Mayweather v Duran

Agree with this, wholeheartedly.

Duran was moving up from lightweight, and when he moved up to 147 and had those non-title fights his KO/TKO percentage had dropped dramatically. Ray on the other hand, had an over 90% knockout percentage.

It was Leonard’s division, he was the puncher, he was faster, stronger, physically bigger, and had a very good inside game himself. So it was perfectly legit for him to stand his ground and let the smaller guy walk right into his power.

And prior to the rematch in New Orleans, Leonard had never moved remotely like that in any fight before it. He did move, but only in patches. He preferred to stay within range more often than not.

That said, once he was in trouble and coming off second best, Leonard should have moved more than he did as the fight progressed in Montreal.

 

Total truth, the whole wrong fight myth is just that a myth. Duran beat Leonard the fight was not close. The rematch was put into place, Duran did not prepare correctly and paid the price. The rematch was rushed and Leonard knew Duran would balloon up in weight and took full advantage. If Duran had prepared he definitely could've beaten Leonard again.

 

Your overlooking Duran's defense. His ability to slip and roll with punches while right on top of his opponent.

Against Ray Leonard who was a natural Welterweightn both taller and faster than Mayweather, Duran was able to make Ray miss more punches than he usually did in 3 fights.

How does a former lightweight champion go all the way to 160lbs and win the middleweight crown without a slick defense and advanced skills?
We could ask Mayweather but he doesnt know.

 

Duran was able to match Ray's speed that nite and his reflexes were elite.

 

And another thing that gets criminally overlooked in Montreal is how well Duran did from the outside against Leonard.

Check out Duran in round 2 before he hurts Leonard with the sweeping hook that buckles his legs and had him going backwards against the ropes. Duran was excellent on the outside just before that moment. Good boxing ability and slipping. And there are other moments in the mid-rounds when Duran catches Leonard from the outside with BIG punches. I recall one time when Duran feints Leonard and catches Leonard with right hand down the pipe. Another one was a sweeping left hook.

 

i think Leonard didn't need to move more in Montreal,he was actually matching up Duran,but because almost nobody beats motivated Duran in a high skilled infighting and close quarters counterpunching,Leonard simply lost by a small but respectable margin.

god i won't excuse Duran that all his losses are definitely his,and he was SO inconsistent past lightweight he went from beating Iran Barkley to going "ouch me elbow no good" vs Pat Lawler,but a motivated Duran is a menace to everyone.

 

Nah. I couldn’t care how anyone scored the fight—close or wide to Duran. Here is something that can’t be disputed. Duran beat Leonard in every facet of the scoring. Clean punching. Effective aggressiveness. Ring generalship. Defense. After the first round, Duran was very strong and bossed Leonard in a fire fight. Ray made no adjustments. And he was hurt (as early as round 2) without him hurting Duran in return. It was if Leonard accepted his fate and decided just to fight Duran’s fight and hope that the knockout would happen for him.

 

Oscar...what fight?

 

How is Duran supposed to win this?

 

Duran would have had a zero chance of victory.

There’s no way on earth that Floyd and Ellerbe would have signed a contract.

 

Geez, for once I agree with Loudon.

That said, he's wrong. Floyd would have fought him when Duran was about 50.

 

Really, why?

 

Did you not follow his career?

 

Sure. Did you?