Duran of Montreal vs Leonard of the rematch

are you sure it wasn't his evil twin :nut

 

This is simplifying a lot. Duran was a bit of persona non grata after "no mas" and Hearns got his rematch when he had much more left than Leonard. It would be less risky for Leonard to face Hearns in 1982 than in 1989. Boxing and its politics isn't as simple as "oh, he didn't get a rematch right there and then so he must have been ducked".

During less than three years Leonard met Benitez, Duran (x2), Kalule and Hearns. I'm not saying he did everything perfect (who ever did?), but that's not shying away from challenges. Yes, Leonard was schrewd and calculating in many ways, but also challenged himself more than many other ATGs.

 

They already fought, and Leonard won. So Leonard.
The Duran of Montreal was the Duran of the rematch.

It works both ways :deal

For the record, the Leonard of fight 2 beats ANY version of Duran IMO.

 

I see that Sky Sports is showing Erik Morales vs Marcos Maidana. Kinda cruel that I'm going to have to watch the great man take a hiding in HD, Bill.

 

yeah that's all true. i guess i'm making a point based more on how i glean him to have acted. i'm assuming a lot about his intentions and character, that i don't know for sure (or arguably at all, as i've never met the guy). it's just that the general vibe i get is that when he wanted something he made sure he got it, and when someone else did, he was less forthcoming. he's not my idea of a true champion.

 

As for the thread question, I have no clue. I definitely think Montreal is the better win though, as I view New Orleans more as a horrible tank job by Duran than a win for Leonard.

 

Which is a shame. That should have been Rays night.

 

leonard didn't look too bothered at the end of the fight - i thought he was going to jump straight over the ropes and into the crowd.

maybe he'd have been less excited if eventrec had been around in his day.

 

No Mag has been saying this for years. At the same time he says Duran was primed for the Hearns fight, and he counts the 3rd Leonard?Duran fight as proof that Leonard was better then Duran.

 

What sets him apart is that he always bargained from a position of power due to his popularity. But I think many would have been more cynical from such a position than he was. Eubanks, Roy Jones, Calzaghe etc comes to mind as modern day examples.

Leonard could have made a good career out of looking blindingly excellent against second raters, but still he managed to face Benitez (hard to duck the champ, though), Duran, Kalule, Hearns, Hagler and Norris. Even going up against a limited but big and hard hitting guy like LaLonde was a big risk considering Leonard's badly fading speed and skill.

 

yeah, these things are never black and white. or should i say rarely.

now there's a dilemma!

 

It's just hard coping with reality sometimes, I guess. Montreal was by far the most significant win out of those three and the Leonard that prevailed in a chess game against Benitez was anything but green. I do believe Montreal was an important learning experience for him, though.

 

Things is, Duran quitting like he did and Hagler losing a very close decision to Ray have probably hurt Leonard's legacy worse on this forum than it has theirs.

 

Touche