leonard duran had too much holding while chavez taylor saw more actual fighting and drama.
Same for me. A lot of grappling. As Dundee said, Duran was being Duran, but Ray went along with it. Meldrick's combinations and speed was transparent, but so, too was the countering of JCC, so strong. Whereas with Ray vs Duran at times it was difficult to tell how much Ray was being broken down. And the ending for JCC/Taylor wow, so heartbreaking, but if one werent a Taylor fan, they'd call it dramatic. Both were great fights in their own right!
Montreal was less a great fight and more of an exhibition of Boxing by Duran. Leonard showed his quality as well but he had trouble finding Duran with clean shots. Meldrick fought his heart out but he lacked defense or a defensive mindset. By the last round Taylor couldn't have moved or stayed away. His entire body was beaten. Made for great TV
No he wasn't a better fighter, and Taylor wouldn't have beaten Leonard if their weight was even. Even before the Chavez fight against far lesser competition I saw a big weakness In Taylor's fight game. 1st, for a fighter and fast as he was he got hit cleanly and far to often. 2nd, he was an accumulation puncher, and I always thought his defensive lapses and his lack of true punishing power would be his down fall. And then came Chavez. Duran vs Leonard #1 was a fight between two fighters universally considered ATG's and fought at an extreme high pace and skill level for 15 rds. If Chavez vs Taylor was a 15 rd fight. Their wouldn't have been a controversy. While most would say Taylor had great physical skills, very few consider him a ATG. Hell, more than a few look at Chavez with reservations as far as being ATG ( I don't, but he isn't on Leonard's or Durans level) In my opnion The Brawl in Montreal between two proven greats of the game far exceeds anything Chavez vs Taylor showed.
