duran v leonard greatness comparison.

The 'ranked' fighters fought during their LW and WW runs respectively

DURAN

1972: Ken Buchanan (World LW Champ)
1972: Esteban DeJesus (No. 1 LW) (@140) - LOSS
1973: Hector Thompson (No. 6 LWW) (@135)
1974: Esteban DeJesus (No. 1 LW)
1975: Ray Lampkin (No. 1 LW)
1976: Saoul Mamby (No. 10 JWW)
1976: Lou Bizzarro (No. 5 LWW) (@135)
1977: Vilomar Fernandez (No. 4 LW)
1977: Edwin Viruet (No. 2 LW)
1978: Esteban DeJesus (No. 1 LW)

LEONARD

1978: Floyd Mayweather Sr. (No. 6 WW)
1978: Randy Shields (No. 4 WW)
1979: Johnny Gant (No. 4 WW)
1979: Adolfo Viruet (No. 8 JWW) (@147)
1979: Tony Chiaverini (No. 4 LMW) (@154)
1979: Pete Ranzany (No. 5 WW)
1979: Andy Price (No. 8 WW)
1979: Wilfred Benitez (World WW Champion)
1980: Dave "Boy" Green (No. 7 WW)
1980: Roberto Duran (No. 2 WW) - LOSS
1980: Roberto Duran (World WW Champion)
1981: Ayub Kalule (World LMW Champion)
1981: Thomas Hearns (No. 1 WW; Titlist)
1982: Bruce Finch (No. 6 WW)
-- Fight scheduled for May 1982 with No. 2 WW Roger Stafford. Retirement.


The gulf people contnue referring to is quite imaginative. Leonard's 'work rate' was scorching.

 

Duran made 12 defenses, and was champ for 7 years. Who did he avoid or fail to meet at 135 ? Were Arguello, Pryor and Cervantes top-ranked lightweights during his reign ?

I thought 'Prince' Charles Williams was better than Virgill Hill.

 

Still excreating the same old

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SHYTE!

Go see a doctor! get that bunghole checked out! Could be something serious or it could be just a

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problem:yep:deal

 

Leonard was actually quite experienced. He'd ripped the entire division a new ass at a blistering pace. See above.

 

You guys put a **** ton of consideration into title reigns, either by arguing how much greater Duran was at LW for it or trying to twist reality into Leonard somehow being "Green" when he fought Duran :rofl :rofl. World level opposition is world level opposition.

 

Clehly.

 

You sure that was all Duran had at LW? Much less than I expected.

 

GUTS should be mentioned.

 

a guy can have 45 fights and be green. The fact he fought Duran's fight because of being upset with him shows he was still immature and not the professional he was later when he tried to get Hagler in a good mood so he wouldn't attack him in the early rounds, and then Hagler come out right handed. Ray got smarter. The fact Ray beat Duran so easily in the rematch and rubber match is significant. And Duran quit when Ray started to land hard punches to the head and body.

By the way, I do think the best win of the fab 4 was probably Hagler over Hearns. A great performance. Marvin knew that was going to be his legacy. He knew against Duran he did not put the pressure on and he didn't think Leonard would ever come back and fight him, so he had a feeling his legacy was the Hearns fight and it turned out it was. I would love to pick a Hearns win to say it was the best of the fab 4, but I think Marvin's win over Tommy stands out.

 

You would have thought Emiliano Villa's tight loss against Benitez would have earned him some sort of ranking at 140.

 

Leonard was brought on superbly.His early career is the blueprint imo on how to bring on a fighter with good backing.

All styles, steadily up the difficulty-a few curveballs like Geraldo etc-then a world title shot after about 4 years.

Make no mistake about it, he was ready for Duran and already a great fighter.Might have improved another slight bit from stuff learned in defeat, but that's it.

Fools like Cosell and his ilk thoroughly exaggerated the "bah gawd he's fighting flat footed!!!" shite and the simpletons ran with it, not noticing he'd been fighting relatively similarly in good chunks of his fights up until then.

Planting his feet and being aggressive offensively was a big part of Leonard's game and going into the Duran fight as the bigger man he had every right to feel doing that very early in the fight was a good idea to take the play away from the smaller man.

 

He really sells Leonard short with that nonsense. Aside from Benitez, he hadn't taken out any world beaters (as if it didnt prove enough), but putting numerous contenders on his record as quickly as he did looks good on him and gives him stronger case for what he may be, the second greatest welterweight of all-time. He was thoroughly built for the division with the skills and ability to match like very few others.

Then again, he's most interested in discrediting Duran above all else.

 

Was Duran a greater lightweight than Leonard was a welterweight? No not to me. Duran, Benitez, and Hearns trump what Duran did at lightweight.

Was Duran's victory over Leonard greater than Leonard's over Hagler? Yes it was. Leonard was the favorite to win and Duran climbing up two weight classes and beating him trumps beating a old Hagler (Who I don't even think he beat).

Does Duran compare to Leonard resume wise across a whole career?
Yes he does. Duran may not have the better top wins but I think his overall resume is better than Leonard's.

Does Duran compare to Leonard skillwise in a peak for peak comparison? Hell yes. I don't think Duran is more skilled but he is up there. I rate Leonard higher than most when it comes to skill.

Does Duran's weight hopping compare to Leonard's? No, Duran's climbing up in weight was on a different level. To start from 118 pounds all the way up to light heavyweight is amazing. Leonard ****ed up for me with Lalonde.

 

I think its quite ridiculous to suggest that either one of these guys were on another tier from each other, they are unquestionably on the same tier.

I rank Duran a little higher in greatness mainly due to his LW reign & his longevity but overall there is definitely not a tier between these guys, no chance.