No mas!-Explained!

No, at that point in 1980 he was not. He fought at 154 as early as 1978. This whole excuse thing for Duran and making threads to excuse him from losing is ridiculous. No other fighters get these kinds of excuses for a loss, and Ray was the variable. he lost easily to Ray in the rematch and it really does not matter what the excuse was.

 

The film shows Leonard was hurting Duran to the head and body. A show boat makes you angry and want to fight, not quit.

 

Because Duran didn't quit! He was there to fight...the other guy was not there to fight! Why can't you people see that?

I want to fight, you want to run and do flurries. After eight rounds I, like Duran, will say "F**k this." I would be considered the man and you would be considered the pu**y. Why does that not make sense to boxing fans of all people?

When you understand that Duran said "F**k this" it is the breakthrough you will need to understand that what Duran did was the coolest, most macho thing in sports history. "F**k this. I ain't gonna be in the ring with this clown show anymore. I'm a fighter, not a sideshow act for this pu**y. F**k this."

 

Don't hate Duran, just hate the people who say this.

 

Meh. Duran leads the parade when it comes to bullsh/t excuses.

 

Sorry, but this is just BS. I'm a huge Duran fan but as much as I like him as a fighter, I'm not blind to his flaws.

People like to hate on Leonard for boxing and moving (people say the same about the Leonard-Hagler fight too) but it is boxing, not streetfighting. Duran was out of shape (his own fault) and he got frustrated. Neither of which is an excuse for what he did. I think he redeemed himself later in his career but plenty of people don't forgive or forget it and that's their prerogative. He quit in the ring - that's a fact. The rest is just conjecture.

 

No, he said "F**k this."

He wanted to fight, the other guy did not.

Why, oh why, can't people understand that?

 

To people like him, if Duran overcomes a clever boxing style, then it enhances his reputation as a master of his trade who can overcome anything and win. A true great, blah blah blah...…..if he CAN'T overcome that boxer, then it's just because the other guy wouldn't fight, and why should Duran demean himself by trying to cut off the ring? After all, if you're not willing to trade head shots with him then it means you're not a man, blah blah blah.

He can reap all the praise for being a versatile genius when it works, but absorb no blame or criticism when it doesn't. It's good to be Duran, I guess.

 

Because it's not true.

You can't rationalise one guy turning his back and saying he couldn't be bothered to fight (whatever his reasoning) and the referee stopping the fight to award victory to the other fighter as the other guy quitting.

Whatever way you cut it, Duran lost the fight. That part is not up for debate.

The question of why Duran did it will remain one that no-one can conclusively answer.

 

Duran is defined as much by that defeat as by those victories. What he did before I don't believe should be undermined by what he did then, but equally, ignoring it or pretending it didn't happen is denial.

 

Another way I look at it is to imagine if SRR quit halfway through his first fight with Randolph Turpin. Robinson was not in great fighting shape, was unmotivated and had a style he was struggling with. He lost fair and square but he didn't quit out of frustration. He just got the rematch and found a way to solve Turpin's style.

People can forgive a defeat, they can't as easily forgive a quit job.

 

I think you unwittingly proved my point, not the point you thought you were making. Just the fact that this was one of his longest layoffs gives further credence to the theory he was out of shape. If the running theory is that they needed to keep him active all the time so he wouldn't get out of shape, and even then, he had to take non-title fights because he couldn't make weight; how then wouldn't we expect him to be the most out of shape he ever was by virtue of having so much time off, and earning his biggest payday? That sounds like the exact recipe of disaster for Duran coming into a fight having to lose a lot of weight quickly. His fights with Obando, Diaz & Muniz were at Super Welterweight for Christ's sake. This is well before he even fights SRL at Welterweight. His fights with Villa and Mamba were at Super Lightweight. All these fights took place WHILE he was LW Champion, and they were taken to keep him busy and not let him get too far out of shape. Those fights were needed because he wasn't in shape enough to defend his LW title. Yet, you expect me to believe that when he has one of his long layoffs, and his greatest victory and when he got paid the most money... He's not going to let himself indulge even more? You can't be serious.

 

Oh, boy, are you wrong.

Duran DID NOT lose the fight. How could he have lost the fight when it didn't end? That's the beauty of what Duran did. He took a victory away from Leonard. Nobody knows what would have happened if Duran didn't say "F**k this" in round 8.

You can say Leonard was going to win, Leonard can claim he was going to win....but all it would be is guess work. Leonard DID NOT beat Duran that night. Duran beat Leonard in Montreal. That part is not up for debate. But Leonard DID NOT beat Duran in New Orleans. The fight never was concluded. It didn't go full distance nor did Leonard knockout Duran or stop him. Duran simply said "F**k this" and walked away.

Leonard did not beat Duran in Montreal and he did not beat Duran in New Orleans. Those are facts. No one on Earth can possibly say that Leonard beat Duran in New Orleans. If anybody says that we all instantly know they know nothing about boxing, sports, or being a man.

 

WTF??

 

Good lord. You really need to learn how to make a basic distinction between your own strong opinions on the subject and the facts.