Norris / leonard

[rightsideup]

Just wondering what your thoughts were on this fight? Was Ray fading at the time. Terry is in the hall of Fame and was certainly a good fighter and a very approachable person as I met him prior to the Tyson Ruddock card. Nice fellow

[notrecondite]

Just wondering what your thoughts were on this fight? Was Ray fading at the time. Terry is in the hall of Fame and was certainly a good fighter and a very approachable person as I met him prior to the Tyson Ruddock card. Nice fellow

Ray was washed up, but the feared guy at the time was Michael Nunn. I always wished for a dream ending for Ray's career of him beating Nunn and retiring. That would have been something, and since Nunn was soon after knocked out, it might have been possible. haha Instead he fought Norris who was not the big deal Nunn would have been and he lost anyway.

That would have really cemented Ray's greatness. Which would, I think, also look better now if he had retired after beating Hagler. Ali should have retired after beating Frazier, if not before after beating Foreman. But, hindsight is always 20/20. Calzaghe, and of course, Marciano, played it perfectly.

[rightsideup]

another thought is that Ray could have called it quits after the Lalonde fight where he picked up two title's. Tommy gave him hell and Ray even thought he lost. The Duran fight was boring but a good payday for both fighters. I just finished watching the first hearns fight this afternoon and Ray sure showed some guts in that fight. Tommy had all the gifts except for exceptional balance and an elite chin.

[Sugarj]

Just wondering what your thoughts were on this fight? Was Ray fading at the time. Terry is in the hall of Fame and was certainly a good fighter and a very approachable person as I met him prior to the Tyson Ruddock card. Nice fellow

I'm not convinced that Leonard was washed up. He hadn't shown signs of being shot prior to the fight......but like so many other greats he gave a very subpar performance because he lost too much weight in getting down to a division he hadn't been in in 7 years......he was very ring rusty too!!

Recently we've seen De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton boil down too far and give poor accounts of themselves against Pacquiao. Same with Leonard; at that point in his career he was more of a middle/super middleweight.

That said, Terry Norris was superb that night. He looked bigger, stronger, sturdier and more powerful......he'd have probably given the 80s light middleweight Leonard a good fight. But Leonard did win a few rounds; it was no embarrassment.

[Suckmedry]

Leonard looked so washed up in this fight because he had spent the last few years with a $100 bill up his nose

[Scott9945]

Leonard made a huge mistake dropping in weight at that age. He took a beating in that fight and was lucky to last the distance.

[IronDanHamza]

I thought Leonard would beat him up and knock him out.

That was the fight where you knew Ray Leonard was finished.

The Ray we knew and loved was already long gone, but after this fight we knew he was done.

[TBear]

Leonard made a huge mistake dropping in weight at that age. He took a beating in that fight and was lucky to last the distance.

Agree. When I first heard Leonard was dropping two weight divisions I knew it was a mistake. Norris seemed beatable after the Jackson loss and it made him a fighter a lot of people wanted to challenge. But dropping two weight divisions was crazy.

[Scott9945]

Agree. When I first heard Leonard was dropping two weight divisions I knew it was a mistake. Norris seemed beatable after the Jackson loss and it made him a fighter a lot of people wanted to challenge. But dropping two weight divisions was crazy.

It was strange seeing Ray fight someone who was considerably faster than him.

[ShoulderRoll]

Terry Norris was a pretty damn good fighter at that time. He had fast hands and could punch hard. His defense and chin weren't the greatest but as far as being an offensive fighter he was world class.