Leonard and Duran speak on Mayweather

Actually, I believe that Mayweather would fare better against a Roberto Duran than either a Sugar Ray Leonard or Thomas Hearns. The reason being is that in his prime, Roberto Duran was more of a slugger, who liked to swarm his opponents with combination punches on the inside. However, Floyd is actually a very good inside fighter himself, who knows how to counter, slip, duck, block and roll with punches while fighting on the inside. Where Duran would be the most vulnerable is in the center of the ring, where he and Mayweather are practically the same size. Smaller welterweights; Roberto would have trouble cutting off the ring against Floyd due to his lack of a jab, footwork and perhaps a much quicker opponent, while being pot shotted at will. On the other hand, Leonard and Hearns would be nightmarish matchups for Mayweather, given their height, size and boxing skill. Both had nice jabs with good power, which would keep the smaller Mayweather at a distance with their longer reach, thus making it very difficult for him to potshot them from close range. In order for Money to score points against either of them, then he would have to open up more and come out of that philly shell defense and this would leave him very vulnerable to the straight right hands and power of either fighter.

I'm 45, and remember watching and becoming a fan of Leonard at the '76 Olympics and watching his entire career, including the fights against Duran, Hearns, Hagler, etc...and imo, Floyd is better than all of those guys. Leonard's boxing ability made Duran quit. Floyd would have not only outboxed him, but counterpunched him to death. Floyd's D and conditioning would have given him the nod against Leonard. Hearns vs. Floyd would have been interesting until Floyd started timing him and potshotting him and taking him to the late rounds and started toying with him due to conditioning. Hearns might have stood a chance with Mayweather in a 12 rd fight, but not 15 rds. Mayweather would have outskilled Hagler also. Floyd could barely cope with the pressure of JLC or a past it Cotto. Duran would destroy Floyd as would Hearns, SRL and Hagler.

Floyd beats Leonard Duran beats Floyd.

nonsense Floyd almost sucumbed to Oscar's jab....a far cry from Hearn's jab...or SRL's for that matter.... And Cotto is proving to be, when we take away the soundtrack and biased punchstat BS, what was a competative fight for Floyd. Cotto is a great fighter...Duran was a better version though. Also as Ray says...Floyd was not the same size so its academic and even more nonsensical to think he could fight a guy like hearns. EVEN if we give Floyd the benefit of the doubt and say Hearns had a bit of a chin problem...No one can say with a straight face that catching Hearns with a technically perfect, straight, Floyd shot....would shake him up! Think logically for a moment....And I grew up watching from around the time before SRL so I saw both in action, I am a fan of Floyd's and I know better! I think you're underestimating Floyd's intelligence, conditioning, and will to win. Nobody has ever taken Floyd into deep waters..ever. He's never been knocked down (really, not technically due to hurt hand), and Floyd has only had one judge out of a possible 130 or so that thought he didn't win the fight. You're watching history, my friend.

Leonard ducked Pryor like the plague!!! Only fought Hagler coming off a grueling fight w Mugabi. Facts!! Like Hagler said, "Ima sit back and lick my chops." :D Every era had there ducks and stalls to make fights happen, this is not a new trend. http://media.tumblr.com/d606a43eb1d32eb529a0e1ff3ef6e0ef/tumblr_inline_mlrmgnkTWT1qz4rgp.gif

