His professional career spanned from 1977-1997. 40 fights in 20 years. 36-3-1 At his best,..1980, he was as good as anyone I’ve seen. But his resume is way limited. Duran, Hearns, Benitez, Hagler are his biggest wins. He lost one to Duran. He shoulda lost one to Hearns He shoulda lost one to Hagler And he got KOd by Camacho
Leonard would have retired undefeated if only he had been facing the Rolly's and Lamont Roach's of the world.
That Camacho ko loss really killed his legacy. I remember hoopin wit these guys in the late 90s and we were talking boxing. One dude said he just seen leonard in vegas and asked him, " how you let that messican knock you out!?"
Leonard hadn't fought in 6 years and Camacho, while also past his prime, was at least keeping active throughout the 90s. The Camacho loss has no impact on Leonard's legacy. As for Leonard overall, I consider Leonard, Duran, and Roy to be the 3 best fighters of the last 50 years. Fake TBE was a cut below all 3 in terms of prime.
REED's Thinks Sugar Ray Leonard's Resume is ENHANCED By the Fact He Only Fought 40 Times...Duran, Hearns, Benitez, Hagler Would Be the "Biggest Wins" of ANY Fighter's Career... He Made Duran QUIT In an Immediate RE... He KO'ed Tommy Hearns When Both Were In Their Primes... Absolute BEST Case Scenario for Hagler was a DRAW... The Camacho KO Means as Much as Joppy KO'ing Duran Does... The WAY Leonard Climbed Off the Canvas to VIOLENTLY Dispose of the Bigger Lalonde was Impressive...As Was the Win Over Kalule...Say What You Will About Sugar Ray Leonard the PERSON, Few if Any Have Accomplished as MUCH In as FEW Fights... REED
Still, Camacho! If Mayweather jr came back to have a real fight against Keith thurman or sergio martinez and got KOd how would that look for him perception wise!?
I consider Sugar Ray Leonard the greatest contemporary boxer of all time. Looked all world always. Lost one close fight with another perennial ATG, instantly got it back. Beat an ATG decisively for the title. Won 2 of the biggest fights ever (Hearns and Hagler)... BOTH as an underdog. And prior to moving up, being on drugs, in and out of retirement... he looked completely unbeatable against every non elite fighter he faced. Who in history 147-160 actually matches up really well against Ray? He actually had it all.
Greatest fighter of the last 60 years for me (if not more). But still, I sometimes wonder if we don't give him too much of a free pass for the Norris fight..
He had a short period when he looked fantastic against great fighters. I don’t think he did enough to beat Hagler,…but I thought he would get destroyed. So I give him big credit. His ring intelligence was his biggest asset
I think I scored the Hagler-Leonard fight during lockdown. I either had it a draw or close Leonard win, can't quite remember. Hagler lost it more than Leonard won it imo, especially with him stupidly giving away those early rounds. Respect to Leonard though, he's not responsible for the other guy's game plan, and a lot of people thought he was going to get badly hurt.
As Undeniably GREAT as Hagler was, it was Probably THE Dumbest "Big Fight" Fight Plan Ever.... Had Hagler BEGAN the Fight w/the Urgency He Showed in Round 9, He Beats, Maybe Even STOPS Leonard...Instead, Hagler Got CUTE, Leonard Got CONFIDENT and One of Boxing's Great Debates Ensued.... But to Your Point, Leonard Absolutely CANNOT Be Faulted for a Head Scratching Fight Plan... REED
