Chigaro
04-04-2012, 03:50 PM
For the sake of boxing
By Edri K. Aznar
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
IN HIS heyday, “Sugar” Ray Leonard never backed down from a good fight. He figured in classic wars with some of the best in his time – the likes of Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns and Wilfred Benitez.
The former five-division world champion believes that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. should do the same and face each other to cement their names in boxing history.
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“More than damaging to boxing, it’s damaging to their legacy,” Leonard told ESPN apparently referring to the two camps’ failure to set a fight.
“This is for history, for people to say ‘I remember when’. It’s beyond money.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. are the top two boxers of today. Both have tried to negotiate for a super fight that fans have been longing to see. But negotiations have repeatedly failed after both camps never reached an agreement for different reasons, ranging from the mode of drug testing and the purse split.
“Boxing is always taking black eyes, but this is the longest boxing has taken a black eye for,” said Leonard. “From the 1990s back to the 1960s, there were great fighters, there was an abundance of talent. Now you just hear about Pacquiao and Mayweather.”
The 55-year-old boxing legend feels that both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. should put the financial aspect of the fight aside and stage the fight for the fans.
“They are amazing guys who could have dealt with the guys in our era, but they’ve got to do what’s best for themselves, and I don’t mean financially,” he said.
“When someone comes up to you and says, ‘you know what, I was with my grandfather when you fought Tommy Hearns’ or ‘when you lost that fight to Duran, my dad cried’, those are special moments.”
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 05, 2012.
By Edri K. Aznar
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
IN HIS heyday, “Sugar” Ray Leonard never backed down from a good fight. He figured in classic wars with some of the best in his time – the likes of Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns and Wilfred Benitez.
The former five-division world champion believes that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. should do the same and face each other to cement their names in boxing history.
Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.
“More than damaging to boxing, it’s damaging to their legacy,” Leonard told ESPN apparently referring to the two camps’ failure to set a fight.
“This is for history, for people to say ‘I remember when’. It’s beyond money.”
Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. are the top two boxers of today. Both have tried to negotiate for a super fight that fans have been longing to see. But negotiations have repeatedly failed after both camps never reached an agreement for different reasons, ranging from the mode of drug testing and the purse split.
“Boxing is always taking black eyes, but this is the longest boxing has taken a black eye for,” said Leonard. “From the 1990s back to the 1960s, there were great fighters, there was an abundance of talent. Now you just hear about Pacquiao and Mayweather.”
The 55-year-old boxing legend feels that both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. should put the financial aspect of the fight aside and stage the fight for the fans.
“They are amazing guys who could have dealt with the guys in our era, but they’ve got to do what’s best for themselves, and I don’t mean financially,” he said.
“When someone comes up to you and says, ‘you know what, I was with my grandfather when you fought Tommy Hearns’ or ‘when you lost that fight to Duran, my dad cried’, those are special moments.”
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on April 05, 2012.