I was a huge Sugar Ray Fan. Saw him beat Benitez in 1979 for the title. Never missed a fight. IMO He was a true shining star in boxing. He had unmatched skill, hit hard and fought anybody....
I see lots of posts here about Floyd's legacy and i'm just thinking.... With or without the Manny fight win or loose. Boxing is a sport of now... Will anybody be talking about Floyd or his skill in ten years...
My point is other than Fantasy fight polls nobody ever really talks about Sugar Ray. And being a fight fan in both eras I can tell you Floyd doesn't hold a candle to the excitement that Sugar Ray generated...
Just my thoughts... :boxing:
if Floyd really ends his career right now, in 10 yrs no one will consider him ATG. it is what it is..when its all said and done they go by the opponents you faced and beat. they wouldnt talk abt skills..they wouldnt talk about fantasy fights..they would talk abt the real fight and rank ATG's by what they did inside the ring..
Mayweather already is an ATG.If people will remember him as a "waste of talent",that's merely a reflection of just how brilliant he is.The fact that he's accomplished as much as he has,but that he was capable of achieving so much more - that's the standard that he set for himself a long time ago.
Sugar Ray's career took the same turn after his detatched retina.He was the greatest,most popular and richest fighter in the sport at the time,then the eye injury popped up and his career was pretty much stop-start from that point on.And despite that,he's still regarded as one of the very greatest in the sports history.The fact that he was capable of accomplishing so much more is frightning.
When you look back at Leonards career you'd be hard pressed to find significant match-up that wasn't made. Do the same for Mayweather and you'd be somewhat pressed to find a significant match-up that was actually made.
Sugar Ray's career took the same turn after his detatched retina.He was the greatest,most popular and richest fighter in the sport at the time,then the eye injury popped up and his career was pretty much stop-start from that point on.And despite that,he's still regarded as one of the very greatest in the sports history.The fact that he was capable of accomplishing so much more is frightning.
Agreed, the heart he had was enormous. To take that stiff jab from Hearns all night and come from behind with the TKO was incredible.
Mayweather already is an ATG.If people will remember him as a "waste of talent",that's merely a reflection of just how brilliant he is.The fact that he's accomplished as much as he has,but that he was capable of achieving so much more - that's the standard that he set for himself a long time ago.
Sugar Ray's career took the same turn after his detatched retina.He was the greatest,most popular and richest fighter in the sport at the time,then the eye injury popped up and his career was pretty much stop-start from that point on.And despite that,he's still regarded as one of the very greatest in the sports history.The fact that he was capable of accomplishing so much more is frightning.
Floyd's skills are supreme and are as good as it can get. However, he is screwing up big time right now, and it's clear he doesn't really have the passion great fighters of the past had, at lease not anymore.
He has solidified his place in history, but I don't think he will be thrown up there with the likes of Ali and Leonard.
I was a huge Sugar Ray Fan. Saw him beat Benitez in 1979 for the title. Never missed a fight. IMO He was a true shining star in boxing. He had unmatched skill, hit hard and fought anybody....
I see lots of posts here about Floyd's legacy and i'm just thinking.... With or without the Manny fight win or loose. Boxing is a sport of now... Will anybody be talking about Floyd or his skill in ten years...
My point is other than Fantasy fight polls nobody ever really talks about Sugar Ray. And being a fight fan in both eras I can tell you Floyd doesn't hold a candle to the excitement that Sugar Ray generated...
Just my thoughts... :boxing:
^^^^^^ The truth.
Floyd couldn't carry Ray's spitbucket. If people remember his career in 10 years, they'll talk about what a waste of talent it was.