What were your thoughts going into Duran-Moore

Thing about Duran was that he never really took that much punishment up to that time. He never took a beating. Ray Leonard took nothing out of Duran physically. Not sure he ever even hurt him. The biggest damage to Duran was self inflicted. Weight fluctuations and whatever mentally issues he had around No Mas and the fallout from his own country men.

With that said he was 32 and several divisions over his prime weight class. Its no crime to be past your prime. I honestly didn't know what to expect from Duran. After losing to Laing he looked like he had lost his fire. The Cuevas fight showed that he was back to fighting well and looked strong but Pipino may have been faded himself. I still think it was a good win and gave Duran fans some hope.

Make no mistake about it Davey Moore was highly regarded. He was 12-0 as a pro but he was a decorated amateur from NY who was expected to do great things. Duran was just supposed to be a name on his record as Moore moved into fights with Hearns and eventually Hagler.

Being a kid at the time I was on Duran`s side and thought he could do it. Logically Moore was a strong favorite for good reason. He was bigger, younger and at his prime weight class.

 

"no mas" was still hanging heavy over duran.

 

My thoughts were these; u was happy as f3#k I had tickets to it! And 34 years and 3 months later, I still am. Yes, I knew Roberto would win, because Duran fans NEVER gave up on him. It was the greatest night of my life. The entire card was great. Escalera after his win (I thought he lost) did a dance for a while in the ring and it was wild. The crowd was like one giant be as ring heart for our hero. Moore had a big mouth and had said on t.v. the week before, "I may lose some time, but not to HIM". Like Duran was a club fighter or something. I enjoyed Moore's beating as I never enjoyed another. It was "**** you Moore". It was the third and last time I saw Roberto Duran live and a memory I go to often, the older I get. Passion for blood, revenge, fighting, deliverance for the fans who stuck with the man and defended him through all the bad days and mostly passion for Roberto Duran. What a great, great, great night. You felt vindicated that night June 16, 1983.

 

Thought Moore would give Duran far more trouble than he did for the same reason that Moore himself thought so, he was the bigger, stronger, younger man who thrived on slugfests. In fact, the only time I began to suspect something was wrong with Moore was when his corner began asking him if he was OK and whether Duran was hurting him. Prior to that the fight seemed up for grabs.

 

He said no mas because he didn't like SRL disrespectful constant mockery and clowning.

What he meant by "No mass!" meant "I don't need to see any more of this **** garbage." I imagine that if SRL had started the same trash during the rematch it would have been a repeat.

 

Why would one assume that Barkley, who had TKOD Hearns who had KOD Duran and who was physically very much bigger than Duran would lose against Duran? He had weathered Hearn's punches-right? The logical assumption in view of those facts would seem to be that Barkley was going to obliterate Duran.

BTW
I don't see how the Hagler Duran was an easy win for Hagler.

 

I promise you I thought Duran would beat Barkley. Because Tommy had Barkley all but out and many guys beat Barkley. but Tommy left himself open when he was landing punches and Barkley landed. But Barkley was still Barkley from ESPN, and he was knocked down by Olajide and beaten by Kalambay.... and I knew Duran had the style to beat him.. Probably one of the only guys in the division he would have beaten at that time.

 

I did think Duran would beat Barkley. Sounds like bs, how would I remember if I thought this, but I do remember.. I have a great memory for 1989.. I was 24 and I even remember I used to watch the ppv fights on uhf,,, in scrambled mode.... but I could see what was happening. I remember before the ppv started they showed Hearns vs. Roldan. for some reason.. They might have shown Hearns vs. Barkley. but I remember Hearns vs. Roldan. Duran is a guy who if you are in his range he can beat you. He has a solid chin and is amazing if he is in your range, but if you are out of his range or fast and move,, he will have trouble. He didn't have the really tough elites at lightweight. So he looked so dominant. A Floyd or Pernell would have exploited this and made him look like he did vs. Ray and Benitez and Hearns.

 

Saw both the Cuevas & Moore fights on closed circuit. Duran looked in the Cuevas fight, like he did in Carlos Palomino fight, mean, and ready to brawl. Thought Duran had a chance because of his experience, and the thumb to Moore's eye didn't help Moore any. Moore was really never the same post-Duran fight.

 

He boxed Palomino`s ears off. Duran beat him with quickness and finesse. That was a younger version of Duran. He just knocked the hell out of Cuevas. Duran still had a strong right hand punch even as he moved up in weight. Pipino was more of less shopworn.

 

I was one of those fortunate enough to have tickets to see the fight live in Madison Square Garden. The previous year I had seen Duran train at the Larry Holmes training camp in Easton, PA. I shook hands with him and got his autograph. I found him likable, despite his reputation for often being nasty. Although I had nothing against Moore, I was rooting for Duran but deep down felt that he was on the decline and that the younger Moore would win. The crowd that night was Duran's, despite Moore being the local and defending champion. I remember vividly the contrast as the national anthems of both the U.S. and Panama were played at the beginning of the program. The rafters practically rang with the Panamanian anthem, but the Star Spangled Banner sounded only so-so by comparison. After the first couple of rounds, I began to think the 'old' guy just might pull it off. He increased his dominance as the fight went on, and when he knocked Moore into the ropes and the ref stopped the fight, the crowd went nuts. It was a fine victory for Duran. Sadly, as noted previously, Davey Moore never really came back from that defeat and left us much too soon in that tragic accident.

 

Pipino tried for awhile, got a few good body shots in...but Duran shrugged them off.

 

Duran didn't shrug off Thomas Hearns punches. That is for sure.

 

Dude, what did Roberto do to you? It's getting ridiculous.

 

I felt Moore was going to beat the hell out of Duran, who was clearly past it and above his best weight. And the reason I felt this way is because Duran had already been beaten by Kirkland Laing, a talented but good, not great fighter at 154. I have never rated Duran's win over Pipino very highly because it was clear Pipino was past his best as well. Duran, whose physical dimensions were practically identical to those of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, was so hit or miss above 147 that I was completely wrong in predicting both the Laing and Moore fights.