Yeah, because Leonard had terrible conditioning. It wasn't like he fought 15 round fights against ATG's or anything. He also was a complete mess against defensive fighters like Benitez and could barely land on him. I didn't say Leonard had terrible conditioning. But it can be argued that no fighter in the history of the sport consistently enters the ring better conditioned than Floyd. Advantage Floyd. In all seriousness Leonard had a masterful jab and exquisite timing. SRL is one of my top 3 favorite Boxers of ALL TIME. Him, Tyson, and Floyd. I grew up a fan of his, but I'm telling you, he wasn't nearly as dominant in as many areas as Floyd has been. SRL has the bigger fights and bigger moments on his resume, and the showmanship, and big flurries and combinations, but Floyd has everything else...by far. Fighters like Cotto had some success with the jab against Floyd and Leonard's jab is a much bigger, faster, smarter and better version than Cotto's. I'll tell you for free that Floyd's defence alone wouldn't win him the fight. Floyd was not as sharp in the Cotto fight, and he got popped a few times. Big deal. Floyd was never hurt or in trouble during that fight. And this is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Even in a comfortable victory for Mayweather, people get excited about that fight, because Mayweather actually took a little punishment. SRL took punishment and got hit on a regular basis but nobody remembers that. So Floyd would "potshot" Hearns who has a huge reach and height advantage? Go and watch the Floyd and Diego Corralles fight then come back here and tell me Mayweather can't potshot taller and longer reaching opponents. Potshot as in hit in range and then get out of there? That might be the worst tactic ever against Hearns who would jab him to death on the outside and then smash him as he moved inside with Floyd barely being able to get to him. The way to beat Hearns is with sustained hard-punching pressure, you can't outbox him. Leonard nearly learned that the hard way. In my opinion, Floyd's Defense and athleticism would have allowed him to survive Hearns early, then outbox him later for the victory. Especially in a 15 rd fight. Floyd could go 20 rds, dude. Perhaps the greatest conditioned athlete in the sport. And I'm not just talking cardio and endurance. The kid has done it all and dominated every style he's ever faced. He would have been too smart to go toe to toe with Hearns, and with that, Floyd would have had every advantage after that, imo. Not to mention, Hearns' stamina is more proven that Floyd's so that statement really has no validity. I disagree. I've only seen Floyd get stronger in fights while I recall Hearns clearly gassing out against Leonard in their first fight. Where is your proof he was better conditioned than Floyd? Considering Floyd is rarely in competitive 12 round fights where he has to work hard. Hearns only faded in the 14 round after being pummeled by hard body and head shots from Leonard and still never went properly down. Hearns and Leonard were both fading in that fight, but Leonard had a few flurries remaining and took advantage of Hearns' dead legs. And don't kid yourself, Hearns was getting beat up and would have fallen had the fight not been stopped. Mayweather is go good, he's never come close to a situation like that. This is part of the problem. Because Floyd has yet to be seriously tested, people don't give him his proper respect. At Middleweight? Don't be ridiculous. :lol1 At Middleweight maybe not, but I won't rule it out, and at 154, Floyd beats him in a UD. nonsense Floyd almost sucumbed to Oscar's jab....a far cry from Hearn's jab...or SRL's for that matter.... And Cotto is proving to be, when we take away the soundtrack and biased punchstat BS, what was a competative fight for Floyd. Cotto is a great fighter...Duran was a better version though. Also as Ray says...Floyd was not the same size so its academic and even more nonsensical to think he could fight a guy like hearns. EVEN if we give Floyd the benefit of the doubt and say Hearns had a bit of a chin problem...No one can say with a straight face that catching Hearns with a technically perfect, straight, Floyd shot....would shake him up! Think logically for a moment....And I grew up watching from around the time before SRL so I saw both in action, I am a fan of Floyd's and I know better!

Corrales, Gotti, Judah, ODL, Hatton, Marquez, Mosley, Cotto, and eventually Canelo and Pac would pretty much cover every top fighter of his generation. Add a 49-0, or 50-0 record to that, his best in history Compubox stats, his probably going down as the best defender and counterpuncher in the history of the sport, his box office records at the gate and on PPV, and his reign as the best P4P fighter for pretty much 15 straight years, and there is little doubt where he will rank on the All Time List. Most of you younger guys and haters will be talking to your children and grandchildren one day about how dominant he was. He's still in the midst of building his resume. When he's done, only the fools who actually believe a cheating bag like Margarito would have stood a chance against him will remain.

Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. The fact is, that Oscar was flat-footed, old, and super rich at that point. After 8 rounds, Oscar was up a point on the cards. He blew the fight, Floyd didn't win it because he was "better". De La Hoya that fought Vargas at 154, Mosley, and Campas would outpoint Floyd. PERIOD. And that wasn't even a prime Oscar! A prime Oscar at 147 who fought Whitaker, Trinidad, Oba Carr, and Quartey beats him as well. Age is why Oscar lost his last two fights against Manny and Floyd. Who are you to question my boxing knowledge man? Check my rep and points. Smh.

lol...good responses. We'll never know, but imo, and I watched all of them in their primes, and I don't ever remember thinking one boxer was so much better than all the rest like I have with Floyd. That's cool, we'll just have to disagree on the Hearns fight then.

How can it be advantage Floyd when Leonard fought tougher, longer fights against better fighters? :lol1: SRL fought much better fighters at WW. Maybe he didn't look as dominant in as many areas because he was fighting Duran, Hearns and Benitez. All of these fighters are a leagues better than anyone Floyd has faced at WW. I'm not getting excited. I scored it 9-3 for Floyd I'm just pointing out there is success to be hard there. Why was he "not as sharp" either Cotto is just good enough to cause problems and therefore Leonard would be or Mayweather isn't "the most consistently conditioned fighter ever? Which one is it? Diego Corralles isn't on the level of Hearns, that fight was at SFW not WW and Corrales only had a 70 inch reach (to Floyd's 72, so he wasn't longer reaching), Hearns had a 78 inch reach. There isn't a comparison there. As I've said, the bigger, more powerful, just as fast and almost equally smart Ray Leonard couldn't outbox Hearns so what makes you think Floyd could? That implies Hearns would have to go toe-to-toe to win. Hearns is a master boxer and had perfected his style of long range boxing. He wouldn't need to go toe-to-toe. Where's your proof that Floyd was better conditioned. I never said Hearns was better conditioned just that he has more proven stamina by going 14 rounds in tough, close fights against ATG's. Floyd at WW has went 12 easy rounds with over-matched opponents. Leonard wasn't fading, he turned it up in the 13th. Just before that Hearns was doing well. It was a 4 part tale. Hearns doing well early, Leonard in the middle, Hearns at the beginning of the latter half and then Leonard getting the stoppage. I agree He's yet to be seriously tested at WW because he hasn't fought anyone that was incredibly good. Hence people pick Hearns over him. Shame Hagler never fought at 154... The idea that Floyd beats Hagler at MW is mere delusion and nothing else. lol...good responses. We'll never know, but imo, and I watched all of them in their primes, and I don't ever remember thinking one boxer was so much better than all the rest like I have with Floyd. Tyson until he lost comes to mind. Holmes in his prime comes to mind. It's a shame Floyd and Manny didn't meet a few years ago because imo, Floyd would have schooled him and Floyd wouldn't get the rap for not fighting the best, etc, and imo, the comments about Floyd ducking a "prime" Cotto, Margarito, and Paul Williams are just dumb. Anyway, look for Mayweather to fight Canelo at 154, with perhaps a fight day catch weight, then look for Floyd to school the rest of the chumps they place in front of him (including Manny at some point), then retire at 50-0 eventually, and as one of the greatest ever. Lack of KO power, making it look so easy, and no signature fight with someone as good as him, will challenge his claim as "TGE" but he'll be in the conversation whether his detractors want to believe it or not. Oh, and those who think Floyd might be dodging and ducking Canelo with his weight requests. Nope. Mayweather is simply using the weight to gain more dollars in a compromise. A fight day catch weight of 160-165 would be reasonable though considering Floyd will probably come in at 152 or so. Floyd needs Canelo at 154 and for Manny to KO Rios. Anything short of this will cost him a lot of money going forward. And the slightly weaker PPV numbers against Guerrero was the best thing to happen for all of us who want to see Mayweather fight Canelo and Pac. A Devon Alexander fight would be a complete dud. Canelo has more leverage than he realized. Floyd needs the Mexican market, plus Canelo has Cotto out there.

