Sugar Ray Leonard has revealed the one fighter that he believes could have competing during one of boxing’s greatest eras.
Leonard rose to prominence during the eighties, although his outstanding professional career would span between 1977 and 1997 where he would win world titles across five weight classes.
He is best known for being one of the infamous ‘Four Kings’, standing alongside Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, who faced each other on at least one occasion each.
Leonard remains the only fighter to have beaten Hagler, Hearns and Duran, with perhaps the most famous victory of his career coming against ‘Hands of Stone’ when he forced the Panamanian great to quit during the eighth round of their rematch in 1980.
One fighter that boxing fans and critics believe could have competed during that iconic era is Floyd Mayweather Jr, although Leonard does not agree with this statement, revealing in a ringside interview that he believes the only man that could have made an impact against the likes of the ‘Four Kings’ is Welsh legend Joe Calzaghe.
“He would have held his own against all the greats I fought, like Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. And he would hold his own with the others like Bernard Hopkins. He has the talent and heart and will be the undisputed champion.”
Whereas on Mayweather, Leonard didn’t think he could beat any of the four kings.
“Could he beat me? No. Could he beat Tommy? I don’t think so. Could he beat Hagler? No. Could he beat Duran? No.”
Calzaghe remains one of, if not the greatest British fighter of all time. He remained unbeaten throughout the duration of his professional career, reigning as the unified super-middleweight champion before he made the move up to light-heavyweight where he defeated both Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones jr in legacy-defining victories.
