The reason Roberto Duran Quit

Addie, Duran has the same effect to posters that Tyson and Liston has.

It's that luster and thought of how awesome their peaks are. Hence, why excuses are sometimes justified and why the victor on the other side might get shortchanged in the process. How many times have you heard 86-88 Tyson or 88 Tyson, 60-62 or 62 Liston, Montreal Duran. It's only these type of fighters that get this almost invincible mythology to them. I know that's hyperbole. And I know these men did have great standout performances, but it gets way overstated. Perhaps 1919 Toledo Dempsey is another one.

 

You think what Floyd did at 130lbs was better than what Tyson did before he went to prison? ...Not me.

 

Yeah, except Duran was one of the best fighters in the world (arguably the best) for about a decade. Otherwise he's very similar to the likes of Tyson and Liston.

I take it you're not much of an Armstrong fan either, eh Pete?

 

So you acknowledge that I'm not imagining all of this? ...Phew, Popkins had me worried for a minute there.

 

My bad. I thought you were referring to Duran-SRL II.

I rank SRL-Hagler as a truly great win, because of the circumstances (not the performance).

But I would never take issue with anyone who didn't rank it as such though - if they didn't rank it on the basis that they don't actually believe Leonard won the fight. How can you expect someone to give great credit for a win if they don't even think it was a win? Not possible. But for someone who scored the fight for SRL to not rank it as a great win is silly. Hagler was past-prime, and SRL did not win in dominant or even convincing fashion, but the circumstances of that fight were exceptional, and ensure it must be regarded as a great win.

If Duran had done the exact same thing, it would also be viewed as a great win. Duran fans would go over the top, Duran sceptics would pick out flaws in it, and the world would keep turning.

 

Yeah. Mayweather's division was not a joke, not full of amazing technicians, but Tyson's wasn't either. Floyd fought everyone but Freitas/Casamayor as well, you can't ask much more. And Tyson got his ass absolutely handed to him by Buster Douglas, which seals it for me.

 

The Truth Is Out There, Fox.

 

There are a handful of Duran skeptics who actually know Boxing. A lot of them say crap about Duran being unskilled because they've not actually sat down and watched the man work at his best. I'll be honest, I was ignorant of his abilities as a fighter myself until I saw him take Palomino apart. Sublime. With that said, the guys who are full of excuses for Duran, who concentrate on what Leonard said prior to their rematch rather than what he actually did in the ring, these are fight fans. They've probably been watching the sport for longer than I've been alive...

 

The manner in which Tyson was cleaning the division out doesn't impress you? I don't think there's a big disparity...or a disparity of any sort...with the level of competition they were fighting...I just know Tyson was devastating virtually everyone he faced...and in a short space of time, too.

 

C'mon now, don't you think that's stretching the situation a bit? Surely there is favoritism for Duran, i'm not denying that and nobody else is, but to say Leonard doesn't get his share of respect from most people for his victories against the other big three of the 80's is really not true, imo.

 

Hyperbole. :good

 

I don't think there's a disparity either, but i'll tell you now that some on here will do. I said Tyson losing to a Buster Douglas edges it for Floyd imo. I'm consistent with my logic, which is to look at resumes when assessing greatness and only the nature of the wins/losses when assessing a fighter's head to head ability. And therefore, Tyson capturing the hearts of millions including me, because of HOW he won fights, doesn't boost his ranking for me, **** that, i am NOT biased Addie. And anyway, if we look at the nature of performances(which i'm not here), it's not as if Floyd was struggling at 130, he was amazing.

 

Duran couldn't catch Leonard though, and he knew it.

I do think there's a bit of a tendency from what I read to defend Duran above other fighters, especially when you consider the very narrow number of people who defend Liston's quit jobs against Ali despite his rather sizable fanbase. I still maintain that between the massive fanbases of Hagler, Duran, and maybe to a lesser extent Hearns, Leonard really gets shortchanged around here in terms of getting credit for his wins; ie, Hagler was shot, Duran was out of shape, Hearns was weight drained, etc.

 

Of course there is...non-debatable.