Who rates Higher All Time: Willie Pep or Roberto Duran?

Duran, way higher

 

Excuse me? I have Duran 2 spots ahead of Pep on my list. I would love to hear how Duran was so much better? :shock:

 

Don't get me wrong. Pep is a true ATG, however Duran is way higher in my book:

- Longer dominance, 18 years between his first and last title
- Multiple categories champion: 5 titles
- Faced stronger opposition, many HOF and ATG in his list
- Way more "quality" wins: SRL, DeJesus, Palomino, Pipino Cuevas, Barkley, Moore
- Has a very serious claim to TBE in the lightweight category
- Also a legit case for the top 10 PbP of all time, perhaps even top 5
- Last but not least: Duran defeats Pep in an hypothetical bout

There :deal

 

Let's be real : Both Pep and Duran were great fighters in their respective weight divisions. BUT-
Willie Pep as a featherweight champion beat about 220 of the very best featherweights of his time...Pep was ALWAYS a 126 pound fighter.
Duran was a great lightweight for a brief time in his career, but was greatly successful at the higher weights in his career. His fights as a WW truly defined most of his career.
So summing up, Willie Pep with his much busier FW domination over his total career did more as a 126 pounder than Duran did as a lightweight for part of his career...Comparing apples and oranges...

 

I'm giving the edge to Willie Pep here by a slight margin.

 

It's a close call and so far the poll reflects this, as it should.

 

Maybe am on my own here, buts it's Duran no contest for me.

 

The story about Pep winning a round without throwing a punch is mythical folklore. It's not that impressive anyway. David Haye's probably won a round without throwing a punch.

 

They both suck

 

It appears that the assertion that Willie Pep won a round without throwing a punch during a certain bout is an old wives' tale.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Show me this bout? If it not on film it's just old men waffling **** to their kids about Pep when drunk, and it carried from there till now. If it's true then Peps as boring as David Gay and David Grey and Craig David.

 

Duran.

Basic outlook on Duran:
Prime for prime, only a couple in history beat him, Tommy Hearns being the main boogeyman.
- The best defensively responsible pressure fighter of all time
- Arguably greatest lightweight in history
- Better than Pep, at least
- Fought and won in 5 different decades lol

W Leonard (beat SRL the 'traditional', outpoint-by-fighting, boxing way, smaller guy, not prime weight class, on his way down)
W Marcel (Duran was green, underrated win against a guy with ATG ability)
W De Jesus x3
W Moore (Had absolutely no business, as the old fat semi-shot man, beating Moore)
W Barkley (wtf, mad genius beats prime Barkley as a MW)
W Palomino (HOF, doesn't deserve to be but still a very good fighter)
W Buchanan (HOF)
W Cuevas (HOF)
W Ishimatsu
W Mamby
W Kobayashi (past prime, much smaller)
W large number of good contenders
L Benitez (Duran poorly conditioned, past prime anyway, too small)
L Leonard 2 (farce showing by both boxers, Duran poorly conditioned)
L Laing
L Hearns (semi-shot at this point, never going to beat this monster anyway)
L Hagler (competitive fight despite virtually shot, 10-5 Hagler IMO)
L Benitez
Duran's career was very hit-or-miss because of Duran's conditioning. He blew up between fights, would put on lacklusture performances whether they're against good or mediocre fighters, ring age caught up to him quickly - what can you expect from a guy fighting so often, yet he still defied logic by racking up legacy defining wins at the higher weight classes despite being so past prime.
Remember, Duran should have been finished after his lightweight reign, he was seen as the veteran legend.
Duran has the single biggest win in boxing history on a H2H level - prime Leonard.
Tears up 135-160, beating guys from the new era
He thus earns maximum points on H2H, resume (with all its facets), and longevity. His losses? Not one loss was from when he was prime + good condition. Duran was just a slow, shopworn fatty - a great one at that.