"Duran-Cuevas" of 1983.... Classic or Farce?

I'll tell you what I think........ I think Duran at 145 pounds and age 29 in Montreal was a goddamn devil in the ring and would've eaten anyone from 140 to 150 solid pounds alive on that June night in 1980........

In June of 1980, Pipino Cuevas was preparing to but not yet fought Tommy Hearns.... Had Cuevas bypassed Hearns altogether and signed to fight Duran in the fall of 1980, I still think Duran would've killed Cuevas.... Of course I am taking into consideration that Duran maintains his motivation and focus and doesn't balloon upward of 180 pounds like he normally did after a big win....... A well tuned Duran of 1980 beats a well tuned Cuevas of that very year......... IMO!!!

Also..... Weight gain and weight loss for Duran was a problem from time-to-time, but I thought Duran looked physically pretty good at the full 147 he tilted for the Leonard rematch in New Orleans........... Was Duran a little weak going in? Probably... Christ, he lost over 30 pounds to make weight...... Did Duran look horrible in the rematch going into the fateful round 8? NO!!!! Duran just was offset and frustrated by Leonard's speed and movement and he said: "**** It!"

But, all in all..... YES! Duran still beats the **** outta Cuevas in 1980 or 1983...... Either way........... OH! Cuevas' power was still there at age 24 and 149 pounds in '83.......... Cuevas winged serious power shots to Duran..... Duran dodged several bullets, but he got clipped by a few before he lowered the boom on Cuevas......... Duran never looked to be in any real trouble from Cuevas at all in 1983......... I can't say the same about Cuevas...... By round 3 in 1983 against Duran, Cuevas was on his way out.......... Peace...

MR.BILL:bbbhat

 

I too was never impressed with Cuevas' skills or finess........ Cuevas always moved roughly and left himself wide open in his rushing attacks......

Cuevas had that same "Bazooka" Limon approach of throwing both hands to the head and body while leading in with their face....... Easy to counter........

Look.... I thought Cuevas was entertaining, but I never thought he was brilliant with anything other than power at 147 pounds......

MR.BILL

 

Whether because they started boxing as kids or not, "Cuevas & Benitez" are TWO classic examples of once good / great champions who seemingly went to hell over night at a still youthful age south of 25..... Cuevas was faded after Hearns knocked him for a loop in the summer of '80, and Benitez was never the same after he lost to Hearns on points in 1982.......

As for who was better at 147 between 1976 thru 1979, I give Carlos Palomino the edge in skills and finess over the one-dimensional Cuevas..... No doubt.........

MR.BILL

 

Yeah.... But Cuevas also looked stronger and even bigger than some of them dudes he defended against like: "Angel Espada, Clyde Grey, Harry Weston & Bill Backus." Cuevas was well matched in his favor there......

As far as taking risks as a champion, I'd say fights with "Ranzany & Sheilds" were risk takers--on paper........ Of course Tommy Hearns was the BIG threat........

Cuevas had power at 147, but not a whole lot else.......... His chin seemed intact shy of age 21, but then it began to fail afterward....... Cuevas' jab sucked and his lateral movement was average at best...... But he was a fun guy to watch in the ring......

MR.BILLbbb:thumbsup

 

Still, no excuse........ Duran was age 31 to Cuevas' mere age 24 in 1983 is a huge "7" year gap in age..... Plus, Cuevas was never rumored to have ballooned up in weight between title bouts during the 70s as was the case with Duran....... Duran was simply better all around than Cuevas.........
:good:hey

MR.BILL

 

Okay, but Ol' Cuevas kept on going until 1989 basically winning some and losing some...... His final fight was against Lupe Aquino who KO'd Cuevas..... Cuevas' record stands at 35-15-0 (31) KO's.... I'm not sure if he ever had a draw or two.?.? Still.....
:hat

MR.BILL