Duran vs Leonard 1

Too right you opened a can of worms, and now i'm looking over my shoulder constantly.

I know terrible isn't it, real man! Haha.

 

You deserve to be banned for this

 

:good

 

At least you didn't open a Thread on Leonard-Duran II ..... yet

That would be the Mother of All Cans of Worms :yep

 

And one i would avoid! To be honest i have no qualms about that one, Leonard simply won there fair and square, and i accept any criticisms of Duran there, it's just this one.

 

Heh, I am a Duran fan too, and certainly I believe the Duran of Montreal would have defeated Leonard all the same.

But I also think that Leonard made things a little easier for Duran in that fight for brawling.

 

Man you take me on in terms of drinking? Many a man has made this almost fatal mistake! Im going for a bevvy with AlFrancis soon, ask him of the force of nature he has witnessed (haha, kidding)

 

Yeah i understand the opinion whole heartedly.

 

Real men then!

Thanks for the opinion on the fight there.

 

This is the crux of the matter for me. The choice was never Leonard's to make whether to slug it out or whether to dance and box. He was up against one of the greatest ever fighters who was in rampant, rampaging form, at the peak of his fitness and motivation - and Duran dictated the fight. He imposed his will and his style on Leonard and the contest, and Ray was having to fight like an absolute demon with his back to the wall just to stay in the fight and not be overwhelmed. I don't believe he could have fought any other way in that fight, it was fight like a frenzy or be bludgeoned through the ropes for SRL. Duran cut off the ring brilliantly, with speed, aggression and adept maneouvering. There were attempts by Leonard to disengage in the fight, and these attempts were immediately stubbed out by the swarming beast that was Duran.

I should add, that fight is one of the key reasons why I rate Ray Leonard so highly. He would've beaten many a great fighter that night. He pushed Duran all the way even when forced to fight on Duran's terms. Precious few welterweights could have stayed strong in Duran's storm that night. Leonard showed a side of him that proved greatness. We knew he could be the dancing destroyer when he wanted to be, but that night he proved he could grit his teeth, dig in his heels, and go deep into the trenches, and show some serious ability there too. Special performance by both men that night.

That's why it is my favourite fight of all-time and why I think it is the best single victory by any fighter ever.

JMHO.

 

Thanks for the good post, and agreeing with me (haha).

Someone on here called that fight 'the best of boxing' a while ago, nailed it.

 

IMO, it's the best fight ever. Maybe not quite the single most exciting fight, but for its relentlessly sky-high quality level, intensity, and the fact that it's two prime or near-prime legends going at it - if I had to show a Martian what boxing was, I'd put that fight on.