The boxing legend fought and beat Floyd Mayweather Sr., and feels that fantasy a bout with his son would go the same way.
Sugar Ray Leonard, often hailed as one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time, has faced some of the very best men boxing has had to offer.
Competing mostly in the 70s and 80s, he helped to define a significantly influential period of boxing.
Among his long list of wins include Floyd Mayweather Sr., whose son has gone on to become one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Sugar Ray Leonard predicts he would beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. in hypothetical fight
Speaking to ESNEWS, Leonard was asked to give his thoughts on what would happen if he ever fought Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Reminiscing on a conversation he had with the modern great, Leonard said “I love him [Mayweather], he’s a friend of mine. He said, ‘Ray, if you were in my era, I would’ve knocked you out.’ I said I knock[ed] your father out. Like father, like son.”
Leonard’s fight with Mayweather Sr. took place in 1978, with the bout being ‘Sugar’s’ 14th professional fight. Mayweather, who came into the bout with a 15-1 record, was downed twice in the eighth round, before losing via TKO in round 10.
Mayweather would retire with a professional record of 28-6-1. Meanwhile, Leonard’s record at retirement would be 36-3-1.
Floyd Mayweather tried to place sizeable bet on himself hours before McGregor showdown
In August 2017, Mayweather Jr. welcomed Conor McGregor to the boxing world in one of the most anticipated fights of all time.
The American had a 49-0 record going into the bout. Meanwhile, the Irishman was making his professional boxing debut.
High in confidence, the former welterweight and super welterweight champion attempted to place a bet on himself prior to the fight, according to ESPN.
It is reported that ‘Money’ Mayweather attempted to make a $400,000 bet that the fight would end in under 9.5 rounds, at odds of -200. However, legality concerns delayed the process, changing the mind of the boxer.
Then attempting to bet himself to win via knockout, another delay deterred Mayweather altogether, who left the site.
Mayweather would defeat McGregor via a 10th-round TKO, extending his perfect professional record to 50 wins, and zero losses. The bout would end up being one of the biggest US combat sports gates in history, accumulating $55.4 million.