which fighter took on the most difficult challanges of the 80's/90s/ 00s

[The Old LefHook]

by challenges I do not nessarly mean wins but great fighters in each of those decades. Although some winning is required to move on to the next fight as great challenge.

Leonard liked to tease the public, just like Mayweather, before he let you down. He had zero respect for the fans who made him rich, despite his own protetations to the contrary. That he was more personable than FM hardly matters in this context. I would not have him on a list like this. The only reason Duran got a timely rematch was because he won the first time. Precisely the opposite of Robinson, the toughtest fights were never rematched in timely fashion. Use the eye excuse if you want to, I don't buy it for long. Leonard had plenty of chicken**** in him, not as in cowardly, but as in I'll tease the public for a while with no intention of delivering because I am simply great.

He used out of the ring trickery and negotiations to whittle away at Hagler's chances before the fight. Twelve rounds instead of fifteen, parking-lot-sized ring, pillow gloves were all at Ray's insistence. Hey, look, I cannot beat you inside the ring, so I am going to beat you outside of it. I will look good, the public is gullible and ignorant, and I am simply great.

He rushed to rematch Duran because he knew the Panamanian was ninety punds overweight with prolonged celebration. Is there supposed to be some pride of legacy involved here? Hey, look fellas, I beat a man who killed himself to make weight. I sure am proud.

Despite several big challenges, Leonard does not belong here. A great fighter, yes; an all time great, unfortunately so. But he does not belong here, a man with thirty fights who turned down as many mighty challeges as he accepted. I was a fan of his while he was fighting, and I always wanted to be even more of a fan, but he would not let me. Though he was shot at the time, I was thrilled to see Norris and Camacho devastate him for all that he had done to us previously.

Leonard was among a small group of fighters so talented that they never learned real boxing fundamentals. Roy Jones and Ali are two others. Their tremendous skills relied upon tremendous physical gifts. Once they aged and slowed down to human speed one saw easily that they did not know how to box, they lacked most of the archival tradition of Archie Moore, Pep and Mayweather. Make no mistake about it, Mayweather has more pure skill than Leonard had, but would likely have been KO'd by the larger-framed Leonard. The self-discovered techniques of Jones and Ali were good enough for greatness and to lift them above others in their era, in Ali's case above almost everyone in any era. No ducking and dodging from Ali. He has the most competitive roster in heavyweight history. That is what we respect without grudges.

I grudgingly admit Leonard was a great fighter but not a great champion.

[zdiddy]

What about Cotto over the past 10 years?
Judah, Malignnagi, Mosley, Margarito, Pac, Trout, Mayweather, Martinez. 5 of 8 have HOF chances. Beat an undefeated Malignaggi and stopped a skidding Zab Judah and Ricardo Mayorga as well. Not too shabby in a day and age when everyone complains about pampered prospects and protected champions.

[IMDAZED]

Leonard liked to tease the public, just like Mayweather, before he let you down. He had zero respect for the fans who made him rich, despite his own protetations to the contrary. That he was more personable than FM hardly matters in this context. I would not have him on a list like this. The only reason Duran got a timely rematch was because he won the first time. Precisely the opposite of Robinson, the toughtest fights were never rematched in timely fashion. Use the eye excuse if you want to, I don't buy it for long. Leonard had plenty of chicken**** in him, not as in cowardly, but as in I'll tease the public for a while with no intention of delivering because I am simply great.

He used out of the ring trickery and negotiations to whittle away at Hagler's chances before the fight. Twelve rounds instead of fifteen, parking-lot-sized ring, pillow gloves were all at Ray's insistence. Hey, look, I cannot beat you inside the ring, so I am going to beat you outside of it. I will look good, the public is gullible and ignorant, and I am simply great.

He rushed to rematch Duran because he knew the Panamanian was ninety punds overweight with prolonged celebration. Is there supposed to be some pride of legacy involved here? Hey, look fellas, I beat a man who killed himself to make weight. I sure am proud.

