Personally, I would have to say it was Leonard vs Hearns1. This was a clash of the titans, two prime WW going at it. The Wilfred Benitez win was also great. Who could forget the infamous "No Mas" Roberto Duran fight? Leonard is the greatest fighter since Ali. It's a shame that they don't make them like this anymore, smh.
IDK the Roberto Duran fight is too odd...it's like Duran quit more than Leonard won that fight, if that makes any sense...
Well even Leonard will admit that Duran wasn't in the best shape physically due to his indulgences.
But I'll credit Leonard anyway for being ahead in that fight and applying his own brand of taunting/psychological warfare to make Duran quit/breakdown.
No I don't believe Duran had to take a sh!t.
If he had beaten Hagler convincigly I would say Hagler, however it was pretty close so I have to say Duran.
Funny how I haven't seen one Pac fans in this thread, they probably don't know who Leonard is.
hey i saw the video pryor chalenge him in the press convernce, isnt he duck pryor???
back to the topic, i think hearn was leonard best win.
Callouts are just for hype, they don't really mean much. Negotiations are what count.
When it came time to sign the contract, for far more money than he'd ever made, Pryor said no.
He didn't duck Pryor man. Stop talking nonsense.
hey i saw the video pryor chalenge him in the press convernce, isnt he duck pryor???
back to the topic, i think hearn was leonard best win.
Thanks for your input. I was really referring to both fighters' public image, not how they truly are. I thought I alluded to that when I used the term "persona" in my post. Not too many of us can claim to know either man personally. The rest of us have only hearsay and rumors to rely on.
I know what my impression of Ray Leonard has always been. He may or may not be a class act, but I always had the feeling that his "golden boy" image might be just that, an image. As for Duran? I have a little more to go on. Despite his public personality, I've always gotten the sense that he's a "real" person. Roberto is reputed to be a great guy in every sense of the word.
Well in regards to all-time rankings, I think much of that is due to Duran's career in the 1970s. He was probably the best fighter (although not the most famous) of the 1970s before mixing it up with the much bigger Fab 4.
Leonard's not really considered a nice guy among boxing circles. He's gotten a bit of a reputation as a two-faced phony. Despite his tendency to grab his testicles in public, Duran actually has a better reputation in terms of being friendly with fans and to the best of our knowledge, didn't beat up his wife like Ray did.
Thanks for your input. I was really referring to both fighters' public image, not how they truly are. I thought I alluded to that when I used the term "persona" in my post. Not too many of us can claim to know either man personally. The rest of us have only hearsay and rumors to rely on.
I know what my impression of Ray Leonard has always been. He may or may not be a class act, but I always had the feeling that his "golden boy" image might be just that, an image. As for Duran? I have a little more to go on. Despite his public personality, I've always gotten the sense that he's a "real" person. Roberto is reputed to be a great guy in every sense of the word.
pryor beats srl imo
Pryor's too small and too damn open.
I doubt he'd fare well against the top WWs around then like SRL, Tommy, and Duran. I'd actually give him a better chance against Duran @ 150 (where the fight was proposed) than Tommy and Ray @ 147.
It's pretty interesting how Leonard, while very popular in his fighting days, hasn't seemed to retain his aura into retirement like some other greats. Take Duran, for instance, a man "Sugar" defeated twice: Roberto is far more popular in retirement than Ray. He's mentioned more often and regarded more highly. I'm not saying it shouldn't be so...but one has to wonder why the clear gap in appeal. Ray Leonard was a "golden boy" years before Oscar came along; Roberto Duran had a much darker persona by comparison. Maybe nice guys really do finish last....
Leonard's not really considered a nice guy among boxing circles. He's gotten a bit of a reputation as a two-faced phony. Despite his tendency to grab his testicles in public, Duran actually has a better reputation in terms of being friendly with fans and to the best of our knowledge, didn't beat up his wife like Ray did.
Gotta go with the Hearns fight. The Hagler fight was a great (though still debated to this day). Leonard was the smaller man and had been inactive, but truthfully both guys had seen better days. Duran was a very good win, but by Leonard's own admission, he knew Duran wasn't in the best of shape. There's been talk of Hearns being overtrained, but I believe Hearns was in top condition. Benitez was a terrific talent, but Hearns was the superior fighter to El Radar.
Oh, and Pryor deserves the majority of the blame for that fight not happening. He's the one who rejected the offer from Leonard because he wanted more money, despite it being far more than he had ever made at the time.
But you wouldn't know that if you didn't bother to check the history and instead just believed the excrement spewed on HBO's Legendary Myths.
In most respectable list that I have seen. Leonard is in the top 15 ATG's.
I mean he is pretty high on people ATG lists.
It's pretty interesting how Leonard, while very popular in his fighting days, hasn't seemed to retain his aura into retirement like some other greats. Take Duran, for instance, a man "Sugar" defeated twice: Roberto is far more popular in retirement than Ray. He's mentioned more often and regarded more highly. I'm not saying it shouldn't be so...but one has to wonder why the clear gap in appeal. Ray Leonard was a "golden boy" years before Oscar came along; Roberto Duran had a much darker persona by comparison. Maybe nice guys really do finish last....
Leonard won. Coming back after 3 years, moving up 2 divisions to face arguably the greatest middleweight of all time is truely awesome. The best of the many great wins Leonard had.
You make a strong case for the Hagler bout. Although I thought Marvin should've gotten the nod, just giving the "Marvelous" one that kind of fight was truly impressive. However, the come-from-behind KO victory versus Tommy Hearns was just epic. I remember watching that one live, on TV...electrifying! Hagler may've been the bigger scalp (no pun intended), but the fight versus the "Hitman" was far more dramatic.
Because, of his LW run, his overall resume, and his accomplishments. But, again JMO.
Fair enough, but I disagree. Hmm so I started a thread that was meaningful enough for you to grace me with your presence:lol1::lol1::lol1: