Which fighters do you think were more complete than SRL?

His namesake.........

Ray Robinson..

 

Ezzard Charles, Sugar Ray Robinson and possibly Eder Jofre

 

I think Leonard was probably better defensively than Robinson, and had quicker footwork. Handspeed is about even. The only clear edge that Robinson had over Leonard is power.

 

He's probably the best example of a complete fighter that there's extensive footage of.

 

Duran didn't have the outside game(though he was very crafty and his outside game does get underrated). Not saying Duran wasn't as effective, just not as overall complete.

 

Because he could hit and move more effectively against big skilled foes. Against movers and defensive slicksters (Leonard/Benitez/Laing) Duran could come up short, Leonard showed he could handle all styles more emphatically

 

Not many if any.

Perhaps:

Ezzard Charles

Sam Langford

SRR

Joe Gans

 

We saw Leonard switch his style up and specifically tailor it to beat the absolute highest level of opposition. He fought off the backfoot, using lateral movement and point scoring combinations to beat one of the greatest MW's of all time. He switched tactics mid-fight to pressure one of the best, most dangerous WW's of all time in Hearns, eventually breaking him down. He showed he could brawl with one of the best ever in Duran before switching to a sticking, moving, and clowning style in the rematch, taking Duran out of his element. And when allowed to play his own game against Benitez, he outclassed and outslicked one of the ultimate slicksters.

I think he just proved his adaptability and overall ability more than most, and showed he had the complete package.

 

Whitaker was more complete than Leonard, excluding power. He was without question a better pure boxer. One of Leonard's best boxing performances was his rematch with Duran. And IMO his offense was very limited to say the least for as long as the bout lasted. He stuck the jab in Duran's face half a dozen times at the very most during each round, flurried off the ropes with both hands, and was limited in terms of power punches. His lateral movement was his defense throughout the fight. Whitaker was more complete regarding what he could do inside the ring. 'pound for pound' he's got a better jab, a more varied defense, and offensively Whitaker was every bit as good even though he never had the same power. The only reason people will see Leonard as having a better offense is because of his knockouts against Green, Hearns, Lalonde etc. Having more power doesn't mean you have a better offense than someone with less power. However, the end result makes it look that way for the fighter with more power for obvious reasons.

Whitaker's performance against Ramirez in their rematch shows what his offense was all about.

 

Power plays into being complete. You think Whitaker could switch his style up and pressure a fighter like Hearns effectively? You think Whitaker could brawl with Duran? You think he'd outclass Benitez at his own game the way Leonard did? That was by FAR his best boxing performance IMO, not the Duran rematch. I don't see how you can call Leonard's offense limited based solely on the Duran rematch.