I totally agree. Those guys were monsters. Floyd is a great talent but so what. His two best wins were against a 36 yr. old Oscar and a supposedly shop worn Cotto. If he knew what version of Cotto he was going to fight, the fight might not have happened. I see all of these posts about him being so great but his resume and balls doesn't match up to what his fans say. If he's so great, why did he even fight Ortiz? The Ghost? A blown up Marquez? Who's next? Alexander or Khan or Garcia I think. But does any of those fighters REALLY have a chance? Leonard wouldn't even fight Chavez after he KO'ed LeLonde. He said Chavez was too small and would have gotten hurt. He also said the same thing about Pryor. Outside of Canelo and Manny( depending on how he looks against Rios), I don't want to see him fight anyone else. Martinez is old now but would have came down to 154lb and Floyd didn't want no part of him. The biggest duck in history was when he accused a smaller fighter of juicing just so he wouldn't have to fight him. Now Manny was almost killed by ROIDquez so that fight is pretty much dead too. Excuses, excuses. Now, he won't fight Canelo but he fought Oscar and Cotto at 154lb. His Daddy just said the other day that skills pay the bills, right? So, why isn't this fight going to happen again? Oscar was 34 years old when he fought Floyd. Shows how little you know about boxing history. Go back to school son.

PLEAS PLEASE PLEASE name these "true elite fighters" he chose to stay away from? I'll wait... Please don't be one of those guys! Was Guerro the best fighter available? Ortiz? De la Hoya, was the last fighter on top of the sport that fought the best fighter available! Take away the word elite, just think of making the biggest fights in boxing! He's his own boss, he decides who he fights! That's his word! And he decides to fight guys he knows he can beat! Period point plank! Oscar went to 160 to fight Hopkins! You think he had to take that fight? He fought Floyd, you think he had to take that fight? No! But he did, to challenge himself! Truly call himself the best! Not fight average fighters and call himself the greatest of all time! Get real! Floyd calls the shots now, and if he keeps giving these BS excuses when it comes to anyone that can truly push him to be great in the ring! Making stupid statements like after I beat so and so, they will just want me to fight someone else! Of course they will! That's the game! Maybe Jordan should have stopped at one ring! Maybe Lebron should quit now! As long as you are in the game you got to keep proving it year after year! That's the game, you don't like it! Retire! But stop running your mouth if you're not gonna step up, sad thing is his fans got just as many excuses as he does!

PLEAS PLEASE PLEASE name these "true elite fighters" he chose to stay away from? I'll wait... Well one would be be Manny as we all know it and don't start with the whole drug testing fiasco, because we all know it was bull on Floyds part. He never asked any other challenger, but when Manny is on a roll and set to give Floyd a challenge a million excuses start to fly. Sergio Martinez would be the 2nd. Martinez isn't that much bigger then Floyd. I believe Iran Barkley had a bigger size over Duran when they fought. The only difference is size of heart and the fact that Floyd doesn't want to risk a lost. Floyd isn't on par with these guys and his resume doesn't prove other wise.

