The debate was a debacle, Johnson did well to avoid it and get dragged in. Live debates come GE time is a good idea as it's us who will be doing the voting, but for a party leadership contest I just don't see the point. Yes whoever wins will be our next PM and that's kinda important, but we have zero say in it (unless you're a member of the Tory party) so it seems a bit of a waste of time.
As for who wins, if it's anyone other than BoJo it'll be a horrendous mistake. Like him or loathe him (and he's equally as divisive as Corbyn) he'll certainly be very different to what has come before and that might not be a bad thing, plus if anyone else wins then we'll end up with "But BoJo would've done X Y or Z much better!" for a few years. Might as well give him a crack and see what happens, if he cocks it all up then that's the end of his career and we'll never have to see him again Really the choice of Anyone But Boris or Boris is no different to Hilary or Trump: There's no winner here.
No-one in power would've made a better job of Brexit, regardless of what colour tie they wear. It was always going to be a mess and we'll be picking up the pieces for ages.