Where have the boxing fans gone? Ok, I'll go first. Talent alone in their prime, I gotta give it to Roy Jones Jr. The way he dominated every one of his fights, a KO could have happened at any moment during his fight. I give him credit for his accuracy and punching power for that. Leonard did have punching power (not like Jones Jr.) But Leonard usually set his punches up for the KO. The only problem with Jones Jr. was his chin never got tested till past his prime. That was cause no one could hit him cleanly. Leonard's chin was like iron and Mayweather, had great defense. Speed, all 3 were amazing. Foot work I give that to maybe Leonard? Stamina, Gotta give that to Leonard he fought 15 rounders. He was very smart in the ring. Was Mayweather strong at the end? I really can't remember. Help me out here, give me comparisons on Talent alone. Not opposition. The more I think about it, I might be leaning toward Leonard now. You can't take anything away from Mayweather. He's undefeated. All 3 were AMAZING. I don't see a wrong choice here. I can go on and on about this, but it seems I'm just babbling on...
Sorry mate, i've been busy with work and other things and only just saw this. Talent alone definitely goes to Roy Jones Jr IMO. That man was unbeatable in his prime and put on an amazing show while doing it also. Voted fighter of the decade in the 90's too from memory. And to go up to the Heavyweight division beat John Ruiz for the WBA Heavyweight title was unbelievable. He had that explosive power that could knock out anyone at any given time in the fight. I remember watching all of his fights going back to the early 90's thinking he was going to take these fights to 12 rounds but then BAM! He would score an amazing KO. Sugar Ray and Mayweather never possessed that kind of power. Sugar definitely setup his KO's and I think Mayweather did very similar in the first half of his career when he was knocking out fighters before the hand injuries. They all have amazing speed and foot work, but I think Jones Jr again had the fastest hands and best foot work of them all. He really was amazing to watch. Stamina I think definitely goes to Sugar Ray. He fought some wars in those 15 round days lol. Jones Jr and Mayweather never really had to test their stamina. Nothing I can think of and even if they did, wouldn't have been anything crazy. Definitely no wrong choices brother, but I think Roy Jones Jr had the most talent and was the most entertaining fighter to watch of these 3 legends. Here is a new video I have found of Roy Jones Jr "A perfect fighter". Shows 5 fights, 5 wins. Look at that hand speed and footwork! Amazing!
Cheers mate, appreciate the post. It was a breath of fresh air in here as it's been VERY quiet since there hasn't been any fights on.
Also by that author, I watched the Leonard vs Hearns II. I forgot how violent that fight was. They were winging blows. I wonder if that was a 15 rounder, Leonard would have won in similar fashion. He came on in the 12th. Hearns was shot.
So, I asked my friend about the 3 fighters. He felt Leonard. Then he said Ali had everything and he was a heavyweight. Think about it, it's true. Ali did. ...But Tyson would have still beaten him!
Ah the days of Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler.... Terrence Crawford lives on the other side of town from me, the latest story is him vs. Manny Pacquo...
It's like picking the greatest F1 driver ever, or the greatest QB ever, you will never get a 100% consensus.
Yes, I saw that. I'd rather see Mikey Garcia vs Manny. That makes most sense. Crawford should fight Spence, but from what I hear, they dont know if Spence is 100%.
+1 Mikey VS Manny would be an awesome fight. But the fight we all really want to see is Spence VS Crawford. I also read an interview recently with Spence that he is not 100% yet, but he is still training light at the moment.
I’m surprised this is a difficult question for some based on your criteria. The answer is Floyd because his best boxing talent was his mind in the ring. Roys best talent was his athleticism. And Leonard was an all around polished boxer but was not all time great in any one metric like the other two. In a chess match the one with the better mind will win.
I Guess SRL-Duran 1 never happened. Loss by UD but is the greatest boxing mind. Or Floyd who demoralized every opponent by analyzing their abilities and making them miss once e computed the data by the 4th round. Floyd beat you by frustrating you because you couldn’t touch him after the 4th round. All the respect in the world to SRL but no. SRL had an incredible reach advantage over Duran and could not utilize it to win. He even mentioned in many interviews that he mentally got off his game. That could never be said for Floyd.
Did you watch the Hagler fight? How about Hearns I? I'll keep going if need be... I guess FM vs JL Castillo I, never happened? Same scenario. We all know FM lost that fight. You can't base a career on one fight. And Castillo AIN'T no Duran! And we won't talk about the Connor McGregor fight. Connor was 0-0 coming into that fight. Let's put it this way. FM wouldn't be FM if he fought in the 80's. Can we atleast agree with that?