I didn't say Leonard had terrible conditioning. But it can be argued that no fighter in the history of the sport consistently enters the ring better conditioned than Floyd. Advantage Floyd. How can it be advantage Floyd when Leonard fought tougher, longer fights against better fighters? :lol1: SRL is one of my top 3 favorite Boxers of ALL TIME. Him, Tyson, and Floyd. I grew up a fan of his, but I'm telling you, he wasn't nearly as dominant in as many areas as Floyd has been. SRL has the bigger fights and bigger moments on his resume, and the showmanship, and big flurries and combinations, but Floyd has everything else...by far. SRL fought much better fighters at WW. Maybe he didn't look as dominant in as many areas because he was fighting Duran, Hearns and Benitez. All of these fighters are a leagues better than anyone Floyd has faced at WW. Floyd was not as sharp in the Cotto fight, and he got popped a few times. Big deal. Floyd was never hurt or in trouble during that fight. And this is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Even in a comfortable victory for Mayweather, people get excited about that fight, because Mayweather actually took a little punishment. SRL took punishment and got hit on a regular basis but nobody remembers that. I'm not getting excited. I scored it 9-3 for Floyd I'm just pointing out there is success to be hard there. Why was he "not as sharp" either Cotto is just good enough to cause problems and therefore Leonard would be or Mayweather isn't "the most consistently conditioned fighter ever? Which one is it? Go and watch the Floyd and Diego Corralles fight then come back here and tell me Mayweather can't potshot taller and longer reaching opponents. Diego Corralles isn't on the level of Hearns, that fight was at SFW not WW and Corrales only had a 70 inch reach (to Floyd's 72, so he wasn't longer reaching), Hearns had a 78 inch reach. There isn't a comparison there. In my opinion, Floyd's Defense and athleticism would have allowed him to survive Hearns early, then outbox him later for the victory. As I've said, the bigger, more powerful, just as fast and almost equally smart Ray Leonard couldn't outbox Hearns so what makes you think Floyd could? Especially in a 15 rd fight. Floyd could go 20 rds, dude. Perhaps the greatest conditioned athlete in the sport. And I'm not just talking cardio and endurance. The kid has done it all and dominated every style he's ever faced. He would have been too smart to go toe to toe with Hearns, and with that, Floyd would have had every advantage after that, imo. That implies Hearns would have to go toe-to-toe to win. Hearns is a master boxer and had perfected his style of long range boxing. He wouldn't need to go toe-to-toe. I disagree. I've only seen Floyd get stronger in fights while I recall Hearns clearly gassing out against Leonard in their first fight. Where is your proof he was better conditioned than Floyd? Where's your proof that Floyd was better conditioned. I never said Hearns was better conditioned just that he has more proven stamina by going 14 rounds in tough, close fights against ATG's. Floyd at WW has went 12 easy rounds with over-matched opponents. Hearns and Leonard were both fading in that fight, but Leonard had a few flurries remaining and took advantage of Hearns' dead legs. Leonard wasn't fading, he turned it up in the 13th. Just before that Hearns was doing well. It was a 4 part tale. Hearns doing well early, Leonard in the middle, Hearns at the beginning of the latter half and then Leonard getting the stoppage. And don't kid yourself, Hearns was getting beat up and would have fallen had the fight not been stopped I agree Mayweather is go good, he's never come close to a situation like that. This is part of the problem. Because Floyd has yet to be seriously tested, people don't give him his proper respect. He's yet to be seriously tested at WW because he hasn't fought anyone that was incredibly good. Hence people pick Hearns over him. At Middleweight maybe not, but I won't rule it out, and at 154, Floyd beats him in a UD. Shame Hagler never fought at 154... The idea that Floyd beats Hagler at MW is mere delusion and nothing else.

Floyd would have never stepped up to welter if he was in the early 80's with duran leonard and hearns Also he would have never in the late 90's with tito oscar and ike If he had he would not be undefeated like he is today you don't get, he would have to. The Floyd you are seeing now is not hungry, his belly is full, so he doesn't need or want to take on additional risk. However, back then would have been different, for the spotlight would have been on Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Hagler and those guys. Knowing how arrogant Floyd is, he wouldn't be content with this, so he would push to fight them. Look at Floyds career, anytime he feels someone is getting more attention than he is, he used to always push to fight them. Contrary to all the noobs hatred on this site, Floyd at the lower weight, minus the spotlight, was calling out everyone from 130-147. There is a video to prove this. Even his stable mate, Cotto, whom he felt was getting bigger and more attention, he started to call out and Arum said no, so i have no doubts if he sees Leonard and those guys as the money fights, and he's unrecognized, he would have wanted to fight them.

