Leonard would have less critics had he fought and lost to Nunn.

[Emon723]

i've read that sugar ray leonard was asked what he thinks of floyd mayweather's decision to retire after the dela hoya fight and how many people dont believe PBF would keep his word to retire for good, leonard said his ego keeps him from coming back in the ring and how he felt to looked back and should have never fought Norris and Camacho where he absorbed the worst beatings in his entire career, now my point is, if Leonard after the forgettable trilogy with Duran, continued to fight on and took on the top middleweight in the early 90s, IBF champ Michael Nunn, I think he would answer those critics who after all these years referred to him as a phoney and protected fighter, by taking on a young, respected title holder at the peak of his career, I see Nunn boxed his way to a one sided decision victory over Leonard, but sugar ray would gained more respect from his harsh critics in losing to Nunn than Norris and Camacho, keep in mind Norris became a star because of his win over Leonard and he feasted on smaller welterweights instead of taking the bigger challenge at middleweight, also, when trinidad got embarassingly beaten ny winky wright, his legacy isnt tarnish a bit coz he lost to a man long hungry for recognition, that same applies to Leonard if he fought and lost to Nunn instead.

[GEOFFHAYES]

He'd of lost every round to Nunn, and I don't really see what respect he'd of gained - would of been seen as just a waste of time. I was looking forward to him fighting Benn, as that was the talk, but Benn would of taken his head off and been hated 100 times more than he was for hitting Barkley when he was on his knees.

He should of retired after the Hagler fight, for sure

[Franko]

i've read that sugar ray leonard was asked what he thinks of floyd mayweather's decision to retire after the dela hoya fight and how many people dont believe PBF would keep his word to retire for good, leonard said his ego keeps him from coming back in the ring and how he felt to looked back and should have never fought Norris and Camacho where he absorbed the worst beatings in his entire career, now my point is, if Leonard after the forgettable trilogy with Duran, continued to fight on and took on the top middleweight in the early 90s, IBF champ Michael Nunn, I think he would answer those critics who after all these years referred to him as a phoney and protected fighter, by taking on a young, respected title holder at the peak of his career, I see Nunn boxed his way to a one sided decision victory over Leonard, but sugar ray would gained more respect from his harsh critics in losing to Nunn than Norris and Camacho, keep in mind Norris became a star because of his win over Leonard and he feasted on smaller welterweights instead of taking the bigger challenge at middleweight, also, when trinidad got embarassingly beaten ny winky wright, his legacy isnt tarnish a bit coz he lost to a man long hungry for recognition, that same applies to Leonard if he fought and lost to Nunn instead.

I can't see how you think a 'past his best' Ray Leonard would have gained respect from critics by losing to Nunn. It would have had an adverse effect. Ray Leonard should have retired after the Marvin Hagler fight.
On the ridiculous subject of critics referring to Leonard as a phoney and protected fighter, well let's have a look at some facts...
Leonard fought Wilfred Benitez when Benitez was 39-0-1 and stopped him in the fifteenth round. He fought Thomas Hearns when Hearns was 32-0 at TKO'd him in fourteen rounds. He fought Ayub Kalule when Kalule was 36-0 and KO'd him in nine rounds. He fought Roberto Duran when Duran was 73-1 and forced Duran to plead 'no mas' which was certainly not 'forgettable!' And he came back and fought Marvin Hagler when Hagler was 62-2-2 and won a 12 round decision.
That's five wins against five opponents with a combined record of 242-3-3, and that's Greatness!

[Golden80's]

Ray Leonard did not win the Hagler fight. He put on a nice flamboyant show and fought respectably considering his layoff. No way should the middleweight champ Hagler should have been dethroned, especially after that last round. Decisions like that are part of boxing's permanent stain.

[Franko]

Ray Leonard did not win the Hagler fight. He put on a nice flamboyant show and fought respectably considering his layoff. No way should the middleweight champ Hagler should have been dethroned, especially after that last round. Decisions like that are part of boxing's permanent stain.

