I'd go with Duran and his speed. As tough as Basilio is said to be, i just do not see a great fighter there. And at middle, he was pretty poor. They say when he fought Fullmer he was , "like a toy flung to a giant." I think he is more hype and t.v. exposure than anything else. I've got a lot of his fights but just see nothing special.? And apart from beating an old Robinson, his record isn't so great either.:smoke
Duran all day long. It would go the distance without much question and it would be bad news for Basilio who had too good of a chin. 15 rounds of fight but I think Duran's class as a technician shows more than trying to out-macho Basilio. No one really out-macho's basilio, even Duran. He'd know that, I think. He'd use everything in his defensive bag as well as offensive.
A while back I mentioned Carmen as a possible dark horse to upset the Duran of the first Leonard fight. The reason was that I think he's possibly the only Welterweight that has the mental and physical durability to rumble with Duran on the inside consistently across 15. Basilio had a lot of losses at the hands of cute boxer-movers, but virtaully no-one ever out-hustled him when things got up close and personal. Duran certainly wouldn't have been able to just bully Basilio Duran like he usually did, and this guy wasn't backing up. Basilio was no mug defensively, either. In the end, I fancy Duran to be that bit sharper and smarter and take a decision, but he's certainly not getting it easy. If it's possible for two fighters to ruin each-other, this would be a paradigmatic example.
What a fight! Duran's multi-faceted approach gets him through in an absolute war. I personally feel Duran was a sharper, more precise puncher, though Basilio would rough him up like he never has before. What a match-up! I'm assuming Tony Ayala beats 'em both
Carmen Basilio was one of the roughest toughest fighters you may ever watch,he could take a tremendous punch and dish out a big beating as well.The fight would be a toe to toe war,but,I would probably give duran the win on points.
Duan showed how strong he could be against a strong aggressive FIGHTER LIKE pALOMINO. bASILIO lets his hands go more and will not allow himself to be pushed around as much. But as I say, it's Duran's more rounded approach that sees him through a tough, close battle at 147.
I'm drunk right now so I'm not in any place to have an actual argument, but you're out of line here. Basilio was without question a great fighter, and was far from poor at MW, considering he beat Robinson twice. I think. Maybe once.