Yeah, because Leonard had terrible conditioning. It wasn't like he fought 15 round fights against ATG's or anything. He also was a complete mess against defensive fighters like Benitez and could barely land on him. In all seriousness Leonard had a masterful jab and exquisite timing. Fighters like Cotto had some success with the jab against Floyd and Leonard's jab is a much bigger, faster, smarter and better version than Cotto's. I'll tell you for free that Floyd's defence alone wouldn't win him the fight. So Floyd would "potshot" Hearns who has a huge reach and height advantage? Potshot as in hit in range and then get out of there? That might be the worst tactic ever against Hearns who would jab him to death on the outside and then smash him as he moved inside with Floyd barely being able to get to him. The way to beat Hearns is with sustained hard-punching pressure, you can't outbox him. Leonard nearly learned that the hard way. Not to mention, Hearns' stamina is more proven that Floyd's so that statement really has no validity. Considering Floyd is rarely in competitive 12 round fights where he has to work hard. Hearns only faded in the 14 round after being pummeled by hard body and head shots from Leonard and still never went properly down. The notion of "toying with Hearns" is flat out stupid. At Middleweight? Don't be ridiculous. :lol1: Yeah, because Leonard had terrible conditioning. It wasn't like he fought 15 round fights against ATG's or anything. He also was a complete mess against defensive fighters like Benitez and could barely land on him. I didn't say Leonard had terrible conditioning. But it can be argued that no fighter in the history of the sport consistently enters the ring better conditioned than Floyd. Advantage Floyd. In all seriousness Leonard had a masterful jab and exquisite timing. SRL is one of my top 3 favorite Boxers of ALL TIME. Him, Tyson, and Floyd. I grew up a fan of his, but I'm telling you, he wasn't nearly as dominant in as many areas as Floyd has been. SRL has the bigger fights and bigger moments on his resume, and the showmanship, and big flurries and combinations, but Floyd has everything else...by far. Fighters like Cotto had some success with the jab against Floyd and Leonard's jab is a much bigger, faster, smarter and better version than Cotto's. I'll tell you for free that Floyd's defence alone wouldn't win him the fight. Floyd was not as sharp in the Cotto fight, and he got popped a few times. Big deal. Floyd was never hurt or in trouble during that fight. And this is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Even in a comfortable victory for Mayweather, people get excited about that fight, because Mayweather actually took a little punishment. SRL took punishment and got hit on a regular basis but nobody remembers that. So Floyd would "potshot" Hearns who has a huge reach and height advantage? Go and watch the Floyd and Diego Corralles fight then come back here and tell me Mayweather can't potshot taller and longer reaching opponents. Potshot as in hit in range and then get out of there? That might be the worst tactic ever against Hearns who would jab him to death on the outside and then smash him as he moved inside with Floyd barely being able to get to him. The way to beat Hearns is with sustained hard-punching pressure, you can't outbox him. Leonard nearly learned that the hard way. In my opinion, Floyd's Defense and athleticism would have allowed him to survive Hearns early, then outbox him later for the victory. Especially in a 15 rd fight. Floyd could go 20 rds, dude. Perhaps the greatest conditioned athlete in the sport. And I'm not just talking cardio and endurance. The kid has done it all and dominated every style he's ever faced. He would have been too smart to go toe to toe with Hearns, and with that, Floyd would have had every advantage after that, imo. Not to mention, Hearns' stamina is more proven that Floyd's so that statement really has no validity. I disagree. I've only seen Floyd get stronger in fights while I recall Hearns clearly gassing out against Leonard in their first fight. Where is your proof he was better conditioned than Floyd? Considering Floyd is rarely in competitive 12 round fights where he has to work hard. Hearns only faded in the 14 round after being pummeled by hard body and head shots from Leonard and still never went properly down. Hearns and Leonard were both fading in that fight, but Leonard had a few flurries remaining and took advantage of Hearns' dead legs. And don't kid yourself, Hearns was getting beat up and would have fallen had the fight not been stopped. Mayweather is go good, he's never come close to a situation like that. This is part of the problem. Because Floyd has yet to be seriously tested, people don't give him his proper respect. At Middleweight? Don't be ridiculous. :lol1 At Middleweight maybe not, but I won't rule it out, and at 154, Floyd beats him in a UD.

I co-sign this. Do people on this board really believe Floyd could just potshot Leonard, Duran, Haglar, and Hearns for 12 straight rounds? I have an had time believing he can do that to any true elite fighters and that's why he chose to stay far, far, far away from them. PLEAS PLEASE PLEASE name these "true elite fighters" he chose to stay away from? I'll wait...

