Some (dare I say it) critical comments after watching LEONARD v HEARNS I again....

I think Duran was overrated. Always have. He had a great lightweight career but really who did he beat there? Buchanan and Dejesus? Not really ATGs, Then he moves up and fights Ray on the inside and barely wins, then losses easily his next 2 fights with Ray. Then Duran lost every fight against the legends he fought in the 1980s. Benitez he lost easily over 15 rounds, Hearns demolishes him. Hagler outboxes him, . He beat up guys like Moore and Barkley but not the legends. I am convinced that Duran is the most overrated fighter in history. When he won he looked great and was very mean, but when he lost he made excuses and people bought it. But how many ATGs did he knock out?

 

I have not seen that thread - I would very much like to give a read.

I have pretty much seen the majority of Marco Antonio Barrera's career, and that is one of the reasons why it really frustrated me when some people thought he was the least skilled out of the three Mexican's. They haven't seen what he has done at 122lb. He had well over 40 fights at that weight. Some people will lead you to believe that his career started in 2000, but he had already built up a reputation and had made 8 defenses of his title before running into Jones in '97.

The most impressive thing about Marco Antonio Barrera, despite his world class resume, his unbelievable offensive arsenal, and his world titles in three different weight classes - is his ability to keep coming back from the brink. You watch the HBO broadcast of Morales/Barrera I, and the first thing that comes out of Jim Lampley's mouth is, "How much does Barrera have left". He was an old man by Boxing standards - he turned pro at 15 in '89. To go on for as long as he did, and to establish himself as one of the best fighters in the world not but 2-3 years later is remarkable.

There are three careers of Marco. The 122lb career where he was knocking everybody out, the 126lb career where he was emerging as a wonderful boxer, and the 130lb career where he should have been down and out, but he wasn't.

I'll stop worshiping the old fool one day.

 

Not really. not in my mind, Ray was fighting his 2nd title defense and was very inexperienced. The reason Ray fought on the inside was all because Duran insulted his wife. After that Ray put it all together-his outside the ring and inside the ring tactics. And he won easily and made Duran quit. And watch the rematch over, Duran quit when Ray was starting to hit him to the head and body. Duran knew he was going to get knocked out. And yes the rematch and rubber match have everything to do with Duran and that first fight. It shows it was a fluke and that if Ray fights the right fight he beats Duran easily. Then Duran lost in similar fashion to Benitez. A fight most Duran fans care to forget.

 

I mean a lot of people have an agenda against Ray Leonard.

The guy barely gets any credit for his win over Marvin Hagler, whereas Duran is worshiped for losing to him. Makes no sense.

The same I feel about Barrera/Pacquiao 1. You only have to watch him in that fight, and then watch him at his best to know the difference.

 

You could also argue that Duran was smaller and older then Leonard, Hearns and Hagler so would be expected to lose. I do think his lightweight reign is a little overrated, theres a lot of padding on there but he's still had one hell of a career and is and ATG IMHO.

 

Leanard comes out ahead in the face to face between them. Ray was not peak in 1980 when he fought Duran. He just won his title the previous November and this was June. Ray fought and beat the better fighters in his career. How would Duran be the greater fighter. This is what I mean about Duran fans or boxing fans in general. They do not rate Duran objectively.

 

Most of the people who know a thing or two about a thing or two here love Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard has his detractors but that's because he's an ATG, even SRR has his haters. Leonard's haters are just more prounced and arrogant.

 

Yes his lightweight reign was way overrated in that if he did not beat the legends of the 1980s after he moved up from lightweight, then the lightweight reign would be what would make him that ATG. So how great was his lightweight reign? Good enough to make him better than Leonard all time? I do not think so.

 

Face swelling means a lot, unless they were hitting the body. And when Duran hit someone he usually did damage. Look at Barkley or Moore's face, especially after Duran laces Moore. The face matters, that is what is being hit and that is the main indicator. In most fights where you have hard punchers who are sharp, the faces are the first thing to swell up and quick. Duran and Ray were not hitting each other that clean except for the left hook in the 2nd round which Duran landed.

 

Hagler-Hearns to me is sort of like Ward-Gatti in a sense that it's not meant to be broken down and analyzed. You don't think about it but rather you just watch and enjoy it. It's got an amazing 1st round and sort of peters off...but the 1st round is legendary. It's epic in the truest sense of the word.

 

Gatti-Ward I is the most overrated fight in History. It had one great round, and the rest were either uneventful or just good.