Leonard would have to adjust early on to Shane having comparable handspeed to himself. Once he made that adjustment, the gap in class would become apparent. Leonard was simply better at everything than Shane. Leonard by commanding UD at both weights. Better fight at 147 though since that's both their prime weights.
When did Leonard ever have a bad night at 147? If you're referring to Montreal, that Leonard beats Mosley as well. Bimbo Shane wasn't Duran.
I'll give Shane the benefit of the doubt. Mosley wasn't perfect, but he was a tough sonuvabitch. He'd be thoroughly outclassed though.
Leonard once said that he felt Shane had faster hands than himself. I think he was just being modest. Both had unbelievably fast hands, but I feel Leonard was faster. Or maybe he just appeared faster cause he was a lot more fluid. Leonard damn sure THOUGHT faster than Shane, and would beat him to the punch more often than not. Mosley WOULD land some shots though. He was too fast and too good not to. I think he'd be "in" the fight for about 6 rounds. Leonard would eventually pull away, and once he did he'd never look back.
I'll say this much, Shane would be more competitive with Leonard than Oscar would be. Leonard-DLH would have been a one sided fight IMO.
No he's not. Shane was faster and more dynamic than Oscar and although he'd lose to Leonard by a lot, he'd present Ray with more problems. Leonard was better than Oscar at literally every damn facet of boxing. Oscar's greatest asset was always his speed, but he was a good deal slower than Leonard. Physically slower than Leonard AND his boxing mind worked slower. Also DLH was stiff and a bit robotic, and often fought in simple straight lines. Whereas Leonard was fluid and calm, and attacked from a variety of angles. I've NEVER seen Leonard-DLH as a close matchup. Oscar would have gotten fucked up.
If Leonard choose (or is forced) to slug with shane, there is a good chance he would lose, cause shane hands were a bit faster imo, and Leonard would give up a lot of his advantages fighting this way. If Leonard fights smart and use angles, his jab and movements, he would bamboozle Shane rather easily, cause Shane didn't had the skills nor the intelligence to track him down. SInce it's a MM and we are assuming that both are at their best, I don't gives much of a chance to Shane. Agreed with you that DLH has less of a chance than Mosley.
shane's faster hands only meant something to anyone that would just stand and trade with him. He was a slow thinker, he didn't have a consistent or authoritative jab to enable him to control distance and he wasn't a counterpuncher. He just had fast hands toughness and decent power. Oscar was a better boxer than Shane with more height (which made his reach more effective), had a harder and more authoritative jab and quite frankly had more power. Oscar wouldn't have beaten Leonard but he'd have been more competitive than Shane.
Shane had a ridiculous advantage in hand speed over Rivera but the fight was very close until the KO. Shane basically just slugged him out of there because he had more power and was tougher. His hand speed was useless against competent boxers ( Forrest, Wright, Oscar in the rematch). Shane never had a consistent workrate, he was a spurt fighter. He didn't have a boxing brain and was just impulsive and reactive. He fooled everyone into thinking he was more than than with a combination of having the "sugar" in his name and having fast hands and cute little antics. But those of us who know the game were never fooled.
Ray could slug it out with Shane and do just fine but he wouldn't have to because Mosley could never force that style of fight on him. Leonard's jab, ring smarts and footwork are too much for Mosley.
Oscar is a better boxer than Shane, I agree. But he doesn't have much to really trouble Leonard with. He'd approach Leonard in a more methodical way than Mosley and Ray would just get into his rhythm and pick Oscar apart. Mosley early on with his hand speed would land more often, and might just last the distance, though in a 15 rounder, you never know. I have no doubt Ray would stop Oscar at 147 in a 15 rounder. No doubt.
Speaking of boxing brains, DLH wasn't exactly a boxing genius himself. For two HOF caliber fighters, NEITHER Oscar nor Shane had great ring IQ's. Shane's handspeed and athleticism make him a tougher fight for Leonard than Oscar. Shane had long arms for his height, and his right hand was laser like. He definitely nails Leonard with some good shots early on. "Like I said before", after hanging with Leonard for a few rounds, Ray would take control. With Oscar on the other hand, the difference in handspeed would be apparent immediately. Oscar wasn't used to consistently getting beaten to the punch, which would happen to him here. By the late rounds, with Oscar's shit stamina, it'd be very one sided and DLH would be on his bike just to survive.
agREED... Leonard BEATS Mosley 10 Out of 10, but HIGHLY Doubtful he Ever Stops Him...For One, Shane had a GREAT Chin...Secondly, When Shane Got Hurt, he Went Into SURVIVAL Mode... REED:hammert:
The later I think is more significant. It's very possible that Leonard turns Mosley into a "good boy" and Mosley is just content on going the distance. Either way, I think he's too durable for a Leonard stoppage. It's not completely outta the realm of possibility though. I COULD envision a Leonard stoppage in a 15 rounder. 12 rounder, it's definitely Leonard by UD.
No way Leonard stops Mosley. He'll dominate him on the inside and the outside but he would never get close to stopping him. Prime Shane had a chin of iron and a will to match.
I agree. Shane was as tough as they come but he was very close to getting stopped in the first Forrest fight on two separate occasions. Another ref may have stopped it in the 2nd round seeing as how out of it Shane was, and later in the fight his father was actually up on the ring apron with a towel before deciding against it. So to say he can't be stopped is a stretch.
Forrest had good power but wasn't a particularly good finisher. Leonard not only hit harder than Forresf, but he was also a GREAT finisher when he had his man ready to go.
