Sergio Martinez vs The Fab Four

I can see him definitely giving Duran a hard time, for sure. Although i'm not willing to throw down for a victor either way.

 

He could defeat many of the post 147 incarnations of Duran..most definitely.

The others at their best..essentially no chance.

 

Martinez is an unproven commodity as of now..he shouldn't be seen as a winner over any of the Fab Four, including Duran.

 

When Duran is dropping decisions to some of the guys he did i think you can certainly give sexy Sergio a nod, who's quite obviously more talented than a lot of those cats.

 

But then that wouldn't exactly be considering Duran at his best, would it?

 

No, probably not, but Sergio does have the style advantage, is a guy who weighs about 175 out of the ring, and looks ****ing deadly at 154. I think an older, slower, less active Duran could easily get the run around. Say we do get the Hagler, Barkley, or Moore version. I'd still say it's a tough fight to give definitively to Duran.

 

Fair enough, but the jury's still out on martinez IMO.

 

I dont see him beating any of them at their best at 160. I think he could give Duran problems due to size and style but the best Duran would force a decision win.

 

I won't comment on all of them, but I think he certainly had a good chance against Thomas Hearns. Paul Williams had many similarities to the Hitman, and neither Hearns nor Williams have chins that are spectacular.

 

Martinez tends to take rounds off and may have stamina problems. Duran would take advantage of this.

 

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Duran would have outsmarted and outhustled Martinez over 15 in a close bout.

 

Nice upload...

Now to address the issue. To clearify, I am not necessarily "favoring" Martinez in a match with Hearns.. Only saying that he'd have a good chance to beat him, and here's why. Emanual Steward once said during one of Paul Williams' fights that he saw many similarities between him and Hearns. Martinez arguably beat Williams in the first fight, while utterly destroying him in the second. Is it unreasonable to surmise that due to stylistic issues Martinez may have done a similar job to Hearns? How many fighters did Hearns beat that had anything in common with Martinez? Does lasting only 3 rounds with an aging Hagler and being KO'd by Iran Barkley count for anything?

 

My thoughts:

Duran usually blew more cold than hot at 154. Between that and an elusive style, Martinez may have an advantage, although his tendency to take rounds off could hurt him.

There's always a chance for a big shot against Hearns, but it's pretty unlikely. Williams has **** defense and leaves himself open all the time, whereas Hearns was usually only open when going for the kill, (Barkley I) or when drawn into a brawl. Less skilled guys than Hearns have landed successfully on Martinez, and after tasting a few big shots from Hearns he may decide to press for that big shot.

Not a big fan of Leonard, but he beats Martinez.

Hagler was usually more comfortable playing boxer-puncher than brawler until he got to the point where he had to use it, but he was certainly more than capable of being the aggressor, and although he may have some trouble with Sergio's speed, I think it would be a relatively minor issue, especially as the fight goes on. Look for Hagler to break him down with a consistent attack.