Gene Tunney and Sugar Ray Leonard: Career similarities?

[elmersalsa]

These two all-time greats have in somewhat a similar near perfect careers. At their very best, they only lost one fight. Both retired very young. Both got beat the crap out of them by the greats Harry Greb and Roberto Duran respectively AT THEIR VERY BEST AND AT THEIR OWN WEIGHT CLASS.

Both avenged the only loss of their careers at the time and retired undefeated champions. The only slight difference was that Leonard made a couple of comebacks.
Both were THINKING MAN'S FIGHTERS. They could adapt and improvise at any given time. They were fighters that used more of their brains as well their physical attributes. Great ring generalship, and both were smart inside and outside the ring. Like if they studied their opponents before each fight.

Who in your view was the better fighter pound per pound?. I got Sugar Ray on top.

[elmersalsa]

Ah, I forgot to say also that both dethroned an all-time great that were stronger and heavier: Jack Dempsey for Tunney, and Marvin Hagler for Leonard.

I see a lot of similarities between the two.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Its a debate, realistically...but I guarantee if you asked this question of 100 fans, Leonard would win the poll about 88-12

[Chuck1052]

Ray Leonard made a couple of comebacks, the last one which was very ill-advised, while Gene Tunney didn't make one after retiring for good in 1928. Of course, the truly massive paydays for Tunney were essentially over for him after the financial bath that Tex Rickard took when promoting Tunney's last title defense against Tom Heeney. Of course, it didn't help that Jack Dempsey, the greatest gate attraction by far during the 1920s, had retired the previous years.

- Chuck Johnston

[elmersalsa]

Who you guys think was better: Ray Leonard or Tunney?

[greynotsoold]

Tunney, but he's possibly my favorite fighter, and I have an unreasoning bias against anybody that fought in the Olympics.