Who had the greatest victory over Roberto Duran?

De Jesus

 

Yep, De Jesus.

 

Thomas Hearns. I don't think anyone expected that.

 

Hearns
DeJesus
Benitez

 

yeah, it's splitting hairs picking Hearns over Ray Leonard, but it was so decisive. And every sane person knows any version of Duran suffers the same fate. MAYBE it's a more protracted affair against a better Duran. But I really don't see it ending any differently than it did in reality. HEarns' jab is ALL WRONG for a smaller fighter, no matter how talented. Unless you fought more like a Basillio type. Duran didn't have that girth.

All that being said, I am very much impressed by Ray Leonard's rebound from the first fight. That loss, in retrospect, appears a foregone conclusion. Despite being smaller and older, despite Ray having lots of momentum and being what Americans consider "more atheltic" Duran was just too good and and too mean for Ray to ever beat him. But that didn't stop Ray from trying even after suffering such a thorough and harrowing defeat. Magical stuff how he bounced back. And Duran cost us probably the greatest fight ever imaginable. We talk about fantasy fights, well that's one that really wasn't a fantasy. Duran of Montreal still beats SRL of the rematch, but Duran of Montreal didn't show up. And in some respects I am happy because that **** attitude deserved to see him get shat on. I just wish the poor ******* had learned from it. He should've have thanked Ray.

 

Uh... have you seen that fight?

 

Watch the fight before picking it.

 

Duran-DeJesus II wasn't that great and it wasn't that clear. Traditionally such a fight would have been scored for Duran. He over ate and mailed it in. It was fought above 135.
DeJesus paid in spades for his insolence.

DeJesus is much, much better than he's remembered for. Truly a gifted and skilled fighter. But you cannot watch that rematch and feel Duran was bested. And that is why Stevies career came to a horrible end in the trilogy.

Conversely, Ray Leonard saw his bubble burst. Duran brutalized him and out-classed him. You cannot watch the showdown in Montreal and ever believe that Leonard could beat Duran. Because he couldn't. That version of Duran makes easy work of any version of Ray Leonard. But Ray Leoanrd REFUSED to be beaten. SO MUCH HEART. Really, you cannot love Leonard enough for his determination and confidence. Duran paid the price for his arrogance. It was beautiful.

Again, I picked Hearns' win because no version of Duran beats Hearns and the victory was so emphatic. But Ray's effort deserve H.M. DeJesus... well, watch the fight.

 

Ironically you might need to go back and watch the fights.

 

you really think he out-classes Duran? You really think that's Duran at his best? You really think the out-come wasn't nullified by the rubber-match?

 

You told Mike to watch the fight yet you don't even know which fight Duran lost in the trilogy.

 

Ah, yes, he lost the first, but won the subsequent matches.

Doesn't change the reality of the circumstances leading to his loss.

Watching the fight, it's clearly not the most motivated Duran.

Leonard bounced back immediately from a horrible loss.

Hearns damn near killed Duran.

Probably Duran was far from his best in those fights, too, but there circumstances are clearly different. There was no classic Duran vengeance afterwards, either.

 

According to the voting so far I'm in a minority of one, but I've gone with Benitez.

Yes, 154 suited him better than Duran, and I'm willing to accept that Duran was past his peak, but he was clearly far from shot: it was only 19 months since he'd beaten Leonard and he still had some of his defining wins ahead of him (Moore, Barkley) as well as a very creditable stand against Hagler. Plus if you believe Giudice's Hands of Stone biography, Duran was as motivated for that fight as he'd been for any in quite some time and had trained like a mad man for it, which wasn't always a given for Duran by that point of his career.

No matter - Benitez still dominated and mastered him for a whole fight in a way nobody else really had before then. Hearns blasted him out but given the circumstances I think that was always a possibility, whereas even a shade past his peak and outside of his optimal weight it would have been hard to imagine someone controlling and outfoxing him the way Benitez did.

 

1. Thomas Hearns - so decisive, left no questions in that one.
2. Sugar Ray Leonard - made him quit, enough said.
3. Esteban De Jesus - only man to beat Duran around his best weight.
4. Wilfred Benitez - outslicked Duran. That's no mean feat.
5. Marvin Hagler - the common narrative that Hagler fought the wrong fight or was in awe of Duran undermines them both. Duran really was that good when he was on and required Hagler to be better to win.