Yeah, because Leonard had terrible conditioning. It wasn't like he fought 15 round fights against ATG's or anything. He also was a complete mess against defensive fighters like Benitez and could barely land on him. In all seriousness Leonard had a masterful jab and exquisite timing. Fighters like Cotto had some success with the jab against Floyd and Leonard's jab is a much bigger, faster, smarter and better version than Cotto's. I'll tell you for free that Floyd's defence alone wouldn't win him the fight. So Floyd would "potshot" Hearns who has a huge reach and height advantage? Potshot as in hit in range and then get out of there? That might be the worst tactic ever against Hearns who would jab him to death on the outside and then smash him as he moved inside with Floyd barely being able to get to him. The way to beat Hearns is with sustained hard-punching pressure, you can't outbox him. Leonard nearly learned that the hard way. Not to mention, Hearns' stamina is more proven that Floyd's so that statement really has no validity. Considering Floyd is rarely in competitive 12 round fights where he has to work hard. Hearns only faded in the 14 round after being pummeled by hard body and head shots from Leonard and still never went properly down. The notion of "toying with Hearns" is flat out stupid. At Middleweight? Don't be ridiculous. :lol1: I co-sign this. Do people on this board really believe Floyd could just potshot Leonard, Duran, Haglar, and Hearns for 12 straight rounds? I have an had time believing he can do that to any true elite fighters and that's why he chose to stay far, far, far away from them.

Floyd's D and conditioning would have given him the nod against Leonard Yeah, because Leonard had terrible conditioning. It wasn't like he fought 15 round fights against ATG's or anything. He also was a complete mess against defensive fighters like Benitez and could barely land on him. In all seriousness Leonard had a masterful jab and exquisite timing. Fighters like Cotto had some success with the jab against Floyd and Leonard's jab is a much bigger, faster, smarter and better version than Cotto's. I'll tell you for free that Floyd's defence alone wouldn't win him the fight. Hearns vs. Floyd would have been interesting until Floyd started timing him and potshotting him and taking him to the late rounds and started toying with him due to conditioning. Hearns might have stood a chance with Mayweather in a 12 rd fight, but not 15 rds. So Floyd would "potshot" Hearns who has a huge reach and height advantage? Potshot as in hit in range and then get out of there? That might be the worst tactic ever against Hearns who would jab him to death on the outside and then smash him as he moved inside with Floyd barely being able to get to him. The way to beat Hearns is with sustained hard-punching pressure, you can't outbox him. Leonard nearly learned that the hard way. Not to mention, Hearns' stamina is more proven that Floyd's so that statement really has no validity. Considering Floyd is rarely in competitive 12 round fights where he has to work hard. Hearns only faded in the 14 round after being pummeled by hard body and head shots from Leonard and still never went properly down. The notion of "toying with Hearns" is flat out stupid. Mayweather would have outskilled Hagler also. At Middleweight? Don't be ridiculous. :lol1:

floyd's never fought a 15 rounder in his career, but he'd beat a guy in a 15 round fight who has? i can't see anyway that he beats hearns. last i recall duran and leonard fought more than that one time he quit. by that same token anyone could be of the opinion that cotto gave floyd his toughest fight since forever so duran would have busted his ass cause he was so much better at everything that cotto does best. i don't think he would have lasted against hagler in a 15 rounder. i say this as a person who believes that floyd is the most talented boxer that ever walked the face of the earth, but he's a guy that started at super featherweight; at some point not only does the weight catch up to you, but the gap in ability closes when you start talking about atg's like leonard hearns and duran. I'm one of those that thinks the Cotto fight shows just good Floyd truly is, he fought a great fight and clearly won but it was not a wipe out! And that's because of the class of Cotto and that's a Cotto that has seen better days! At his best Floyd Is a great fighter but he loses to the greats in this conversation! If Cotto busted him up, these guys take him out!