Ray Robinson vs Ray leonard at 147

[soul_survivor]

Robinson was bigger, stronger and harder hitting by far.

Robinson has at least 2 inches on Leonard in height.

Robinson was an inch taller but Leonard has a 2 inch reach advantage, pretty much evens it out.

I've seen very little footage of Robinson's prime but for speed, I think Leonard has him beat, both of hand and feet. No doubt though that Robinson had more power and by a tiny margin, the better technician.

So all in all, this is going to come down to grit, determination and the ability to hurt the other guy. With that in mind, I think Robinson edges a very tight, controversial decision.

But it would be one heck of a fight!

[Ray Corso]

Good fight, I like Sugar Ray stopping Leonard late 12--14th round. Sugar is superior to Leonard in all departments but his experience is a huge advantage.
Sugar has segments in his career were he was 90--0 TWICE!
He has TWICE as many KO wins than Leonard has fights and Sugar was stopped ONCE! Winning the light heavy crown but succumbing to extreme heat
late in the fight winning on all cards.

Ray Leonard is a top ten welter but against the greatest fighter of all time
he simply doesn't have enough to "impress" the real Sugar Ray!
Determination and the willingness to go to the edge is what modern day fighters lack. Top tier fighters after Ali's era could fight 10 times and be set for life if their smart. When that happens they loose their inner drive so when their in tough they go into survive mode! Survive mode when your in with a fellow like Robinson or Dempsey or Marciano or LaMotta gets you hurt!
It's as if they smell the blood and want to end the fight NOW!
Today you don't see that and today started around 1980, when the purses
grew for everyone.

Sugar defeats all welters & middles, simply the greats all time boxer/fighter.

Ray.

[Caught Square]

The more a see Robinson the more i realise his vunerabilities, he's not miles ahead of the pack like he's made out to be although i do consider him the goat based on accomplishments.

Honestly i think Leonard would outpoint him. Slightly faster but slicker and is less reckless when throwing punches.

I wish there was more footage of Robinson in his welterweight days but still from what i've seen he would be vunerable throwing those wild punches against Leonard.

[billeau2]

Two great fighters. First off, we should not assume that because one guy ls better in many areas....It necessarily means that guy would win the fight...For example, Julio Caeser Chavez would stack up nicely against Sweet pea, He was better in quite a few categories but the Pea didnt just beat him...he outclassed him! screw the judges.

Sugar Ray was without any weakness. He had skills to burn....skills on skills. Just the way the guy moved. Leanard was an opportunist. Psychologically he would try to intimidate with speed and could go in there and finish the job when necessary. Both guys were smart, savy, etc.

To me, despite how both guys stack up...the fight comes down to one crucial contest: Leonard's speed, versus Robinson's punching attack. Problem for Leonard would be that Robinson's quickness was deceptive. The untelegraphed attack of Robinson would make it so Leonard either had to punch it out with Robinson, counter him, or get away. Robinson, on the other hand, given his pedigree would have the speed of Leonard to deal with. Jones and Leonard were both guys where speed could kill so to speak.

Speed should not be underestimated. But Speed can be neutralized. Duran did it, and Robinson certainly had to deal with it on occasion. I do not think either guy could counter the other guy here! One guy was too fast the other guy too technically accomplished at putting the punches together. Robinson gets to Leonard as a puncher, thats how he beats him.

I do give Leonard an outside chance....Robinson beat guys like Zivic and Kid Gavalin who had speed, but the speed of Leonard or Jones might have given him some problems...its conceviable.

[SlySlickSmooth]

This is Ray Robinson at Welterweight in 1950.


Beautiful knockdown in the middle of the video. Check hook, right hand

[soul_survivor]

Impressive footage but noway would Robinson have his way with Leonard the way he did with Dykes who was, in his own right, a very good contender. But it's nice to see some welter footage of SRR, even if, by this stage, Robinson wasn't as good as he had been in the previous decade. I'll try and find some older footage which I've seen on a ESPN program one time.