If Ray Leonard was boxing today....what kind of PPV numbers would he draw?

[croz]

It's hard to say. Olympic boxing isn't what it once was, and that really helped SRL a lot. He was a massive star. He wouldn't have the fighters he had then, but there's plenty enough competition to land him in the limelight if he could get the big fights. I can't speculate on the numbers he would do, but to be honest, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he wouldn't be a massive breakthrough star. He had the looks, the charisma and the talent to whoop everyone.

You mean the US sucks at Olympic boxing.

[M Bison]

Easily without doubt the number one attraction of boxing!
SRL is what Floyd Mayweather Jr will never be and that's a star a fighter that can be argued to be one of the best ever because he was willing to push himself to the limit through testing himself.

SRL may of done some douchebag type of things but you got to admire the man his career is outstanding.

[KingTito]

You mean the US sucks at Olympic boxing.

Well yes, and for him that would be a problem. I wasn't speaking for the whole world. I apologize if it came off that way.

[Tom Cruise]

So what? Despite the fact that Leonard's record is right here:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=269&cat=boxer
We're going to ignore the fact that the vast majority of it is padded with nobodies? You know Floyd Mayweather respects the hands of ****y Ecklund.

19 wins and 10 losses yet Leonard still couldn't knock him out.

You cant just look at wins and losses to decide quality. Fighters used to take far more risks.

That's no comment on **** ecklund cos ive only seen him fight Leonard, but in general wins vs losses is not a good measure

[bojangles1987]

So what? Despite the fact that Leonard's record is right here:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=269&cat=boxer
We're going to ignore the fact that the vast majority of it is padded with nobodies? You know Floyd Mayweather respects the hands of ****y Ecklund.

19 wins and 10 losses yet Leonard still couldn't knock him out.

He stopped Tommy Hearns and made Roberto Duran quit. Who cares if he didn't stop ****y Ecklund? If he could stop Hearns, he can stop nobodies in comparison like Guerrero or Ortiz.

[croz]

You cant just look at wins and losses to decide quality. Fighters used to take far more risks.

That's no comment on **** ecklund cos ive only seen him fight Leonard, but in general wins vs losses is not a good measure

That's a cop out. Might as well just say older boxers had magic in their fists. Even then it still shows Leonard was partial to picking opponents who weren't the best.

Leonard's appetite for record padding is no different than Mayweather, Tysons or any other boxer in history. The nostalgia people put around Leonard or the older fighters is no different than the undue credit people give to Tyson.

[RichCCFC]

lol.. Manny Pacquiao has a brilliant style to watch and is a humble guy and he was pulling in 1M + USA PPVS and he's Asian... Sugar Ray Leonard would probably average 2.5M with no Heavyweights to speak of.

[croz]

He stopped Tommy Hearns and made Roberto Duran quit. Who cares if he didn't stop ****y Ecklund? If he could stop Hearns, he can stop nobodies in comparison like Guerrero or Ortiz.

It puts a cog in the whole idea that Leonard would steam roll today's top fighters when he couldn't even do that to some of the lesser fighters of his day.

[Tom Cruise]

That's a cop out. Might as well just say older boxers had magic in their fists. Even then it still shows Leonard was partial to picking opponents who weren't the best.

So you're complaining that in between compiling one of the best resumes of his era he picked some 'easy' fights?

[croz]

So you're complaining that in between compiling one of the best resumes of his era he picked some 'easy' fights?

I'm not complaining. I'm stating a fact. Boxers have always padded out their records. It's just funny to see someone bashing Floyd for fighting someone like the Ghost, while simultaneously praising the older fighters who did the exact same stuff back in their day.