You're right, and i'm not disputing the fact that the decision over Hagler was debatable (and you can see this on my other posts on other threads). However, the history books will always show that he has a decision win over Marvin Hagler.

[Nelson da Cruz]

I can't see how you think a 'past his best' Ray Leonard would have gained respect from critics by losing to Nunn. It would have had an adverse effect. Ray Leonard should have retired after the Marvin Hagler fight.
On the ridiculous subject of critics referring to Leonard as a phoney and protected fighter, well let's have a look at some facts...
Leonard fought Wilfred Benitez when Benitez was 39-0-1 and stopped him in the fifteenth round. He fought Thomas Hearns when Hearns was 32-0 at TKO'd him in fourteen rounds. He fought Ayub Kalule when Kalule was 36-0 and KO'd him in nine rounds. He fought Roberto Duran when Duran was 73-1 and forced Duran to plead 'no mas' which was certainly not 'forgettable!' And he came back and fought Marvin Hagler when Hagler was 62-2-2 and won a 12 round decision.
That's five wins against five opponents with a combined record of 242-3-3, and as Thomas Hauser would say, 'That's greatness!'

Good reply - SRL fought arguably the toughest middleweights ever in Duran, Hearns and Hagler. Whatever anyone has to say about who SHOULD have won, the fact is he went toe to toe with them. Even the best middleweights of the 90's and now would have been given a tough fight by a prime Duran.

[Kid Achilles]

Duran was not even close to being one of the best or even toughest middleweights ever.

[Golden80's]

Does Duran going the distance w/ Hagler diminish the Marvelous One's greatness? Did Hagler's immediate retirement after the Leonard fight tarnish his legacy? Seriously; I'm really wondering!

[The Noose]

I can't see how you think a 'past his best' Ray Leonard would have gained respect from critics by losing to Nunn. It would have had an adverse effect. Ray Leonard should have retired after the Marvin Hagler fight.
On the ridiculous subject of critics referring to Leonard as a phoney and protected fighter, well let's have a look at some facts...
Leonard fought Wilfred Benitez when Benitez was 39-0-1 and stopped him in the fifteenth round. He fought Thomas Hearns when Hearns was 32-0 at TKO'd him in fourteen rounds. He fought Ayub Kalule when Kalule was 36-0 and KO'd him in nine rounds. He fought Roberto Duran when Duran was 73-1 and forced Duran to plead 'no mas' which was certainly not 'forgettable!' And he came back and fought Marvin Hagler when Hagler was 62-2-2 and won a 12 round decision.
That's five wins against five opponents with a combined record of 242-3-3, and as Thomas Hauser would say, 'That's greatness!'

Exactly. Its ridiculous to call Leonard a phoney. Just plain stupid.
He shouldnt have to fight ANYONE after the Hagler fight.

Ray Leonard did not win the Hagler fight. He put on a nice flamboyant show and fought respectably considering his layoff. No way should the middleweight champ Hagler should have been dethroned, especially after that last round. Decisions like that are part of boxing's permanent stain.

Hagler was a middleweight destroyer, Leonard comes out of retirement and fights at middleweight for the first time and puts on one of the greatest displays of boxing ever. Whether u thought he won or lost, it was an incredibly close fight. Give Leonard credit instead of talking about 'permenant stains'.
Look at the threads here, at the polls. Most people thought Leonard won. Including me, and the judges.

[The Noose]

Does Duran going the distance w/ Hagler diminish the Marvelous One's greatness? Did Hagler's immediate retirement after the Leonard fight tarnish his legacy? Seriously; I'm really wondering!

No, because 1. Duran was a very tough fighter. Yes Hagler showed too much respect for some reason, but Hagler did enough throughout his career to not let one fight be a real factor in his overall legacy.
And 2. Hagler was talking about retiring for years before the Leonard fight. Even before he fought Hearns. He believed other fighters were taking too long to fight him. After Hearns he was only after Monzon's middleweight record of 12 successful defenses, and by the time he fought and lost to Leonard he knew he had nothing left to fight for, he was essentially way over the hill. Leonard was never going to give him a rematch. There was no point in him carrying on.