By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
As many of my faithful readers and friends know, my greatest lightweight of all time and #2 greatest boxer “pound for pound” of all time is Benny Leonard.
At the height, peak, prime, pinnacle of his career he was flawless. His boxing mechanics in the ring – feints, ducks, sidesteps, and hooks – were textbook, with a terrific left-hand piston jab which he used to perfection. He fought over two hundred fights and suffered only four knockouts, three early in his career and the fourth in his final fight.
Leonard, nicknamed “The Ghetto Wizard”, was similar to Sugar Ray Robinson in the fact that he had no significant weaknesses.
Benny Leonard (Benjamin Leiner) was born in New York City on April 7, 1896. As a young kid he engaged in many street fights, gang related, in the neighborhood where he grew up. He made his professional debut on October 14, 1911 when he was just fifteen years old. Benny took the name Leonard after his true name, Leiner, was pronounced incorrectly several times; but most importantly, he made the change because he didn’t want his parents to know he was a fighter.
Continue reading Benny Leonard vs. Rocky Kansas / Lightweight Championship and RECAP
