Alright, I think we ALL know that there's no way in Holy Hell that Oscar wins this fight prime-for-prime. The question is, how competitive would Oscar be and 15 rounds, does he last the distance?
Mosley was beating the crap outta Oscar down the stretch in a 12 rounder. It's not outta the realm of possibility at all that Leonard stops Oscar late in a 15 rounder.
Oscar was tough. Mosley was winning all of the late rounds but he wasn't "beating the crap outta Oscar". De La Hoya was never in danger of being stopped by Shane and Shane hit him with everything including the kitchen sink.
In a 15 rounder, I favor Leonard to get the stoppage by the 14th round. Oscar is competitive early, but by the late rounds, Leonard clearly takes over and breaks his body down with those hooks to the liver. Oscar will then begin to go in retreat until his legs can no longer keep him away from Ray. It starts competitive but then gets one sided and ugly.
Oscar had a pretty stellar chin but pushed for a pick i'd say Leonard probably forces a stoppage via accumulation and fatigue.....Leonard TKO 14 - ref jumps in with Oscar on his feet. Over 12 Oscar lasts the distance and probably loses about 9-3.
De La Hoya is the diet version of Leonard. Anything he does, Leonard does better. Leonard gets a TKO if this were a 15 rounder, or a decision if this is a 12 rounder.
Why do people think that post Mancini-Kim fighters suddenly lack the ability to last 3 more rounds? Suddenly Oscar is less durable at Welterweight than Duran and as vulnerable as hearns?
Leonard might not hit as hard as Trinidad, but he is faster, which means he can catch Oscar with shots he doesn't see, and he is a more COMMITTED body puncher than Trinidad was. And I think that's key. I don't see Oscar getting the Davey Boy Green treatment. However, I do see him taking some serious punishment as he starts to fade and Leonard starts to pour it on. I see an accumulation stoppage with the big factors being Oscar's exhaustion, and the punishment Leonard deals out. Quartey was able to hurt De La Hoya. And Leonard does hit harder than Bazooka, remember.
Oscar wasn't badly hurt by Quartey though. more of a flash KD. Kinda like Ray Leonard was flash KD'd by Kevin Howard in his comeback fight. Oscar was tough...and remember Oscar had the speed and power to keep Ray Leonard honest. Y'all are acting as though Ray would walk right through him. That's silly. Ray couldn't walk through smaller Duran..I don't see why he'd walk through De La Hoya. Sure he'll shake Oscar up with punches here and there but for the most part De La Hoya would hang in there.
I don't think he walks through Oscar, but I have very little doubt he'll beat him up late. Benitez had better defense than Oscar and was tough to get through to, and Leonard still stopped him. Oscar was hurt in that 6th round with Quartey. He became very defensive after that knockdown, held, and had moments of being gun-shy. Notice how careful he became after getting dropped by that check hook? It took him a couple of rounds to really start going after Quartey again. And Leonard not only hits harder than Ike, he does punch much faster. Oscar has a good chin, but I'm not convinced he would survive 15 rounds with Leonard given his suspect stamina in some fights.
Ike hurt Oscar several times. Never BADLY hurt him, but definitely hurt him. Using Ike as an example is a poor one. Leonard had much better power than Quartey, and obviously, hit MUCH faster.
I think Oscar goes the distance. It might be that he needs to go for survival in the last rounds, but if he does, there is no way Ray gets him out of there
Sure there's a way. Ray chases Oscar for a bit, then says "Oscar, look, there's a smokin hot 15-year-old chick in the second row." Oscar stops to look. Ray clocks him.
SRL stops him. But saying Leonard "hit way harder than Quartey" is nut hugging and upgrading Leonard's attributes Based on his overall level. Ike had solid power at welter and if SRL "hit way harder" he'd be punching like Felix Trinidad.
Leonard had considerably more pop than Quartey. That's not nut hugging it's the truth. Is it an overwhelming difference? No. But I don't think Leonard hit slightly harder either. It was a pretty clear difference in power. Quartey was not much of a puncher, but he had good power. Ike would STOP these current guys like Porter, Thurman, Brook, and Garcia though.
Leonard by stoppage round 13...first 5-6 rounds will be competitive....4-2 or 5-1 Leonard...but DLH will look decent and have a judge or two giving him more rounds than he actually won...but by the mid-rounds it will be all Leonard.....he might not HIT like Trinidad....but the speed those punches will be coming it will feel to DLH like his being hit by Trinidad.....
Leonard wasn't a "big puncher" either. He was a solid puncher and great all around fighter but his speed and skills helped him land and produce stoppages. Shot for shot, Ike is probably the heavier handed of the two.
THANK YOU. Since the 80s SRL's power has been elevated to Felix Trinidad status. At the time he was never known as a big puncher (he even admitted it himself) he got most of his knockouts typically by just consistently beating up his opponents with volumes of fast accurate punches.
I disagree. His handspeed helped, sure. But handspeed ALONE does not produce KO power. If it did, Mel Taylor would be an atg puncher. Leonard had power. His hook was WITHOUT QUESTION a more potent punch than ANYTHING in Ike's arsenal.
You and Terp are the ONLY ones saying that. Find a post where I ever said Leonard had comparable power to Tito and I'll eat my hat. Quartey just wasn't much of a puncher. He was a SHARP puncher, which produced him stoppages in his prime, but he didn't have the SNAPPING power Leonard had.
I think Leonard CLEARLY had more power than Quartey. Does anyone here think that Oba Carr survives and lasts the distance with Leonard???... I personally doubt it. Does anyone believe that Vargas at 154 lbs goes the distance with Ray???... Again I don't see it. Vernon Forrest???... No way. I just don't see how Ike has comparable or more power than Leonard. Leonard at 147 stopped Benitez, Hearns, blew out Green, and stopped Kalule at 154 lbs in his prime. A guy with just alright punching power doesn't do that.
Who knocks out who doesn't tell you who hit harder. Leonard was a much better fighter than Quartey. I think the Duran rematch and Hagler fight casual fans gave casual fans a distorted perception of Leonard and some boxing fans over compensate. He wasn't just a shoe shine puncher and he had good power. But I can't think of a welterweight since Ike Quartey that hit harder than him that I didn't consider a "puncher" and Leonard's not a "puncher".
Let just say that Quartey hits harder with his jab... Leonard hits harder with right hand(overhand/cross/whatever) and the left hook...
Those are perfect examples of Leonard not being a puncher... Except for Green none of them were wham bam stoppages. He didn't really stop Benitez. I don't see those guys responding any differently if they took the same beating from Ike, and whether he could deliver those beatings has nothing to do with his power.
The welterweight division has been COMPLETELY devoid of punchers since 99 when Tito left the division. That's why you can make the argument no welter since has had Ike's power. But during the 90s, Ike was the FOURTH most powerful puncher in the division. Tito, Lopez, and DLH were all bigger hitters than Ike. I will say though, the Espana KO is one of the sweetest KO's of the 90s.
