"Sugar" Ray Leonard would have dominated Manny Pacquiao

If they had fought at the peaks of their respective careers, “Sugar” Ray Leonard would have soundly defeated current WBO world welterweight champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao.

Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs), the first fighter to capture seven world titles in seven different divisions, is currently rated by Ring Magazine as the preeminent pound-for-pound boxer in the world.

“Pac-Man” has long been regarded as one of the elite boxers in the sport.

However, Pacquiao’s recent demolitions of solid scrappers Miguel Cotto (34-2, 27 KOs), Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KOs), and Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) have elevated his status to a newfound superiority.

Pacquiao has been blessed with every necessary tool to become an outstanding prizefighter, and he has aptly used those abilities.

Nevertheless, Manny Pacquiao is not nearly as skilled as Leonard was and “Sugar” Ray would have taunted and embarrassed the Filipino great until the referee halted the bout.
 

Leonard (36-3-1, 25 KOs), named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s by Ring Magazine, captured world titles at multiple weight classes.

The International Boxing Hall of Famer managed to trump legendary fighters Wilfred Benitez (53-8-1, 31 KOs), Thomas Hearns (61-5-1, 48 KOs), Roberto Duran (103-16, 70 KOs) and Marvin Hagler (62-3-2, 52 KOs) among others.

Leonard, the winner of a gold medal as a light welterweight at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, possessed blinding speed and deft agility in the ring.

Furthermore, the smiling and charismatic Leonard was a deceptively powerful puncher who could badly hurt an opponent with either one solid shot or a combination of flurries.
 

After years of shire excellence, Leonard began to slow and fade with age.

In February 1991, Leonard attempted to defy “father-time” and defeat the athletic “Terrible” Terry Norris for his junior middleweight title.

Predictably, “Sugar” Ray failed in his quest and he was badly battered by Norris (47-9, 31 KOs) for their entire 12 round contest.

Leonard, a man that Ring Magazine named in 2002 as one of the ten best fighters of the last 80 years, announced his retirement to the crowd shortly after he was brutalized by Norris.

Sadly, the Maryland native couldn’t resist the opportunity to return to prizefighting and he unwisely fought once more versus Hector Camacho (79-5-2, 38 KOs) in March 1997.

A spent Leonard was overwhelmed by the feathery punches of Camacho in five pathetic rounds.
 

If Leonard had listened to his body, he would have retired with only one loss on his otherwise glittering resume.

“For a lot of these guys, boxing is all they know and it’s the only way for them to make money,” said Ed LaVache, the owner of the Boston Boxing Club in Allston. “So, they keep fighting until the fight is lost in them.”

Pacquiao has not been conquered since he lost a unanimous decision to Erik Morales (48-6, 34 KOs) in March 2005.

Furthermore, “Pac-Man” has not suffered a knockout since he was trounced by Medgoen Singsurat (23-2, 19 KOs) in three rounds in September 1999.
 

Pacquiao is an active and tough brawler and he would have been a difficult adversary for Leonard.

Nonetheless, Leonard would have inevitably discovered a flaw in Pacquiao’s technique and he would have badly exposed the “Fighting Pride of the Philippines” as their matchup progressed into the later rounds.

“I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers,” said Leonard, who the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) rated as the second best welterweight ever in 2005. “It was either learn or get knocked off.”

Manny Pacquiao is absolutely an iconic prizefighter.

Despite his unquestioned greatness in the ring, Leonard was a more dynamic fighter than Pacquiao is and he would have dominated a matchup had these two ever fought.

“My ambition is not to be just a good fighter,” Leonard once said. “I want to be great, something special.”

“Sugar” Ray Leonard was definitely “great, something special.”