Well, you've convinced me with your well thought out polite posts.It truly is laughable to pick Duran to win a close fight with a decent middleweight. Absolutely no precedent for such a pick exists.But, thanks for highlighting my rampant Duran fanboyism, it had to be stopped at some point.
I so think Duran takes this. Taylor was no great shakes IMO, and whilst it would be closely contested Duran would rough Taylor up to take advantage of his stamina issues and win a 115-113 based on aggression down the stretch. Wouldn't be surprised if Taylor wins the 1st 5.
Why is Taylor all that much better then Barkley? He puffs in EVERY fight he has...He has the killer instinct and mongrel of a Buddhist monk...and he was somewhat of an HBO invention. I like Taylor, I think he was a good fighter at middleweight and Im not changing my pick that he can edge out Duran...But what so laughable about what Mantequilla said? He is so often on the ball and its not like he is picking a shutout or comprehensive KO win for Duran. He simply said he reckons Duran takes a points verdict...And mind you with a better version of Duran then the one stipulated by the thread starter. I find it more laughable that people think JT does this easy or that only Duran's skills see him go the rounds when Taylor looked awful against smaller men like Spinks and Ouma.
Taylor would be too cautious for Duran to mount any serious offense with his countering, I can't see it being enough to give him the edge over Jermain's jab and occasional flurries. Taylor struggles in the late rounds, like he always does, but hangs on for a deserved decision in a boring fight.
If it's a 15 round fight I'm with you. Duran (in the type of shape he was in for Hagler) will bust him up big time down the stretch. This isn't a 6 punch per round Bernard Hopkins or Cory "Bernard Taylor's love child" Spinks he's in against.
It is laughable to suggest that the Duran who fought Hagler would beat Taylor by around 3 points. Duran sat on the outside against Hagler and poked out the jab and focused on countering punching. Lets not forget, Taylor is around 4 inches taller than Hagler and has at least a 75" reach as well. Duran's right hand was scarce throughout the fight. Virtually no combinations at any range, and nothing regarding punches in bunches. He'd need all that to have a good chance. Taylor's height and reach, athleticism and speed would prove far too much. What your trying to tell us with that the version of Duran is that he would outbox and outfox Taylor at long range? Not a prayer. This is another case of Duran being made out to be superman, yet again by some posters. While Cory Spinks isn't in Duran's league regarding status or completness. He's a far more effective mover, busier with the jab, and a better point scoring fighter on the backfoot.
But he's in against a 5' 6" fighter who circles cautiously, has no high punch output himself, flicks out average jabs, backs away from inside exchanges, throws next to no combinations, and occasionally throws right hands. Thats how Duran fought Hagler.
Anyone who thinks that the Duran who fought Hagler would beat Taylor at middleweight is in the Redrooster category when it comes to complete nonsense.
If gloves with thumbs are being used, I'll take Duran. (If protective cups are banned, I'll bet the mortgage on Roberto.)
You probably just think more of Taylor than i do.The guy i saw was one of the worst middleweight champions of all-time, an unskilled toiler who got by on athleticism and a decent enough jab.I don't rate Duran overly highly as a middleweight either but this isn't some borderline great fighter he's in with here.I've never seen Taylor give a single performance i thought was impressive, and he had his chances against limited fighters like ouma, spinks and Froch.His best effort was against Wright imo, and that was a Winky who was in fast decline physically....still thought wright did enough to win though. I see Duran doing just fine against him using the style he foiught with against Hagler, or Barkley for that matter...what's to say if Duran has taylor in front of him instead of Hgler he still fights as cautiosly anyway...there isn't much to be scared of is there.Would it shock me if Taylor managed to beat Duran by a couple of points? No, and i'm not that smug to be so assured i would dismiss other suggestions as laughable.
I think the Duran of the Barkley fight can cause a lot of problems for a few Middleweights, including Jermain Taylor. Taylor really seemed to lack in work rate after the Hopkins fights, and I feel Duran would deal really well with that kind of pace. That said, you'd have to favor Taylor because of his size and athleticism, as someone noted, but Duran was no mug during his first few stints at 160lbs. As evidenced in my signature. :good
Taylor should be able to win it and it's certainly feasable to say he does. The only thing detracting from what should 'happen' here is that Jermaine Taylor just freezes up sometimes for a reason that comes from within himself that nobody else knows, and Duran, on his best middleweight form could take advantage dramatically. That's how i see it, Duran has leaway against this middleweight.
I just cannot see Duran winning this. Taylor isn't as bad as people make out IMO, and I just can't see how Duran can get enough shots off on the faster, bigger and longer Taylor to win enough rounds to take this. As amazing as Duran was at LW, he was a rather average MW. Of course Taylor himself is nothing spectucular, but I just think this is a bridge too far for Duran. His ring-smarts keep the fight reasonably close, but Duran drops a UD. I must add that my consideration of this fight was over 12 rounds. If it was over 15, Duran has a great chance of stopping the gassing Taylor late.