I was watching Sugar Ray Leonard on Ringside on ESPN Classics

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In a post-fight interview, Duran said he would not retire as he had said immediately after the fight, and that he wants to beat Leonard in a third fight, because they were 1 to 1, and Leonard hasn't settled the score and has to give him a rematch. When hearing that, Leonard said he would never fight Duran again (gave some excuse about the media).

I agree that Leonard is a great fighter, and I'm a Leonard fan too because of the things he's done in his career. That's why I don't believe he was dumb enough to fight Duran head-on unless it was the best strategy he could have used that particular night (which I believe it was).

You mentioned rounds 5 and 6 in the first fight. You watch them again. Leonard didn't win them boxing Duran and moving about. He won those rounds with flurries from inside the pocket when being pressured, and standing his ground. When Leonard was moving and using his jab at the beginning of 5 and 6, you're watching what Leonard is doing, but you're not watching what Duran is doing. Duran took his foot off the gas and boxed with him a little to give himself a break. As soon as Leonard landed long, hard hooks in each of those rounds from the outside, Duran put the pressure back on and drove Leonard back into the ropes (where Leonard successfully fought him back). You act like Leonard had a choice of when to box that night... that's not how it went down. Duran was forcing Leonard to fight like that, and rounds 5 and 6 prove my point, not yours.

the great thing is that we have video to totally refute what your saying. rounds 5 and 6 ray started off each round landing left hook leads... then they he used slight movement not major lateral movement but a little.... No one ever said duran did not force ray to fiht toe to toe. Duran clearly was the aggressor, and yes he forced ray back. But ray had since the olympics had lateral movement as a tool if he ever wanted to use it. He never TRIED NOT ONCE. I will mail you $1000 if you can go to a part of that fight were ray tried to use lateral movement and duran stopped him. Not duran was the aggressor etc. but Leonard using lateral. YOu do no what lateral movement is.... and duran cut off the ring and forced ray to the ropes. YOu will not find it, and everyone who reads this can go check and come back to you and tell you your dead wrong.

Leonard lost that first fight barely, (total of 4 points between all three cards and had one round been scored for ray that was scored for duran on each judges scorecard ray wins) because of the style he willingly employed. That not to say he was not magnificient in doing it, because to beat a ray leonard at 147 you had to be great, and duran was. However, if leonard boxes, he beats any version of duran that ever lived.

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floyd mayweather has beaten who at the level of a sugar ray leonard, or close. Name one. At 147 what great fighter who was peak and a natural 147 pounder has ever beat. Did he not get a split decision vicgtory over a limited shot, one armed 376 year old past his prime dlh and only won rounds when DLH was winded as the Dlh jab controlled the fight, yes boring but effective. yes dlh missed every shot when mayweather was on the ropes, but the jab was effective. How in the hell would Mayweather deal with a peak SRL. OMG. A peak ray that would have every advantage on him including equal speed, and reflexes, more reach, more power, both hands, great jaw, equal stamina, ring smarts.... and more kller instinct and experience fighting duran and hearns... peak great fighters.. Yes duran was only 28 years old.

[elfag]

frank ducketts, the three atg boxers that roberto duran lost to in his prime, were sugar ray leonard, thomas hearns, and marvin hagler...i would go on a limb and say, none of those fighters, beat roberto duran at his own game, but boxed him wisely...frank ducketts, roberto duran, feasted on fighters who were willing to come forward and fight him mano a mano...yougotta give roberto duran, all the credit in the world, for outpsyching a prime, undefeated sugar ray leonard into fighting a 15 round toe to toe battle...that's not sugar ray leonard's game at all...thomas hearns outboxed, then obliterated him in four rounds, and roberto duran, was thought to be easy pickins, for marvelous marvin hagler, but even marvelous marvin hagler, realized that he had to box roberto duran, and go toe to toe with him, judiciously, with the fight, going the full 15 rounds...

Hearns destroyed Duran in 2 rounds not 4. He didnt really "box" him much. Just some feel out time at the begining but Hearns was already throwing bombs by the second half of the first and hurt Duran pretty good. Duran looked slow and lethargic and either Hearns sensed it or he just went nuts like he tended to do (same with the Hagler fight). Duran never really had a chance to get started.

[Frank Ducketts]

Frank this is false. Duran never cut off the ring n the first fight. Please look on you tube nd post when. I have seen the fight over a thousand times. Not one time did ray attempt to use lateral movement and was cut off. Not one time in the first fight. Its funny people keep trying to exaggerate what happened that night. Duran beat leoanrd when leoanrd tried to go toe to toe with him. Leonard never effectively tried to move behind the jabe etc.

Everyone doesn't see the fight the way you do. You're going to have to get used to that dun.

