June 15, 1984: The destruction of Roberto Duran

Damn! Duran one was freakin badass mofo!!!! He fought back hard after being hit hard often. I love that guy.

 

11" reach advantage ffs.

 

Look at the way Duran looks at hearns in staredown....he’s thinking “You may think you look scary but you are nothing compared to what I have seen growing up”

Duran was fearless...but past his prime. Hearns was at his peak and a beast...

 

Complete domination. Excellent performance by Hearns, albeit against an overmatched opponent.

 

Looked like he might have been a little worried to me. If you want to see a completely fearless staredown, check out Benitez-Hearns: https://streamable.com/3mc8

 

Nah, Duran went through so much **** growing up..
Nothing scared him ...he was a psycho..he saw too much growing up...he was deranged..

 

Tommy Hearns was a once in a lifetime force of nature. Not just the height and speed but the coorination of a smaller man. He has speed to rival Leonard.

 

Duran of Montreal vs Hearns would have been interesting...Hearns wins but not that easily

This performance here was absolutely incredibly dominating....Hearns at his peak was the best 154lb fighter of all firm in my opinion

 

against anyone else that night Duran would have been in the fight, but Hearns was too fast and powerful for Duran to keep off.

 

That height and reach advantage Hearns had can be seen when Duran tried to counter punch. Film don't lie and he was always short on his punches, he just couldn't reach Hearns . Factor in Hearns was so damn fast, and his right hand was a ballistic missile, its was a small miracle Duran lasted until the 2nd rd. And unlike some, I don't believe it would've made a difference at welter. Hearns still overwhelms Duran at that weight. Duran, like Cuevas was tailor made for a freak of nature like Hearns.

 

Hard to admit as a Duran fight but it's true

 

Just look at Duran’s body in that fight. He was only 7 lbs heavier than he was in Montreal, but he’s got at least 15 -20 lbs of extra fat. He lost lean body mass. He was nowhere near as strong or as fast as he was in Montreal. It’s no surprise that he lost that fight in the shape he was in.
And I know you are going to say, that you are tired of the ‘excuses’ for Duran. The fact of the matter is that after 1980 Duran was never the same, never. Sure he had some signature wins against opponents that were tailor-made for him, but he won those on his ring savvy, not on his athleticism.
I’m not saying he could beat Hearns in June 1980, just that he would have given a much better account of himself.

 

Hearns probably always beats Duran H2H but after re-watching that I don't know what the **** Roberto's gameplan was ?? Stand at long range and then occasionally leap forward with right hands to the body ??

 

he lost the fight because he was hit with the right hand of Thomas Hearns over and over. I give him credit for having a great chin. Duran fought his first ATG fighter in 1980, so saying he was not the same after that is ironic. Hearns style of using the jab and making Duran come inside would not have worked well for Duran. Everytime Duran would make a move Tommy would hit him with the right hand.. I don't like excuses by anyone. Even Hearns. That nonsense of a massage prior to Hagler to me was the same as Duran' excuses. He was paid to be in shape, if some guys massaged his legs and weakened them it really does not matter. I always doubted his legs were weak and it really does not matter to me, the same as Duran not training or whatever the excuse.. I like it when fighters say. well I lost to a better fighter. You never see Hearns or Duran do that. Which is too bad since they beat a lot of people themselves.