Duran at Jr. Welter

Ray Leonard did a documentary about 5-6 years ago. No Mas i believe, in there Duran talkes about wanting to defeat the American Golden Boy, media creation, what he at the time felt.

 

Agreed. In general it was a full division Welterweight, more acclaim, more $, the division at the time was heating up. Leonard was one of the names getting great $ already, Benitez would be a natural rival, Cuevas and some dude named Hearns coming up thee ranks.
It was a hot division Duran's presence made scalding.

 

I saw that documentary, it was on ESPN when I had cable, good documentary, explaining about their second bout in Nov 1980, I now have a streaming service and an antenna for regular local channels.

 

Maybe he didn’t necessarily move to welterweight. Just no longer making lightweight. So neither light-welterweight or welterweight. When the American darling became champ he went after him. After that light-welterweight probably would have been as difficult as lightweight to make.

 

Price was a journeyman by 1979 who had beaten Cuevas and Palomino years earlier.

I agree Leonard faced quality opposition on his way to a title shot but Duran beat the recently dethroned Palomino who was better than anyone Leonard heat pre title shot.

 

Duran beat one guy to get the title shot. No one is arguing that Duran wasn’t qualified.

But to act like Leonard was gifted the shot when he went through more than a handful of tough fights and beat a series of top contenders is not intellectually honest.

As for Price, I didn’t see Cuevas or Palomino lining up to rematch him. He was a tough out and Leonard disposed of him in spectacular fashion. To say he was a journeyman is underselling him.

 

Leonard faced good fighters. I don't think that was an issue. The only resentment may be that he was getting championship level $ before he had gotten near the title. Some felt he was a product of the media.
At the end of the day he helped everyone make a ton of $.

 

Meanwhile Mahvelous Mahvin Hagler was fighting monsters in anonymity and getting 40 grand to fight for an undisputed title. And that only because Speaker of the House Tip O'Neil threatened arum with an investigation.

 

It would be like the lightweight version with the natural strength, stamina and added speed that draining too much weight stripped off him. He'd have been 'orrible.