What were your thoughts going into Leonard-Camacho

Camacho seem to have a better "winning" attitude of the two at that stage of
their careers.

 

My thoughts were 'Why Ray, why?!'

There was no upside for Leonard. If he'd won, people would have said he'd just beaten Hector Camacho and not even a prime version of Camacho. Hardly the same as beating Duran, Hearns or Hagler.

Whereas Camacho couldn't lose because if he won, he'd beaten Sugar Ray Leonard and even if he lost, he'd lost to Sugar Ray Leonard.

Ray let his ego talk him into that fight. To be honest, I don't even count it. It means as much to me as Trevor Berbick's win over Muhammad Ali did. It's not a genuine win against an ATG, it's a meaningless win against the shadow of a formerly great fighter.

 

I remember Camacho having an odd, soft, puffy look to his body during this bout, as if he was using some Vinny Pazienza type substances to aid in putting on some weight. It's a look that users of certain steroids have because said steroids cause massive amounts of water retention, hence you get that odd, unnatural puffy look.

My two cents anyway.

 

lol. You coined a new boxing term: "you get that odd, unnatural puffy look".

 

Lol, you can tell them when you see them. Anabolic users. Guys using stuff like Dianabol and other bulking substances get that Stallone look of several years ago. Crescent faced... There's a saying in the bodybuilding/lifting world about someone being so full of water you could wring it out of them.

 

Correcto mundo, compadre.

 

I remember thinking that even the Norris version of Leonard would be too much for that version of Macho. Obviously Leonard was even further gone than that version, though, and I couldn't have been more wrong. However, the result pleased me.

 

My thoughts exactly. It was a stupid decision to take this fight by sugar. No win what so ever .

 

Leonards decline was the most stark id seen... He looked like a guy who'd never boxed before... He had not even a faded shot semblance of who he was before.... U looked at bowe and hearns fighting in their 40s their was some resemblance in mannerisms of who theyd been as shot as they were.... Ray just looked weird.... That bent over flapping overhand right that he never threw once in the rest of his career....the tripping over tied shoe laces look of his legs..... Did no one in his training camp notice he looked like a man who had trouble walking straight...?... I mean 6 years earlier versus norris he still had blinding hand speed, superior to the 23year old norris "s. But the gulf in reflexes and rays damaged ankle with the inactivity meant ray became gun shy as the excellent counter puncher norris beat him.

Against camacho of 97 id have thougt the ray of 1991 would post a shut out...hell old roberto had beaten camacho a year earlier

 

I didn't know what to think. I don't think Ray took it seriously. The Ray who was beaten by Norris looked very bad and in this fight he thought he had an easy opponent. I don't know what to think about this fight except Ray looked awful and flat. Very similar to the Norris fight just older and worse. I don't know what else to think about it. Just a guy who shouldn't have been in the ring anymore.

 

I paid it no mind.

The fight meant absolutely nothing other than big paydays for the fighters - some fans will pay for nostalga. I was guilty of this myself when I ordered the second Hopkins/Jones fight when reality dictated that Jones was completely shot.

 

After years of partying, cocaine and alcohol abuse, Leonard got the bright idea to take on a "safe" and a "name" opponent. He got put on his ass because of that arrogance that made him a great fighter.

 

Ray looked nothing like the norris fight....this was 10 levels worse.

The odd thing is he did take it serious enough to get in good physical cosmetic shape

 

Is it possible that Ray wasn't completely, 100% shot and Camacho deserves at least a modicum of respect for the performance?

He was a blown up and old fighter himself, yes?