Was Leonard as ragged on as Mayweather is?

[RL_GMA]

god ur dumb. i never ****in said Ali was adored in his prime. My father HAAAAAAAAAAATED ali. A toooooooooooooooooooon of people hated Ali.

But when u come down with a deadly illness, u tend to sypathise with the guy. My dad loves Ali now. Donates to his charity. Watches his old fights.

I mean seriously, nobody hates Ali anymore.

And i would hardly call Mayweather "hated." He just wasnt the fighter OR the
type of person thats going to be adored by the public, ever. And boxing isnt popular enough right now for Mayweather to even be remembered by the public in 10 years.

Exactly what he said...

The difference with Leonard & Mayweather is that Leonard was a bigger public figure with all the endorsements he had and fought top level guys at an early age when boxing was at an all time high (i.e. Duran, Benitez, Hearns, etc).

Floyd on the other hand has a "bad boy" aura that the general public have turned away from...but ironically will buy a PPV to see him get his ass kicked. He also hasn't been in the ring with top notch opponents entering the prime of his career (which Leonard more than proved by the time he reached Floyd's age). Floyd's admitted he loves playing the bad guy role as long as it puts asses in seats. That alone says a lot about his character.

Leonard indeed was the people's champ. Floyd wishes he can have Leonard's following 20 yrs from now.

[ALT-Assassin]

ALT-Assassin, Fightingfigs

why on earth are you guys considering Duran at 130? is it in light of modern day weigh in one 24 and some hours before the fight?

If Duran can make the weight he will be picked apart.Floyd was unbeatable in those weightclases.

[wmute]

If Duran can make the weight he will be picked apart.Floyd was unbeatable in those weightclases.

Duran picked apart...

new to this sport?

[fightingfigs]

Sugar Ray Leonard himself said it would be a tough fight between him and PBF so **** that **** you wrote in the bold. You are very much entitled to that opinion but I think I'll go with what the man himself over that. I don't want to hear Ray Leonard said that to be gracious because he said the reason he wouldn't fight Aaron Pryor was because he would beat the **** out of Aaron Pryor.

I have never heard of such Madness provide proof of this. Deep down Leonard knows that he would destroy mayweather. Your a fool if you think otherwise. He was probably asked that question at a Mayweather fight and didnt want to be an ******* for just coming out and saying I WOULDVE BEAT THE **** OUT THIS PUNK.

[AintGottaClue]

but leonard did fight haggler....mayweather did not fight cotto

[ALT-Assassin]

Duran picked apart...

new to this sport?

I am trying to get quoted so I thought if I bad mouth some legends it just might work

[Chrome_It_Bitch]

I don't think it gets any worse than calling a press conference saying you have a huge announcement, inviting Marvin Hagler, standing in the middle of the ring and saying, I'M RETIRING, NOT FIGHTING MARVIN HAGLER.

Yet Sugar Ray is beloved now. I'll say it again and again. In ten years, you will LOVE Mayweather just like you love Ali, just like you love Leonard. Hated in their time, missed badly after.

thats a good point.......but SRL of course fought Hagler, hopefully Mayweather does the same with Cotto. But people will in time appreciate how great Floyd was and love him just like all the others

[Mike_R]

i personally think that the retirement is just mayweather making sure his last fight or 2 will be astronomically huge. everyone was down on oscar/floyd rematch and they noticed and did something about it. i'm glad the fights cancelled- VERY glad.

and i also agree that if he stays out a couple years or so he'll get a unique opportunity to rehaul his image. something he needs to do badly. it's time for him to be the good guy- does anyone remember how he came off against zab judah?
floyd could be a superhero if he wanted to be. and he should be. his pettyness is not something that will grow him a strong and lasting mainstream image.

i hope cotto beats margarito- that fight is going to be amazing i think. but margarito winning would kind of suck in my opinion. cotto beating tony- then fighting oscar (another great matchup that would no doubt produce some serious slugging) and hopefully winning.

floyd vs. cotto could be the biggest and best superfight of 2000-2010 no questions asked.

[wmute]

but leonard did fight haggler....mayweather did not fight cotto

Leonard fought Hagler only after Hagler started slipping. He deliberately waited for that. Cotto-Mayweather size difference is larger than Hagler-Leonard.

It is not quite the same situation...

(Of course prime for prime and pound for pound, Hagler is on a different level than Cotto is.)

[deevel79]

I cant even remember one fight where Floyd was the crowd favorite. How do you get booed in your own backyard against a foreign fighter???