Had he not gone to jail. Could he have beaten the likes of Leonard, Hearns, Duran, and Benitez. Also how much success would he have had vs guys like Curry, Starling, McCallum, Brown, Jackson... guys like that. And how bout guys of the 90's like Tito, DLH, Wright, Mosley, Vargas, Quartey, Forrest.... could he have beaten any of them at his best? Thoughts?
Shoulda,woulda, coulda. But in guessing, I think he would have been below the Leonard/Duran class. The matchup with DLH is interesting. I kind of picture the talent level fairly comprable.
He seemed pretty tough, but perhaps not up to the hype he was getting. I think Fernando Vargas is a good comparison. Imo, Mugabi had far more potential with a similar style. The Ayala style always seems vulnerable to a trick boxer. It takes someone like Chavez to take that style to the all-time great level and there's no reason to think that Ayala could have done the same.