Last I checked Floyd won by split decision controversial or not. Floyd was not Money Mayweather by that point so we can’t say his celebrity won him the fight. SRLs career is not being summed up by one fight, but when you’re splitting hairs between all time greats, the minutiae matters. You said his mind was the best, I disagreed and gave brief evidence to the contrary in comparison to Floyd. If he had lost by split decision I wouldn’t even bother bringing it up. His fights with Duran are what people remember. So looking at one of his marquee fights, he got washed by UD while also having an incredible physical advantage. The man admitted that the fight was lost between the ears. What more do ya want? Floyd is the evolution of Pernell Whitaker. Skills transcend eras. If Pernell had success Floyd would have success. PBF (when he was at his best) would absolutely be PBF in the 80s. Can’t get hurt if you don’t get hit and on the rare instance he did get hit he’s proved he has an iron chin(Mosley and maidana). Floyd has defeated more world champions than any other boxer. Made manny look pedestrian while being older than manny. Made a young canelo look like an amateur. Without Floyd Canelo isn’t the fighter he is today. Admitted by Canelo himself. Saying Floyd is better than SRL is not slander to SRL. People underrate Floyd because of his persona. Why even bring up Connor? If SRL or any other boxer had a chance to make an easy 100 million for light work against a boxing nobody they would do it too. They’re prize fighters. They fight for money.
Hey, it's your opinion, just like mine is mine. The reason why I brought up Connor is the obvious, but after retirement, Leonard came out to fight The pound for pound KING in a weight he's never competed in. There are ALOT of fighters FM could have fought. He chose to fight a 0-0 fighter to get his big win and not sacrifice an undefeated record. Leonard went 4 it. He had confidence in his mind he could beat Hagler. That is the difference. Also note, Leonard lost by 1 round pretty much by all 3 judges. In a 15 round fight. Duran was in his prime. Can't go based on that fight. You gotta give Duran credit. FM never fought nobody like Duran. Duran was the Tyson of the time.
You’re attempting to compare a person coming out of retirement at 31 years of age with a total of 34 professional fights to a person that came out of retirement at 40 years of age with a total of 49 professional fights. Knock it off lol... Your argument/point/opinion is ridiculous and laughable. Who was left for Floyd to fight? The big man at the time was and still is Canelo and he beat him already. He came out of retirement solely for a 9 figure pay day. It had nothing to do with proving anything or ability as he beat everyone worth mentioning. Leonard made 12 million approximately for that Hagler fight. That’s less than 28 million adjusted today. Floyd made 100+ Million to face a tuna can. Of course he came out of retirement, who wouldn’t? C’mon man stop it lol. I won’t be responding further.
Hagler or McGregor. 49-0 tied with Marciano. Who should I fight??? I'll fight a 0-0 fighter so I won't lose and be 50-0. Ah, I get it! He should of stepped up and fought the 160 lb champ GGG. Instead he fought a 0-0 guy just to get the 50th. Sorry but not a strong mind to me. I give Floyd alot of credit for his boxing skills. His Bronze metal and all... But his mind is not like Leonard's. Sorry. His talents, maybe but not his mind. Dare I look outside the ring...
WTF is Tyson (Mike) thinking at 53 years old. At first I hear he was making a comeback that was suppose to be an exposition, then a tag team type match (whatever that means) now a Bare Knuckle Fight against Shannon Briggs? He is nuts. Stay retired and continue to do your marijuana business. At his/their age, a gloveless punch to the head can be severe!
Yeah, I see Holyfield in training now also and I saw something from Lennox Lewis that he has been training also lol I think these three mugs got together after their WBC honouring during the Fury VS Wilder II fight back in February and come up with this **** lol. Who knows, but I think it might be best if they all stayed retired.
I'm 52 I boxed (for fun) in the ring at a boxing gym with amateurs and some professionals until I was 48. The reason I stopped was punches started hurting as I got older, (my father always said: the shock absorbers in your brain aren't like they were 15 - 20 years ago). Movement & Speed looked great when hitting mitts and the heavy bag, but when you actually get in the ring, you slow down ALOT! I ain't no Professional, but I could tell I had more headaches after training toward the end. Heavyweight punch will effect and HURT them. Yea, Tyson looks GREAT in those new video, but that'll last a full minute or 2.
Yep, Tyson AND Holyfield will both puff out before the end of the first round if they fight hard like that lol.
I see that! Saw a pic of them together, see the size difference? Briggs is 6'4, that's a big man. Tyson 5'10, although they have probably both shrunk a little bit lol.
