Who would've troubled Leonard more:

I would have to say Pryor his speed and intensity would be a big factor. People here say Pryor was way overrated, I disagree.
Though, I see SRL beating both of them on points.

 

Agruello, without question. That said I think Leonard defeats both. :yep

 

First of all, Alexis Arguello is too small for Leonard. He's not fast enough of hand or foot to have an edge.

Leonard would box circles around him and hurt him with his power stuff.

Leonard KO 10



On the other hand, Aaron Pryor was faster, bigger, had better stamina than Arguello and threw punches in a wild but suffocating manner.

Pryor would get inside and try to bother Leonard, trying to take him out of his gameplan.

I say Pryor gets floored once, maybe twice and ultimately loses a 15 round split decision in a memorable clash.

 

Arguello would get murdered by Leonard. He moved up through the divisions, and was too small for Leonard. Not in height of course, as both were about the same, 5'10". I just don't see how Arguello's mechanical precise style gives Leonard any problems. I presume this match happens at 147lbs, and thats a bridge too far for Arguello.

Pryor gives Leonard a much tougher battle. More unorthodox than Arguello, and his punches flowed with more ease. His chin would also hold up better to Leonard's punches at the higher weight. I still like Leonard to eventually catch up with Pryor during the late rounds.

 

Pryor. Against Arguello, Leonard would have run and been awarded a points victory. He would not have been able to run against Pryor. The outcome would have been not unlike the beating Duran put on Leonard in Montreal. Boxers like Leonard were made to order for pressure fighters like Pryor, Duran, and Armstrong.

 

I'll answer properly after work Chris, but Pryor definitely tho he's quite overrated.

 

I don't agree with that at all. It doesn't follow from my argument. Neither Camacho nor Norris were pressure fighters. In his prime, Leonard beats Camacho. I think Leonard always has trouble with Norris because of Norris' size and ability, but he is much more competitive against Norris in his prime.

 

I think both would bother him a fair bit, but Pryor moreso due to his style and strength. That said, I think in trilogy Leonard's superior fight-to-fight durability and tendenacy to at least begin to work out his opponents would mean he'd win a series against either of them.

I'd predict Leonard to go a hard but deserved 3-0 against Arguello, and an even harder but just as deserved 2-1 against Pryor.

 

So you think prime Norris beats prime Leonard?

 

It's pick 'em for me. Leonard had a lot of trouble with Kalule, and Kalule was not the same calibre as Norris. Leonard also had a few anxious moments against 42-14 Geraldo, who took him the distance and roughed him up, and against 20-4-1 Howard, who put him on the canvas. Leonard looked good against Hagler because the Marvelous One was growing long in the tooth, but even then he lost. Leonard's record over 147 pounds is not that impressive. He was dropped twice by Hearns and really lost the decision, and the rubbermatch with Duran was a joke. Norris was an excellent fighter, dropping Leonard twice and thoroughly outpointing him. For me to confidently pick Leonard to beat Norris, Leonard should have at least been more competitive against Norris when they actually did fight.

 

Just as I thought a Leonard hater cast in the same mould as Rooster.

 

Leonard would have demolished Norris. He would probably take a few rounds to do so, but he'd get the job done. Norris suffered serious knockout defeats at the hands of Jackson, Brown, and later against Mullings. I'm pretty sure was was on the floor against Waters as well, which was a real back and forth tussle.

Against Leonard in his prime, you'd need a decent chin. And Norris fails in that department. He certainly has terrific boxing ability and movement, combined with very respectable power to carry himself past 6 rounds.

Hearns gave Leonard hell throughout their first fight, but Norris doesn't have anywhere near the same height and reach to dominate Leonard in the same manner. Leonard could easily box with Norris on even terms at long range, and he'd find getting inside regularly would not prove as difficult as it was with Hearns.

While Norris could box brilliantly on the balls of his feet with rythym, he liked to drop inside and throw the uppercut. One of his best weapons in my opinion. And dropping inside against someone with killer instincts like Leonard, bad move. Norris was just as comfortable at close quarters as he was from long range. And that works against him.

Leonard was weight-drained when he was defeated by Norris in 1991, it was the first time he'd made 154lbs since the Kalule fight 10 years earlier. A prime Leonard would be sharper, more mentally focused, and have better co-ordination. He'd also have more power. When a fighter struggles with the scales, power diminshes along with endurance and speed.

Leonard KO8

 

a good pressure fighter can do the job if he has the size to go with it. We already saw this upon Leonard's first return to the ring.

IMO, Kevin Howard would have defeated Ray if he had the size. His upper body was incredibly small. I couldn't believe this match was even made and sold to the public. Way too small in the arms and shoulders along with that hollow chest to fairly compete with Ray but still good enough to floor him and back him up in a fight and make him holler uncle. Again, the only reason Ray won was not superior skills or natural talent, but size. Otherwise, Kevin would have bashed his head in before the final bell. :!:

Based off what I saw in that fight, I give Pryor a very good chance of scoring the upset.

a speedster is another good style as we watched Norris in his big upset, easily beating Ray by always staying a step ahead of the "fighting in spurts" specialist and by using his mobility to escape the late round spurts leonard used to steal fights against his usual older opponent.