[Frank Ducketts]

frank ducketts, it is easily concievable, that floyd mayweather jr., would take his time, moving up to the 147 lb. division, to face a sugar ray leonard in sugar ray leonard's era, when sugar ray leonard, was considered by many the best fighter on the planet, AND boxing's cash cow...not to mention frank ducketts, that floyd mayweather jr. would have to at least face thomas hearns, wilfredo benitez, or roberto duran, aaron pryor, or all of em, just to get a shot, at the cash cow...frank ducketts, thats a tall order, for even a gifted fighter like floyd mayweather jr...

frank ducketts, when floyd mayweather jr., fought oscar de la hoya, oscar de la hoya, was the cash cow, but oscar de la hoya, was not the best fighter on the planet, and nobody i know, thinks floyd mayweather jr. put a whooping, on a faded oscar de la hoya...frank ducketts, when sugar ray leonard, had beat everybody he needed to face @ 147-154 lbs., he used the detached retina excuse, to sell wolf tickets to marvelous marvin hagler for four years about, until he saw a faded hagler, after close to 70 total fights @ 32 years of age, look human against john "the beast" mugabi...so frank ducketts, it is not out of the realm of possibility...

frank ducketts, in sticking to the topic at hand, my point is, floyd mayweather jr., would need for a prime sugar ray leonard, to become past prime, in order to beat him easy, the way some of floyd mayweather jr.'s fanboys think the outcome would be...

This wasn't a boxing answer. Just say Sugar kos Floyd. You can keep the rest of that subjective fan boy reasoning to yourself.

[Frank Ducketts]

Hearns destroyed Duran in 2 rounds not 4. He didnt really "box" him much. Just some feel out time at the begining but Hearns was already throwing bombs by the second half of the first and hurt Duran pretty good. Duran looked slow and lethargic and either Hearns sensed it or he just went nuts like he tended to do (same with the Hagler fight). Duran never really had a chance to get started.

Exactly, 2 rounds on CBS.
From the gate, Hearns hurt Duran.

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Everyone doesn't see the fight the way you do. You're going to have to get used to that dun.

Lateral movement is lateral movement. Cutting off the ring is cutting off the ring, Anyone can look at the fight and see if it happend or not. I challenge you to produce any segment in the fight where it happened.

Go to youtube
identify the part of the video where it happened.
copy the link into this sight and indicate where it happened
I will mail you $1000

If you can't.... then lets move on and stop that crazy noise that Duran make leoanrd fight his fight and cut off the ring, and leonard tryed to box in the 1st fight. Didnt happen. In fact Ray outlined PRIOR to the fight that he was not going to box. But If you want to believe differently , be my guest

[djtmal]

This wasn't a boxing answer. Just say Sugar kos Floyd. You can keep the rest of that subjective fan boy reasoning to yourself.

frank ducketts, fanboy reasoning, as you put it, is not in my dna, my man...but frank ducketts, you seemed to get real sensitive, when i mentioned that floyd mayweather jr. would have to go through a lot of atg fighters, just to get a shot at a top 10 atg, in anyones book, in sugar ray leonard (word)..in a fantasy fight, between sugar ray leonard, and floyd mayweather jr., every opinion is subjective and speculative, and can be looked at, from any angle, outside of the obvious boxingscene rhetoric, my man...

[djtmal]

Lateral movement is lateral movement. Cutting off the ring is cutting off the ring, Anyone can look at the fight and see if it happend or not. I challenge you to produce any segment in the fight where it happened.

Go to youtube
identify the part of the video where it happened.
copy the link into this sight and indicate where it happened
I will mail you $1000

If you can't.... then lets move on and stop that crazy noise that Duran make leoanrd fight his fight and cut off the ring, and leonard tryed to box in the 1st fight. Didnt happen. In fact Ray outlined PRIOR to the fight that he was not going to box. But If you want to believe differently , be my guest

sugar ray leonard, never tried to box roberto duran in the 1st fight, and roberto duran, never had to cut off the ring, to find sugar ray leonard...stop the nonssense...sugar ray leonard, was in war mode, the minute roberto duran called his wife a whore in spanish...lol...as soon as roberto duran, rocked sugar ray leonard, who was flat footed and standing in front of him, sugar ray leonard was really in war mode, for 15 rounds...

[djtmal]

Hearns destroyed Duran in 2 rounds not 4. He didnt really "box" him much. Just some feel out time at the begining but Hearns was already throwing bombs by the second half of the first and hurt Duran pretty good. Duran looked slow and lethargic and either Hearns sensed it or he just went nuts like he tended to do (same with the Hagler fight). Duran never really had a chance to get started.

el***, thanks for correcting my senior moment, regarding what round roberto duran, was knocked out by thomas hearns...