Leonard, a former champion himself, talked about how Mayweather would do against the greats from the 1980s. He said Mayweather could compete with them, but he'd face tougher challenges.
"Mayweather can compete with the four of us in our era, but a bit more fire would come his way."
Leonard shared this opinion during an interview with Box Hub TV. He broke down how he thinks Mayweather would do against each of the 'Four Kings':
Leonard believes he'd beat Mayweather. He thinks Thomas Hearns would likely win too. Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran? Leonard's sure they'd both come out on top against Mayweather.
But Leonard's not trying to put Mayweather down. He calls him an incredible technician and respects his skills. Mayweather's record speaks for itself - he retired in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record.
Mayweather won world titles in five weight classes, from super-featherweight all the way up to light middleweight. He beat some of the best, including Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Ricky Hatton.
The 'Four Kings' Leonard's talking about ruled boxing in the 1980s. That's Leonard himself, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. They're famous for their incredible fights against each other.
Duran, for example, won world titles in four weight classes. He and Leonard had some epic battles at welterweight.
Leonard understands that all top fighters believe in themselves. He said, "Fighters believe they can beat anyone, and if you don't say you can beat anyone, you're not a fighter."
There's been talk lately about Mayweather maybe coming back to boxing, kind of like Manny Pacquiao did. But for now, these matchups stay in the realm of "what if".