Whenever the subject of Dream Fights comes up, fans often ponder what would have happened had classy, skilful and artistic welterweights Sugar Ray Leonard and Floyd Mayweather Junior met. Mayweather, who walked away with a stunning 49-0 ledger (maybe for good, who knows) believes he is “T.B.A,” The Best Ever. This opinion on the part of “Money” is not shared by all fans, but some people do agree with his bold claim.
But would Mayweather have been able to get away with calling himself that had he been born 20 years earlier and had fought in the 1970s and ’80s; his big fights coming in the decade that saw Leonard take on the likes of Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran and Wilfredo Benitez? There is no doubting Mayweather’s special talent, but he fought in a different era to Leonard. Leonard of course, had to fight 15-rounders against a murderer’s row that included the three fellow greats listed above. How would Mayweather have done in comparison to Sugar Ray?
Leonard, in speaking with Sports Illustrated, said he feels Mayweather would have “held his own” in his era, but he doesn’t go as far as to say Floyd would have beaten either him or the Hearns and the Durans who were thrilling the world during that glorious era.
“I think because of Floyd’s talent, his natural born talent, the hand speed…..Floyd is a very precise fighter, he’s a technician in the ring. He’s a great counter-puncher, he reminds me of his father who pretty much fought in the same way,” the former five-weight king said. “Floyd would have held his own [in my era]. I told Floyd that I would have beat him – if he was in my era. And he told me the same thing, that he would beat me if I was in his era. I did tell him that [I beat his dad] – like father like son.”
Leonard, when he was 14-0, stopped Floyd Senior in the 10th-round of a non-title fight in 1978. Mayweather Junior, though, is a far better fighter than his father ever was, even if they do have some similarities in their fighting approach. But the Leonard of 1980 to 1982, the version that fans are thinking of when they picture Leonard against a peak welterweight Mayweather, was something truly special. Faster than Floyd, a much harder hitter with far nastier aggressive tendencies, Sugar Ray was also in possession of a great chin, an elusive defence and excellent stamina.
Mayweather would have given Leonard some problems for a few rounds, but would he have beaten him? It’s pretty tough to make a case for Floyd – a fighter who wouldn’t have out-worked or out punched Leonard, who wouldn’t have outboxed or out-slicked him and who wouldn’t have out-smarted him. Floyd, in all honesty, would have done well to have seen the 15th and final round.
But then this is a Dream Fight, and fans of either fighter can pretty much dream up any scenario they like. But in short, Sugar Ray proved his toughness, his heart and his courage numerous times; more so than Floyd ever did. These qualities would have made the difference.