1974 Roberto Hands Of Stone Duran vs Devin Haney at 135 lbs, 15 rounds.

If it isn't Benny Leonard in the opposing corner, then why bother, ain't no one at LW beating Duran at any stage of his reign, some : Williams, Gans, Ross, and Armstrong , would make it competitive, the rest , no chance.
keep em coming Rich

 

Ouch! Duran would murder Haney with a smirk on his face.

 

Imagine Haney trying to clinch vs Duran that would be hilarious.

 

I wrote that , and agree with you , I said (Duran in 1977-78? He'd Ko's Haney with in 5rds.....)
I personally believe Duran from 1977-1980 was his absolute
best. It's my belief that welterweight fit him like a glove, and if he had
remained there and focused , with Leonard forced to retire, Benitez
and Hearns moving up , he'd be almost as devastating as he was
at lightweight.
Duran in my view didn't show serious signs of slippage until he went up
to Jr.Middle. And that wasn't caused by any real physical slippage
but was caused by his lack of discipline .
When he showed up physically ready, and focused (Cuevas,
Moore, and believe it or not Hagler)
He demonstrated he could compete with any fighter not named
Thomas Hearns.

 

I'd add Whitaker to that list and i'd rate his chances above some of those too. I'd favour Duran but i think Whitaker would give him as good a go as just about anybody at 135. As a matter of fact i think it would be reasonably close affair.

 

Pete's jab, quick footwork, underrated strength on the inside and ability to spin and box off the backfoot would give Duran new puzzles to solve. Pete's chin was also top class and he has handspeed and guts - Duran doesn't just walk through him as is the oft repeated hypothetical supposition.

I do make Duran favourite as whilst Pete is stronger than given credit for and quite a good inside fighter, I don't think he has the requisite strength and skillset on the inside to keep Duran from getting to his body - Duran's inside work will pay off at some point, but if Roberto is in anything less than top top shape and isn't mentally prepared to stick to his game plan and not be frustrated by Pete's deliberate lack of playing ball, then one or two people could be surprised by the outcome of a first initial fight.

 

It's a great matchup.

 

Duran would destroy Haney. Absolutely, no rose tinted nostalgia. As a hardened realist, I would bet every dime in my safe on Duran and enjoy the rewards.

 

I can only hope Haney is as fast as they say and has stamina to burn, because his only hope of hearing the final bell is to run for his life and for the love of all things holy, don’t look back, son!

In reality I don’t think he’d make it…he’d be caught and mauled inside 8 rounds.

 

Duran looked great at welterweight. Though he wasn't as destructive as he was
at lightweight , he carried the weight well. Even in the
2nd Leonard fight he looked great physically. He was starving himself to remain at
lightweight, and ultimately if he remained at the weight, he would've lost
to someone he shouldn't lose to simply because he drained himself .
Fighters age and gets heavier, just like you and me.

 

Well, let's be real. They both have faults. Duran won the title with a low blow and never gave Buchanan a rematch. And Duran could have off nights, getting floored and losing a non-title fight to DeJesus. Viruet also gave him fits.

And Haney has successfully defended against the likes of Lomachenko, Kambosos (twice), Joseph Diaz, Jorge Linares and Yuriorkis Gamboa. Not too shabby (in comparison to Duran's challengers) ... all former or reigning beltholders. (Is Loma better than anyone Duran defended against at Lightweight?)

Haney actually has more World Lightweight title defenses than Duran did. Haney has two. Duran has zero.

Haney, though not a big puncher, is a weight bully who would be physically much bigger and could probably frustrate Duran with his speed and holding and movement. Duran didn't bowl everyone over at lightweight, so we shouldn't pretend he did. And Haney IS a welterweight when the bell rings for his lightweight title fights, and Duran wasn't a big puncher against them.

Also, Haney never defended against anyone as bad as Lou Bizzarro, who flat out sucked and still went 14 rounds.

Could be fun.

Not an easy night for Roberto, regardless. Hate him or not, Haney isn't going to be an "easy" fight for anyone at lightweight.