If a prime Sugar Ray Leonard were fighting today....

Pavlik is MUCH better than hapless prettyboy Lalonde. :nono:

 

Leonard wouldnt have struggled with Stinks. Ray woulda done what Taylor SHOULD HAVE and knocked Cory out.

 

Cory-Leonard is a pick'em fight. Leonard could be outboxed and Cory has freakish reach

 

This isnt even amusing.

 

But isn't this the Bernard Hopkins who won using simple 'Boxing 101' to beat a one-dimensional slugger? :dunno:
I don't think 'Boxing 101' beats a prime SRL....

 

that remains to be seen.

 

After Leonard and Floyd had their little beef a few years back, someone asked Leonard if he'd like to be 22 again to face Mayweather...

Leonard replied, "I wouldn't need 22, give me 32." ::

 

1st & Foremost,Bernard would have a SIZE Advantage over ANY Version of Leonard...About as Much as Hearns had...

The Bernard that Fought Tito STILL Threw a Good Amount of Punches per Round,STILL Fought w/MALICE & had VERY Underrated Speed...Even Today,Bernard's Lead Right is VERY Quick...N his Prime,he could CATCH Leonard w/It...

Also,REED Isn't Sure that Ray could HURT Bernard...Not enough to KO him,anyways...Ray's whole "Pretty Boy" Facade would IRK Bernard & Bring out even DIRTIER Tactics than we're Accustomed to Seeing from Hopkins...

Bernard WOULDN'T B the BEST Guy Ray's Ever Fought,but he Very Well COULD B Ray's TOUGHEST Opponent...

Bernard's SIZE,MENTALITY,SKILLS,Underrated Athleticism & Borderline DIRTY Tactics would ALL TROUBLE Ray Leonard...



REED

 

bernard couldnt catch jones, he definately wasnt going to catch leonard, dont compare bernard to tommy, tommy used his reach with that jab, bernard has never had anything like tommys jab and offence in his arsenal, hes not gonna be able to hug and ruff up lenoard, and isnt going to get off first, sugar ray wins this one running away, figuratively and litterally

 

Roy had better reflexes than Leonard. Arguably faster hands as well.

 

funny, but it was 25 and 30, not 22 and 32. :nono:

 

I stopped reading right there. Jones was FAR MORE elusive than leonard, dude. So what's your point?

 

hopkins would've beaten leonard down.

 

word. Then after the fight he would have said in an interview:

"never liked him anyway, Pretty Motherfucker!"

 

Ray beats everyone at 147-154, not so sure how he fares at 160. Hopkins beats him IMO.

He's being overrated by some though, he didn't have the defense/reflexes of a PBF, he wasn't as fast and powerful like Roy or as crafty and strong like Hopkins, some of you're are talking like he's a combination of all 3. ::

 

But when has Leonard EVER Ran for an ENTIRE Fight???:dunno:

Leonard Stood his Ground & Fired COMBO's More than he Ever Potshotted & Ran...

Even N the Hagler Fight,an OLD Leonard Stood & FOUGHT More than Most Give him Credit for...A PRIME Leonard NEVER just Blatantly RAN for an ENTIRE Fight...

Leonard EVADED Hearns Early Cause of Tommy's SIZE & QUICKNESS,but even then,Leonard was LOSING the Fight...Bernard ISN'T as GIFTED as Tommy N those Regards,but he WASN'T Terribly Faaaaaar OFF,Either...It's NOT Like Sugar Ray could EFFECTIVELY Stick & Move on Bernard,All Night:nono: ...

"However",Bernard has a MUCH Better Chin than Hearns EVER had,is STRONGER than Hearns ever Was & he'd Take Leonard to a Place Only Duran Did,w/his TACTICS & Pre-Fight BANTER...Bernard is Almost a HYBRID of the 2 Guys who Gave Leonard his TOUGHEST Fights,Hearns & Duran...

Here's the Deal,if it's a PHYSICAL Fight,Leonard would LOSE,but "Like I Said Before",WHEN did a PRIME Leonard ever RUN for an Entire Fight???...

He'd ENGAGE Bernard @ SOME Point & THAT's when Shit would Get INTERESTING...

REED

 

... and then testify against Ray in open court just to save his own ass.

 

Ray didn't have much trouble beating Floyd Sr. Granted Sr. didn't have the reflexes of his son, but Ray knew how to neutralize Floyd's best assets.

I don't think he has ANY trouble with Floyd Jr. He'd have trouble with Hopkins because of Nard's height, but Nard would also have issues with Ray's speed.

Ray didn't have Jones type handspeed, but who did? Hopkins would be better suited to mug Ray and fight him on the inside. From the outside, Ray would have a better chance.

I hate Ray, but the one thing he is not is overrated. His toughness is unmatched in comparison to today's fighters. Case in point, Hopkins basically wins by default these days. he wins by being the guy who does more of the least. Ray never really fought like that.

Put it this way, even in the Hagler fight Ray sat down and fought with Hagler more than Hopkins did with Wink, Taylor (twice) and Tarver combined.

 

Damn...I just posted pretty much the EXACT same thing.

It's nice to see you on the right side of an argument for a change. :tease:

 

Floyd Sr wasn't half the fighter Floyd is, but yeah, he beats Floyd down at 147 because Floyd is far from a natural Welter, SRL is much bigger.

Those where different times, I can easily see SRL being a more talented version of DLH right now, not being as aggressive as he was then because if he was fighting today he would be getting paid triple what he was getting paid.

That's way it's hard to compare boxers from different times.

 

I disagree.

The problem is, when Leonard was fighting he was making astronomical amounts of money comparatively speaking.

If you saw the "Legendary Nights" you'd know that Leonard made $1 million for the Benetiz fight (ray's first title fight) vs Hagler making $50,000 on the undercard.

$1 million in 1979 was a huge amount of money.

Leonard was more celebrated and more of a celebrity during his prime than Oscar simply because boxing was more mainstream then than it is today.

It's not like Ray was fighting because he was hungry.

 

dsimon writes:

Really like your take metamuze great post. :bears:

 

true but for the hagler fight i think it was more of being tired because of inactivity, he would engage in some exchanges with bernard but i dont feel bernard has the power to change the fight enough if he lands something, i dont think bernard can pick shots with ray and win a fight, ray put away alot of early rounds before he engaged fighting with marvin, and he will easily win the first 4-5 against bernard, there is no scenario where i see bernand winning 6 in a row or more againt ray

 

different style of fighting, different class of fighters, but your probly right, but not by much