REVISIONISM 1979 WELTERWEIGHT

Vito Antuofermo vs Duran, Duran's skill would be at his peak, whilst still undersized he'd outbox Vito ala DeJesus 3, he wins convincingly hurting him consistently to the body later on in the fight.
Little known to the public, he was also scheduled to fight Moore roughly a month later and wins in similarly devastating fashion to how he didn't in real life.
He has accomplished what only Henry Armstrong has and is a 3 weight champion, simultaneously.

After achieving as much greatest as this he goes on a booze binge and his defence of his MW crown to Marvin Hagler goes horribly wrong, he is beaten and battered, stopped in 8, he tries to regroup by getting himself in good condition again, he does and gets back to 147. He is considered past prime at this point and is facing 83/84 versions of Hearns and Leonard, he loses to Hearns in 4, in a thrilling brawl where both are dropped.
He loses to Leonard in a fight that looks like a less intense version of the Brawl in Montréal.
He wins a very close fight with Benitez, in which plenty think he lost. Although the record shows Duran won and worked Benitez.

He looks finished and is contemplating retirement but he fools everyone and goes onto shock the world by beating top WW contender Marlon Starling by brutal KO in 3. He is then scheduled to fight Donald Curry in 86, on September 27th.
He repeats what Honeyghan did and then retires peacefully.

Good thread, very fun. Props Morlocks.

 

I will do, just not now pal

 

I'll do another later

 

So Roberto beats Palomino, Leonard, Cuevas and loses to Hagler here in the same order as he did in real life

 

I always thought Roberto should have fought Pipino first, that would have been a monster fight at the time. He kills Cuevas whenever they fight, too slick.

 

January 14, 1979 began like an ordinary day. Boxing fans around the world were hyped about tonight’s fight between Benitez and Palomino for the WBC strap. There was a ton of excitement as the WW scene might be on the cusp of being returned to glory days not seen since SRR. In an action packed fight Benitez wins a SD over Palomino, many feel Palomino deserved the victory here and everyone went to sleep like it was a normal one...but a cosmic shift changed life and history as we think we know it today....January 15, 1979 Armageddon and Bizarro world shake our very existence. During the evening the cards were retabulated and it was discovered that Jay Edson scored the fight for the wrong man and Palomino took his card 146-142 instead of Benitez as had been reported.

suddenly the division has been thrown into an uproar! Palomino retains his belt.

1979 continues to see the meteoric rise of SRL and Hearns and sees them as the future of the division.

Epic showdowns loom on thanksgiving weekend between Thomas Hearns and SRL and Benitez vs Duran to determine the pecking order. All 4 men are hungry for a shot at the unified championship that will be settled in December between WBC champ Palomino and WBA champ Cuevas!

Thomas The Hitman Hearns shocks the world as he defeats SRL and stops him in the 11th round. Howard Cosell is outraged over what he felt was a premature stoppage and rips Carlos Padilla on national television the following week for not knowing how or when to stop a professional prize fight. Duran and Benitez have an epic encounter that ends in a draw, where many feel the judges were being kind to Benitez over the controversy that surrounds the Palomino fight earlier in the year.

To round out this exciting year Cuevas stops a determined Palomino in the 9th round while trailing 6-2 on the cards.

1980 is a year I shall never forget! I can still remember it like it was yesterday!

The 2 biggest punchers in the division were set to square off Friday July 4th Pipino Cuevas vs Thomas Hearns.

after tune-up fights in March SRL and Duran agree to meet in order to keep their title hopes alive and are set to meet in August.

meanwhile the bitter Benitez looks to set the record straight against Palomino with a rematch.

ahhhh.....what a summer it was!

In a 4th of July fight simply known for eternity as Fireworks in Fresno (the only town they could agree upon) Thomas Hearns totally befuddled Cuevas with his speed Reach and power, and stops Cuevas in 3 and becomes the new unified champion.

The rest of the WW division is excited to no longer have to face Cuevas and his devastating power and think that Tommy will show himself easy to beat. But as we know from history they were wrong oh so very wrong! Indeed!

SRL vs Duran starts and ends just like you might remember it! With Durans hand being raised victorious! Most ringside observers feel that SRL did not win a single round in this one sided shutout victory....except for Howard Cosell who drags them and Carlos Padilla (who was not even involved in the fight) onto Saturday Sports the following weekend to berate them for their egregious cards and explained (using a mark ant produced video for proof) how Leonard should have recieved the decision and vows they will never work on his network again!

