Where Do You Rank Sugar Ray Leonard in the Pound per Pound All Time List?

elmersalsa
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Re: Where Do You Rank Sugar Ray Leonard in the Pound per Pound All Time List?

Post by elmersalsa »

Expug wrote: 10 Jun 2025, 17:56
gilgamesh wrote: 10 Jun 2025, 13:32
Expug wrote: 10 Jun 2025, 11:22 I have Monzon and Ali as the best of the 70s. Between the two of them, they beat among others, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Lyle, Shavers, Young, Patterson, Benvenutti, Napoles, Valdez, Griffith, Briscoe, It’s Ali, Monzon, Duran
If I'm not mistaken didn't Ring Magazine split the Fighter of the Year honors between Ali and Monzon at one point during the 70's?
Yes I do believe so. I can’t remember the year.
It was 1972. Muhammad Ali and Carlos Monzon were co-winners of The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.

Also in 1981, Salvador Sanchez and Sugar Ray Leonard were co-winners of The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.
Ambling Alp II
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Re: Where Do You Rank Sugar Ray Leonard in the Pound per Pound All Time List?

Post by Ambling Alp II »

Expug wrote: 10 Jun 2025, 11:22 I have Monzon and Ali as the best of the 70s. Between the two of them, they beat among others, Foreman, Frazier, Norton, Lyle, Shavers, Young, Patterson, Benvenutti, Napoles, Valdez, Griffith, Briscoe, It’s Ali, Monzon, Duran
That is pretty reasonable. Nobody else can match Ali and Monzon's wins in the 1970s. They have to be the top 2.

Patterson was pretty old when Ali beat him the 2nd time, but still that victim's list probably slightly more impressive than Monzon. Certainly be argued either way.
goose 5
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Re: Where Do You Rank Sugar Ray Leonard in the Pound per Pound All Time List?

Post by goose 5 »

The Ali or Monzon debate is a great one. On paper, Ali has my vote, but on video, it's Monzon. Using 1976 as an example, I thought Young and Norton beat Ali. I thought Monzon clearly "looked" the better man in 1976. 1977, too.
Expug
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Re: Where Do You Rank Sugar Ray Leonard in the Pound per Pound All Time List?

Post by Expug »

Both Ali and Monzon beat other great fighters. What’s interesting with both guys, particularly Ali, is also the amount of good fighters they also beat. It seems obvious that a fighter who beats a great fighter should also beat the really good ones, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Ali also beat , Quarry, Bonavena , Mac Foster, Bob Foster, Joe Bugner, Buster Mathis, George Chuvalo, etc, and that’s all in the 70s. There were a lot more in the 60s. All these guys could be a problem on an “ off night”. Ali rarely had one. He had a few, but he found a way.
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