Were talking about PERFORMANCE, gameplan, strategy, execution and who was more impressive and effective against I would say two formidable undefeated opponents at the time (Tyson and Leonard) Note that we know that Duran was the better fighter than Douglas. Limit the scope of your analysis to the performance I am also curious about this answer and no I wont be offended whatever you chose
No contest. Leonard was a superior fighter to Tyson in every way except power and far harder to beat. Duran's performance in the fight with Leonard was far superior to Douglas's, it was one of the very best displays of boxing skills of all-time. Douglas v Tyson was a far bigger upset and may have been bigger news, but in no way was it a better win in terms of quality, absolutely no way.
then vote, I may be wrong in how I perceive wins and performance Ill say Douglas just because for one night he performed flawlessly against an undefeated Tyson which no one has ever come close to beating. Tyson may not have the overall skilset of SRL, but at the time he was more intimidating fighter lest we forget. And I cant discount the mental aspect of this game. Douglas broke through that and got up from a KD to boot
As far as strategy utilizing the jab to perfection, ..dictating the fight, ring movement and overcoming a kd and the perfect combo to floor Tyson.. I mean..wow! Not only did he beat him, he finished him. That to me is the epitome of sweet science, when someone can have magic for one night
While both are impressive I voted Duran over SRL. I just feel that the circumstances played a bigger part in the Douglas-Tyson fight. It was more that Tyson lost that fight. Duran on the other hand imposed his will on Leonard and gave him a beating.
I dont know about that..Tyson almost finished Douglas in that fight with a KO. I wouldnt call that a Tyson being somewhere else. Douglas performed magnificently in that fight and weathered Tysons early onslaught. But I respect your opinion
^ LOL wtf what beating? did u get that off boxrec noob? It was a back n forth battle that could have gone either way. Duran did not lay a " beating " on leonard. That's just absurd.
lol I didnt see that. Finito Im telling you you' ll be on my Top 50 ATG soon Just came back from a korean retaurant..One thing i hate is making me full with ****in little appetizers before I get my main course..next time Ill just have it doggiebagged. dont bring the ****ing entree Im full!
lol i'd be honored. Yea well u got to chill on the appetizers and save room for the main... Did they give u that salad mix or the koreanstyle pizzas with some improvised kimchi that comes in a cube shape? Hope u had some bomb bar b que bruh.
durans was more impressive as that was not a prime tyson in tokyo that night, had tyson some discipline he might have trained
I voted Duran over Leonard for one reason.... Tyson never really showed up & was there for the taking, Leonard - despite brawling too much as opposed to boxing - did show up & he fought a wonderfull fight. If the real Tyson showed up, Douglas would have got blown away where as Duran was pushed to the limit himself & still won.
The question is open to a number of interpretations, even with your careful wording. From a pure boxing point of view, Duran's performance was better in most categories than Douglas' but from the quality of the accomplishment itself, I would lean towards Buster. Leonard (27-0-0) was making only his second title defence. Duran (71-1-0, his one loss avenged TWICE ) was already a legend and a longtime king of the lightweight division with a much better resume than Leonard. Tyson (37-0-0) was making his ninth defence and while not as skilled as Leonard, a far more formidable opponent. Douglas had no history of greatness like Duran but he came with a plan and stuck to it. Not Tyson's best night, but at the time, Tyson was seen as practically invincible. Given that I predicted Duran to beat Leonard and so wasn't surprised at the result, and given that I didn't even watch the Tyson Douglas fight live as I figured Mike would take it in one or two, I would have to say I was much more impressed by the Douglas win and thoroughly shocked when I heard that Tyson lost.
i am surprised duran's win is getting more votes i consider the douglas win one of the best wins in the history of boxing