The Landscape is becoming clearer with Hearns as Champ and Duran setting himself up as a challenger. SRL is struggling with drug addiction as his life and celebrity diminish.

the stage is set for Benitez vs Palomino. Benitez puts on a clinic erasing the first fight from anyone’s memory. Palomino announces after the fight that his heart is no longer in boxing and he is retiring!

under the radar only seen by true boxing aficionados such as myself and Burt Sugar Aaron Pryor destroys Cervantes to win the LWW belt, and announces he is moving up to WW to play with the big boys.

Ahhhh but the year was not done yet! These guys were determined to be the best and continue chasing glory! If you thought it was a great summer the winter would seal the deal!

Cuevas demands a rematch against Hearns, for what he still calls “his” belt! This leaves Benitez and Duran to square off for the right to face the champ.

SRL outside of the title window agrees reluctantly to fight Aaron Pryor to try and get back in the title picture.

mall of this will end on the final weekend of December 1980 with only true boxing aficionados such as myself and Burt Sugar paying attention. Cervantes squaring off with Saoul Mamby for the 140 lb title now that Pryor has moved on.

Tommy defeats a game Cuevas in 4 an almost exact replica of the first fight. And he is the big dog in the division for now!

Benitez beats Duran in a closely contested and disputed decision. Meanwhile SRL has rebounded and is on his way to a wide decision over Pryor, when between the 11th and the 12th panama hands a white bottle to Pryor urging him to drink the magic elixir. Pryor storms out and destroys a tired Leonard stopping him with 8 seconds left in the round. Cosell is outraged and calls for an investigation and both Panama and Pryor receive a year suspension and cannot return to boxing until they apologize to SRL and Cosell publicly!

under the radar seen only by boxing aficionados like myself and Burt Sugar Mamby puts on a clinic and keeps his title after shutting out a Cervantes who decides its time to hang them up.

and well the rest as they say is history! I am sure you all remember 81 where Hearns beat Benitez by a wide decision, and where Duran stops Leonard in the 9th of their rematch, sending Leonard into retirement. Cosell consoles him and again calls Carlos Padilla to national tv to berate him, even though again he was not involved in this fight.

it ended with Duran stopping Benitez in 11, finally taking home a victory over his rival.

setting up a showdown in 82 between Tommy and Duran for all the marbles. Ahhhh I still remember the Tommy and Roberto 7-up commercials like it was yesterday. I can still hear the punch where Tommy secures his legacy as the 2nd greatest WW ever (and some say the best) by KOing Duran in 2...and Arguello defeating Mamby by back to back 13th round KO’s solidifying himself in most P4P top 15’s.


Ahhhhh.....but I am sure most of you remember it just as well as I do! Great years to grow up during.

slightly lesser known is the torrid love affair between SRL and Cosell where they were married in 1983, and settled into retirement...ah, those were the days!

I would continue to reminisce with all of you but it is late, and well....I am sure you remember these as clearly as me

 

pick a year and division bro we can make it a weekly, bi weekly or monthly event....the most concerning point is why do I have so much free time on my hands lol!

 

Great scenario, Morlocks, but Vito would kill Roberto.

 

Said I'd do it, I'll start a little earlier, where Cuevas beats Duran, then goes on from there. So here it is...

A warm summer's night, 1976, Mexican Menace Pipino Cuevas stood across the ring from Roberto Duran.
He had no fear, he was a force of nature and no lightweight was scaring him.
No body was scaring him.
The pair of them exchanged viciously for 8 rounds with both men going down, Cuevas gets a brutal KO with a huge left hook.
He was destined to decimate the 147lbs division. He took a light touch next after Duran, first round KO.
He then unified his WBA title with Palominos WBC belt, Cuevas and Palomino violently exchanged for 6 rounds. Before the pure power of Pipino started to melt Palomino and put him on the defensive, a UD for Cuevas.
His first defence of the undisputed championship is against the highly touted contender Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard is Boxing rings around Pip for 10 rounds and is making him look bad with his feet.
Leonard hits Pip with a huge right hand and followed through with lengthy combo and Pip swung for the fences and landed a beautiful left hook that puts Leonard away for the ten count.

After a long space of time out the ring, he questions himself and retires for a few months before a the lure of a showdown with Superstar Tommy Hearns gets the better of him and he comes back.
The fight goes the same way as it did in real life and the story continues as normal for everyone