Why was Leonard vs Lalonde for World Titles at TWO different weights?

Leonard forced Lalonde to come down from his 175 lb LtHvy Champ weight to 168 lb SMW weight. Lalonde had long been a solid LtHvy and been Lthvy Champ for over 2 years.

Lalonde is listed at fighting a 170 lbs 5 years before, then became a solid LtHeavy.

 

I don't think that's true. Leonard had plenty of money and his drawing power was never in doubt anyway. In fact, he could have made more money fighting someone at 168 for a title, and then fighting Lalonde at 175, TWO fights, more money.

I think a lot of people balk at certain things where they might think of themselves as frauds if they went down that route.
Let's take Ray Leonard himself , circa 1976-'82, I think, besides the money, it mattered to him to prove himself legit and the best.
But by 1988 he must have known the "five weight class" thing was a contrived gimmick that made it look like he was finding new challenges or setting new records but really was a bit of a fraud. His whole schtick that revolved around him being "retired" and coming out for new challenges was at that point a charade.
I think a lot of people in such a position might well ditch the idea and take a different fight or the same fight without that gimmick.

 

Would you rate him above Emile Griffith and Kid Gavilan at welter ?

 

Unfortunately, yes I do! I am starting a new list and have not gotten to WW yet, starting in the lower ones. So things could change.

I had (not sure what I will have)
SRR
Napoles
SRL

 

What other fights would they have taken, and for what reason? To secure one's legacy in the minds of some posters on a message board in years to come?

I guess the point is, just about everyone in his position is going to take the most reward for the lowest risk option.

 

I never liked Lalonde ! Reminded me of someone at school who I didn't like ! ??? .I enjoyed SRL beating him up .This post reminded me of this.

 

Ray had the power but the fact he did this for 2 titles and made Lalonde a rather mediocre fighter weaken made me lose a little respect for Ray at the time. Not his skills as a great or his heart, but his love for boxing. This was against the sport and the history of boxing, and Ray thought he could sort of cheat to get 2 titles. Neither title in my mind is legit. He weakened the champion to get the 175 title, and neither guy was worthy of challenging for the 168 title. I never liked catchweights at all. Why would someone need an advantage to fight for a title at a specific weight.

 

People would have paid good money to see him fight anyone at that point, he didn't need a gimmick of "record breaking five weight classes", which was clearly contrived and ridiculous.
It seemed phoney then, and seems phoney now.
I think perhaps SRL had a higher tolerance and that point for going down that phoney road, where others might not have.
I don't know though, maybe everyone would have done so.

Ali fought Inoki.
Mayweather fought McGregor and I don't think anyone in their right mind would turn down that money.
I'm just sceptical whether SRL fighting LaLonde for FIVE titles actually added real revenue or drawing power to the fight than if he'd faced him or someone else for a mere FOURTH title.

 

I thought Pacquiao fighting Margarito for a light middleweight vacant world title at a catchweight (150?) was equally ridiculous.
Not only did Pacquiao get to jump the queue over all the light middles to contest the vacant title, without any record at light middle, he was also allowed to change the weight limit, so in fact the VACANT light middle title wasn't even contest at its weight, which is bizarre.

SRL gets a lot of flak because he's a pivotal figure in this type of crap. He wasn't the first star fighter to get titles created for him, jump queues to title shots or fight at catchweights - it's been going on forever - but he's situated historically as a model for a lot that has happened since where such gimmickery and "belt collecting" of the stars took precedence over common sense attempts to rebuild the old school traditional " champions and contenders' situation, and such gimmickry became a motif of the pay per view era.

 

Yeah, the ******, wife beaters and murderers of boxing (LaMotta, SRR, Monzon and Hagler to name some high profile ones) do not get literally one per cent of the hate SRL gets here. But, hey what's beating up and/or raping women compared to being "insincere"?

At times, many posters here don't really seemed to have graduated out of high school mentally. At least when it comes to Leonard.

Robinson was a phony and a vicious wife beater. LaMotta and Monzon were both as despicable as they come, but, hey, they never fooled poor Hagler to agree to a 12 round distance, which started to become the norm at the time anyhow. And neither did they trick Duran in to having "only" a 3 month training camp.

The LaLonde two division champion thing was a farce, of course, but a pretty entertaining fight.

 

Let's not pretend Leonard was an angel outside of his prima donna antics. According to various sources, he beat the absolute **** out of Juanita more than once.

 

Nice post. Agree 100%.

 

Never heard that, but wouldn't surprise me in the slightest. But the thing is, as you of course well know, no one, absolutely no one, has claimed that Leonard was an angel. Just that he was far from the worst of ATG fighters, but that he, at least here, gets much more hate than anyone else. And it's often for such unbearably silly things as "tricking" Duran and Hagler.

Let's give champions and veteran fighters like them a little credit for not being total dupes in negotiating, shall we, and let's not pretend like five months between fights or a 12 round limit in 1987 is anything crazy. Leonard got a big ring? Bo ****ing hoo. Ali had to do with a small ring and slow canvas against Foreman. Does that make Foreman a slippery sleaze bag?

Robinson, for one, was absolutely loathed by for example Basilio for his arrogance and primadonna ways when negotiating. But that and beating his wife to miscarriages don't get him a smidgeon of the hate Leonard receives.

 

Or Monzon, killing his girlfriend...….doesn't stop people loving on him here. Not in the slightest.

 

Yeah, if anything his cold badass persona seem to get him more love.

I personally don't mind if people love Monzon as a fighter no matter what he did outside the ring. But to then go ahead and spew hate on Leonard because he was a "phony"... It's just such kids stuff.