Do you think Duran knew he was going to get blown up by Hearns?

I've read that whenever Duran encountered Hearns his personality changed, he was vary wary of Tommy.....

 

its like when Foxy encounters me

 

And yet he stepped in the ring with him and gave it his best shot and went down fighting. Probably would have done it again, if the money was right..lol

Say what you will about Duran, but the guy was fearless.

 

If Duran knew he was going to get blown up by Tommy, he has even bigger stones than I thought.

 

No doubt. I touched upon that in my first response to the thread.

 

I give a trained, properly motivated, non-partied Duran a better than decent shot at Hearns. The Duran of the Moore fight would have been very competitive.

 

I definitely think there were versions of Duran that would have done better, much better, but whether or not he ever could have beaten Hearns is doubtful. I think Montreal Duran might have been able to make it very competitive if he could have gotten on the inside and didn't get caught too many times coming in.

 

You're the Man!!! :good

 

Aye, there's the rub. Not happening.

 

There are those who did get inside on Hearns. And Duran was one of the greatest boxers this sport ever witnessed.

 

Who do you have in mind?

And Duran would have to get inside (and stay inside), while avoiding punishment, multiple times each round to land enough leather to outscore Hearns. I just don't see it.

 

Nobody thought it would be a blowout.

Hagler had somewhat struggled to outpoint Duran.

Meanwhile, Hearns had to go the distance to beat Luigi Minchillo earlier in '84

I remember I was a paperboy at the time, without any access to closed circuit. I read about the result at like 5 am the next day as I got my papers ready for delivery.

I was shocked it had ended so early.

Hearns shockingly easy win and Hagler's struggle with the common opponent - Duran, set up the hype for Hagler-Hearns.

I remember one boxing magazine cover of the period:

It showed Hearns in a badd-ass boxing pose and had the caption "Hagler is Shaking LIke a Leaf on a Tree."

Another cover had Hagler and Hearns posing together. The caption read: "I'm the Baddest, says Hearns." "No you're not, says Hagler."

Great times

 

What makes you think he wasn't motivated for a fight he dropped his belt to take?

 

So, Duran was not motivated in the Hearn's fight?

I don't think so.

It was just a tough style matchup for him, like Hearns had been for Cuevas.

To get inside Hearn's mammoth reach, you have to be very physically strong, like Hagler and Barkley.

Duran at 154 lbs, no matter how Spartan he trained, did not have the physical strength to bother Hearns.

Even Ray Leonard, in their first fight, who was probably stronger than Hearns at 147 lbs, had trouble getting inside. He took some big shots before finally closing the distance.

 

A sharper Duran could get inside and hurt Tommy no doubt about that. Montreal shape Duran is a totally different animal mentally and physically to the bloated version Hearns faced. I would still pick Hearns because styles make fights. I just think it would be a much, much tougher fight for Tommy if he fought a nearer prime version of Duran at 140.