BoxRec

Michael Nunn was a great boxer but was never able to secure a shot at one of the 4 legenda od boxing in the 80's ( Leonard, Duran, Hearns, Hagler) that would have made him a top name himself.

How do you geel Nunn would have donw if he defended his title in 1988 against these four guys.

Nunn W-12 Leonard
Hearns W-12 Nunn
Hagler TKO10 Nunn
Nunn W-12 Duran

a peak early 80s leonard???

a peak leonard defeates nunn 15 unanimous

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:a peak early 80s leonard???

a peak leonard defeates nunn 15 unanimous

1988

Excellent thread Cybox, but I must disagree with your picks.

1. Nunn v Leonard. Even in his comeback at MW, Leonard still had great handspeed, head movement and respectable power. I think Nunn would be very competetive till the second half of the fight, and then Leonard would takeover and win a clear cut UD by like 7-3-2

2. Nunn v Hagler. I assume we're talking a peak Hagler here. Nunn would give him a few problems with his reach and power, but Marvin is too relentless and has too solid a chin. By about the 10th round Hagler chops down his 6-3 opponent.

3. Nunn v Hearns. I'm going to go way out on a limb here, but Hearns never faced an opponent 2 inches taller with the speed and power of Nunn. In my opinion this is a bad matchup for Hearns. I think the Hitman would try to stalk Nunn like he was a smaller fighter, throw some big bombs, and around the 4th round he'd get nailed with a big counter and then finished off by his larger opponent.

4. Nunn v Duran. This would be similar to Hearns v Duran with Cholo engaging in a long range artillery duel against a man with a much longer reach. Duran would never be in this one, and Nunn Ko's him no later than the 7th.

I was talking about Nunn the other day with Grimm.I thought Nunn was awesome.I remember the Frank Tate fight.I always considered Tate a well schooled slick,boxer puncher.Nunn made him look like he had 2 left feet,and his hands were on the wrong arms.Nunn was slick,fast,long armed and tall.He may not have had 1 punch k.o. power,but he was hitting you so fast,from so many different angles,that's where the k.o. came from.I figure that the only fight Nunn would have won,was against Duran however.And I think it would be a decision.I think he would have lost to Hagler,Hearns,& Leonard,not because he wasn't as good,but because THEY were that good,they were special,as was Duran,but Duran,wouldn't have the patience or speed at this weight.
zuru

Michael Nunn was a great fighter at his peak and is not talked about nearly enough. He was absolutely dominating Toney for most of their fight and if he had just listened to Angelo Dundee he would have won by an easy UD. He reminds me a lot of Chris Byrd with a little more punching power (relative to their weight classes). In fact, one of the reasons that I think Byrd would defeat Toney is how well Nunn performed against him.

Against these 4 fighters in 1988, I only see Hagler defeating him. Leonard is just too small, Duran is too slow, and Hearns is too far past his prime. I think Nunn would have a good chance to defeat Leonard and Duran in their respective primes, considering the height and weight advantage over the two and his incredible boxing skills. Hagler was just too good (even in 1988 he would have been able to control the fight) and Hearns in his prime would have eventually caught Nunn like Toney did. This is a great topic and I was just thinking about posting a similar question when I found this. Great topic Cybox

I'm a huge Leonard fan but he was never a true Middle and if he was going to beat Nunn, I really doubt he'd outbox Michael...I see it as Ray maybe getting a KO victory, which he would find difficult. Nunn was maybe 2 inches taller, longer reach with very good speed, decent power and chin and slick as hell. Ray in 88 would no way win a decision, he'd need the KO

walshb wrote:I'm a huge Leonard fan but he was never a true Middle and if he was going to beat Nunn, I really doubt he'd outbox Michael...I see it as Ray maybe getting a KO victory, which he would find difficult. Nunn was maybe 2 inches taller, longer reach with very good speed, decent power and chin and slick as hell. Ray in 88 would no way win a decision, he'd need the KO

Wasn't Nunn 6' 3"?

Didn't realise he as that tall, if so even more reason why the 88 version of Leonard at Middle would find it extremely difficult to decision him. He'd need the KO, too small to outbox the fast slick cool Nunn.....To be honest if Nunn fought those two (Hagler and Leonard) and both went the distance, you would have to assume Nunn is victorious. Against Hearns I think it's a case of whether or Not Nunn could evade Tommy or take his shots, if so Nunn wins decision or late TKO...Duran way too small to be a threat to Micael.

cybox wrote:
Nunn W-12 Leonard
Hearns W-12 Nunn
Hagler TKO10 Nunn
Nunn W-12 Duran

Circa 1988, I agree with all these picks except I think Nunn decisions Hagler (as much as it would have hurted me)