srl even admitted duran was the best from fab 4, by the time he went to WW he was past his prime, his era was the 70's and he was ALSO one of the elite in the 80's. Duran top 5
From how I see it the montreal win makes duran legendary, if he lost that fight his best wins in the 80's would be davy moore with a 12-0 record and iran barkley. He would lack the big name on his resume.
He'd likely rank top 20 with the 70's alone. At least top 25. The wins over Leonard, Barkley, Moore, Cuevas, Castro, and that added bump in longevity and weight-jumping is what earns him a spot inside most people's top 10.
Apart from SRL, can you name the elite fighters he had beaten? To be named the one of the best fighters of all time, one has the beat the best, right?
the great Ken Buchanan when he was only 21/22 is one and the way he fought is also important, he was aggressive fighter who had a defence which was underrated-he never got hit clean in his prime.
Aside from his resume what's more impressive is recently roach said Pac started camp at 144. Most welter weight start from 150-160, lose the fat and fight at 147. Pac has to gain weight to get to 147. Meaning, Pac doesn't belong in the 147 division and should be fighting at 140 - 135. How many ATG do that? I would say definitely in top 15. I also think his personality, being a congressman and being a global icon he will gain even more recognition like Ali when he is done with boxing.
He would still be regarded as the greatest LW of all time, which automatically places him high in pfp atg rankings since it has so much history and depth.. Duran was considered by most the greatest LW ever even when he was active. Which is impressive as usually a fighter dont hold that claim until after they retire. Buchanan,Dejesus and Marcel were good scalps at LW and Palomino,Cuevas later on All HOF (except for maybe Marcel?)... But i here you.. The Leonard win did boost his legacy alot. But that just boosted him from top 15-20 atg up to top 5.
No, but it's about on par. Duran, like Whitaker, would get a rather tremendous boost for H2H rating and sheer dominance. In his prime, he looks at least as impressive as virtually any other fighter we have film of. If he had retired right before the SRL win, his career would have spanned about 13 years and his record would be 72-1, with the only loss avenged twice in brutal fashion. Buchanan, DeJesus 2x, Palomino, Marcel, Kobayashi, Villa, Mamby, Viruet 2x, Sazuki, Lampkin, etc fill out a very solid resume with notable wins across 130, 135, 140, and 147. He's 13-0 12 KO's in title fights as well during his 7 year reign as champion. With just that, he'd likely rate above or at least right next to Pacquiao on an ATG list. He doesn't make a top 10 without the victory over SRL, but if everything else in his career went the exact same way, he'd be in just about everybody's top 20 and a lot of top 15's. Its one of the single greatest wins in the history of boxing, and it only bumps him up about 5-10 spots. If Pac beats Mayweather, he secures a spot inside the top 20 and maybe top 15, but it's not moving him into a top 10 list alone.