Quote Originally Posted by cockey cockney
Quote Originally Posted by pacfan
I never liked Sugar so you can be sure I'm not biased here. Those on-ring antics of his always irritated me. Everytime he started taunting his opponent, I'd be shouting, "c'mon smack him, smack him hard and teach him some lesson." But...... I have to admit he's the best all-time p4p, IMO. He had everything, almost, except maybe the heart - he was sometimes a bit intimidated and tentative like when he fought Duran for the first time. But when he was confident, he'd let it all out and most certainly, it ended in a KO. He had the best punch, or one of the best at least. Believe me, I know my punch. If you want to see the best of his punches, see him brutalize Le Donde (did I get it right?), he unloaded everything on the poor fellow.

So I think if he can beat Hagler after a long absence, I think he can beat Hopkins in his prime. Ok, ok, there some who say Hagler beat him, but let me tell you something. I downloaded two version of that fight with Japanese commentators and I'm sure some of you got hold of them too as they're lots of them circulating on the net. The Japanese commentators, including an ex-champion, had Leonard clearly winning that fight. So why do I think he can beat Hopkins? It's simply because I think Hagler is a better boxer than Hopkins. But what if Hopkins 'hit and hold?' Leonard is no Tarver so I think he will be able to get around it with his skills.
Couple of things
1. Are you saying you think SRL is NO.1 ALL TIME P4P? I have him top 3 btw.
2.I think SRL had great heart.....Name me another fighter that came back after a four year lay off after just recovering from eyesight issues to fight one of the most feared middleweights of all time? He fought the best and ducked nobody IMO, yes including The Hawk.
About the heart, maybe not exactly but I did notice him sometimes somewhat reluctant to take risk and trade shots, again, the best example being the Duran I fight. There was so much hype that time about Duran being a legend or having a "fist of stone" or something like that, so Leonard seemed to have got overcautious there. But once he found out that Duran wasn't as strong as he imagined him to be, he let 'em all out in the second fight and remember what happened, the day of infamy when the whole world learned two Spanish words - no mas. Those shots really hurt Duran and I really think it's got nothing to do with stomach upset (did he say that?). I really believe if Sugar Ray would just simply unleash his punches without holding anything back, he would've KO'd anyone during his prime... Check out the thread 'WHO'S the GREAAAATEST' about 2 pages back, that about sums up all I've said regarding Sugar's heart.