Folks, Has anyone out there in ESB Land ever seen or watched the two epic South American fights between Roberto Duran and Jorge Castro from 1997? Well, I have BOTH fights on tape, and both fights are very good.. Either way you score them, they were close fights in both countries of Argentina and Panama.... Q: Is it a wonder that Castro got the nod in Argentina and Duran got the nod in Panama? Was the judging of both fights truly on the level?? Does anyone feel politics played a role down in Argentina and Panama??? NOTE: I am impressed that Duran is actually "17" years the senior of Jorge Castro. That freaks me out.. Roberto Duran fought Jorge Castro on even terms despite the huge gap in age...... Duran was basically going on 46, while Castro was hitting age 29 yrs in 1997........ INCREDIBLE!! MR.BILLdealadmin:rasta:happy:good
Christ........... Is everyone on ESB classics too young to comment on a friggin' 1997 fight / fights? Are we going too far back?? GEEZ!! MR.BILL
Only seen the first fight and not for a long time, but I remember it being fairly close though I need to rewatch it to decide if they got the decision right. My foggy memory leans towards Duran but I am sure I am certainly biased here. You have already pointed out the most amazing thing about these two fights; the age of Duran. Incredible to be competitive at the top level for such a long time, a shocking example of what the human body can endure when combined with balls of steel. Both fights are on youtube and the first at least is in reasonable quality, I plan to watch both over the weekend and get back with my reaction. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyknJiMwIXM[/ame]
I never liked it when Duran tipped over 160 pounds...... His girth just looked bloated and wide as a movie screen at Super-Middleweight.... MR.BILL
Was boxing even legal in 1997? Wasn't Duran a bare knuckle guy before there were weight classes? How ****ing old are you, man? Isn't Castro the one that used an orange rind for a mouthpiece?
I have this fight, but haven't watched it yet. Duran's suffered some dodgy decisions before. Wouldn't surprise me if this was another one.
Duran is a freak of nature. He'd still be fighting if it weren't for that car crash. And given the right style of opponent, he would still be competitive.
Somehow I agree....... Had Duran not been injured after his 2001 rematch with Camacho in some car accident down in Argentina, I too think Duran would've kept going until age 60....... However, while Duran held his own against Camacho at age 50 out in Colorado, you could clearly tell his hair and beard were dyed black and his weight of 162 clearly showed in his girth...... He was still tough, however, slower than a snail heading up a driveway....... 50 years of age was enough........ MR.BILLbbb:hat
