Sugar Ray Leonard has no doubt in his mind when it comes to the hardest he was ever hit inside a boxing ring.
Leonard is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, competing for 20 years between 1977 and 1997 and becoming a five-weight world champion in the process.
He was also one of the legendary ‘Four Kings’ alongside fellow greats Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, as the iconic quartet of fighters all faced each other on a number of occasions during the 1980s.
Leonard’s final record stood at 36 wins from 40 fights, with his only stoppage loss coming in his final fight when he was beaten inside five rounds by Hector Camacho.
Leonard feels another man earns the accolade of being the biggest puncher he ever faced though, revealing in a resurfaced YouTube interview that Duran takes that recognition.
“I stood toe-to-toe with this guy but I knew by the end of 12-rounds this is not smart, because Duran, they call him manos de piedra or hands of stone. He hit me so hard I said ‘Who else is in here with me?, but I knew because fighters know when they lost, so when they was calling the decision I knew I lost.”
Leonard and Duran met on three occasions, the first of them coming in June 1980 when the Panamanian great won by unanimous decision to hand ‘Sugar Ray’ the first defeat of his professional career. Leonard later told the Ring Magazine hurt him ‘a number of times’ when branding him the biggest puncher he faced.
A rematch took place four months later, and was the infamous ‘No Mas’ fight, as Duran indicated he could no longer continue as Leonard claimed an eighth round stoppage victory.
Their third and final meeting was nearly a decade on in December 1989, as Leonard won by unanimous decision. Duran would record 70 knockout wins from his 103 victories, with his big power helping him become a four-weight world champion.
