Quote Originally Posted by Beanflicker View Post
I would say it has taken a big hit for me. Not even so much the whole PED fiasco, but also with his prima-donna like demands. Back in the day, when the legends like Duran, SRR, SRL, Armstrong, ect ect moved up in weight, they fought AT THAT WEIGHT. SRL didn't demand Hagler weight in at 156 or some shit. Neither did Hearns, or any other legend I can think of. These demands for "catch weights", ie making guys like Cotto and ESPECIALLY DLH kill themselves a bit more before the fight really made me stop liking the guy. Then for him to duck out of the Floyd fight and come up with lame, bullshit excuses about why he couldn't take the drug test just sealed the deal for me.



He was ranked #1 at WW, yet the only guy he ever beat at WW was ODLH.
Sugar Ray Leonard did demand catchweights, as he made Donny Lalonde come down to 168 from 175 and completely drained him of weight. The guy is my favourite fighter of all time, but he was the king of this diva bullshit. In fact, both Sugar Rays were well-known for being divas about making fights and only doing so when it suited them once they were the man on top.

Anyway I agree, his rep has taken a big hit. Like others have said, the mainstream boxing press has been on his side, partly because it continues to play the 'good guy' card, as well as the media influence of Arum. However, the wider sports press and the casual fans (ie not those who post on forums) all seem to think he's on something.

At the end of the day, they're the ones who fighters are reliant on for PPVs. His legacy will probably be fine though, because that tends to be defined by the hardcore fans.