Despite several big challenges, Leonard does not belong here. A great fighter, yes; an all time great, unfortunately so. But he does not belong here, a man with thirty fights who turned down as many mighty challeges as he accepted. I was a fan of his while he was fighting, and I always wanted to be even more of a fan, but he would not let me. Though he was shot at the time, I was thrilled to see Norris and Camacho devastate him for all that he had done to us previously.

Leonard was among a small group of fighters so talented that they never learned real boxing fundamentals. Roy Jones and Ali are two others. Their tremendous skills relied upon tremendous physical gifts. Once they aged and slowed down to human speed one saw easily that they did not know how to box, they lacked most of the archival tradition of Archie Moore, Pep and Mayweather. Make no mistake about it, Mayweather has more pure skill than Leonard had, but would likely have been KO'd by the larger-framed Leonard. The self-discovered techniques of Jones and Ali were good enough for greatness and to lift them above others in their era, in Ali's case above almost everyone in any era. No ducking and dodging from Ali. He has the most competitive roster in heavyweight history. That is what we respect without grudges.

I grudgingly admit Leonard was a great fighter but not a great champion.

[billeau2]

Leonard liked to tease the public, just like Mayweather, before he let you down. He had zero respect for the fans who made him rich, despite his own protetations to the contrary. That he was more personable than FM hardly matters in this context. I would not have him on a list like this. The only reason Duran got a timely rematch was because he won the first time. Precisely the opposite of Robinson, the toughtest fights were never rematched in timely fashion. Use the eye excuse if you want to, I don't buy it for long. Leonard had plenty of chicken**** in him, not as in cowardly, but as in I'll tease the public for a while with no intention of delivering because I am simply great.

He used out of the ring trickery and negotiations to whittle away at Hagler's chances before the fight. Twelve rounds instead of fifteen, parking-lot-sized ring, pillow gloves were all at Ray's insistence. Hey, look, I cannot beat you inside the ring, so I am going to beat you outside of it. I will look good, the public is gullible and ignorant, and I am simply great.

He rushed to rematch Duran because he knew the Panamanian was ninety punds overweight with prolonged celebration. Is there supposed to be some pride of legacy involved here? Hey, look fellas, I beat a man who killed himself to make weight. I sure am proud.

Despite several big challenges, Leonard does not belong here. A great fighter, yes; an all time great, unfortunately so. But he does not belong here, a man with thirty fights who turned down as many mighty challeges as he accepted. I was a fan of his while he was fighting, and I always wanted to be even more of a fan, but he would not let me. Though he was shot at the time, I was thrilled to see Norris and Camacho devastate him for all that he had done to us previously.

Leonard was among a small group of fighters so talented that they never learned real boxing fundamentals. Roy Jones and Ali are two others. Their tremendous skills relied upon tremendous physical gifts. Once they aged and slowed down to human speed one saw easily that they did not know how to box, they lacked most of the archival tradition of Archie Moore, Pep and Mayweather. Make no mistake about it, Mayweather has more pure skill than Leonard had, but would likely have been KO'd by the larger-framed Leonard. The self-discovered techniques of Jones and Ali were good enough for greatness and to lift them above others in their era, in Ali's case above almost everyone in any era. No ducking and dodging from Ali. He has the most competitive roster in heavyweight history. That is what we respect without grudges.

I grudgingly admit Leonard was a great fighter but not a great champion.

Leonard had skills and raw talent sonny I mean Lefty

[The Old LefHook]

Leonard had skills and raw talent sonny I mean Lefty

Any boxer has skills. Ray's were mostly self invented rather than the traditionally acquired variety. If he had been such an excellent pure boxer, he would have known what to do when he got older, instead of being pounded senseless by the feather-fisted likes of Camacho. I am not a Mayweather fan, but Floyd already got older himself, you see, and he still knows what to do and how to win, because the reals skills are the ones that are still effective once you slow down. Boxing like Leonard may be thought of as highly skillfull by some, but to me it was highly talented and sufficiently skillfull. He was very good at doing things his way, relying mainly on the speed of his legs and hands, which is not a skill but a talent. Arguably the best ring general in history. What some call science is merely excessive talent. Which is not to say he was not pretty well rounded. But his succes was mainly founded on talent, his downfall due the decline of natural gifts. He was skillful at using his talents.