Not in the lighter weights though. Jimmy Bredhal was the WBO 'champion' Ruelas was a tough kid but I don't remember anyone thinking he was the best @35 @40? I remember him fightin Miguel Gonzalez and he did win. I don't know if he beat the best guy in any of those divisions. I shouldn't be picking on Oscar he was just one of many of the later fighters that belt chased. He did have the crossover appeal on the advantages to do it so we had the opportunities that maybe some other fighters didn't have. HBO helped him along the way.
I agree with you to extent. Chavez did make him Miss some punches but at the same time he got hit a lot. Do you think Duran would have got hit with that many punches as Julio Cesar Chavez did that night against Taylor? Ray Leonard found later Duran was an elusive Target in it right in front of him at point-blank range. Again though that was a more seasoned version.
I Don't put too much stock in the Sweet Pea Whitaker fight because it was fought at welterweight. Had it been at 135 or 140 I think would have been more meaningful.
You can't really compare though, leonard had a different style than taylor; he was more of a boxer puncher while taylor was a high volume boxer. Leonard was more methodical and therefore easier to anticipate defensively than a fighter like taylor who is throwing punches in bunches non stop. I very much doubt duran was evading more than a thousand punches, which is the amount of punches taylor threw in that fight. Ultimately, they were both very similar which is the reason why i think chavez stops de jesus in similar fashion.
LOl, look at the stats, taylor missed more than half of his punches; That of course doesn't say taylor couldn't land because we all know he could, it just means Chavez was better defensively than people give him credit for which was my initial point. He was at least as good defensively in his prime as was Duran
Chavez got hit a lot by Taylor and would have been nailed by Leonard as well. Leonard couldn't hit Duran. Leonard easier to anticipate than Taylor I don't think so.
I don't think DeJesus would have beaten Chavez, but he'd have given him a much tougher fight than Rosario did.
Sure, im just saying for a fighter who is that fast who throws over a thousand punches in a fight, its still an impressive defensive feat when you look at the fight footage how Chavez was able to making him miss. Out of the many flurries and combinations taylor threw, he was missing every second or third punch . Again, im not saying Chavez was a defensive wizard, but to be that aggressive while at the same time making your opponent miss that often is a testament to how effective his defensive was for an offensive fighter. Durans defense wasn't that much better
Leonard was not used to just banging on the inside; he was accustomed to fighting from range utilizing his height and reach. He fought Durans fight on the inside, so as a result it took him several rounds to get used to it, which is why he was head hunting and missing at close range. Eventually, he started targeting duran's body and he started to tire duran out which is the reason why I gave him most of the championship rounds. That's why im saying durans defense was no better than Chavez. Taylor was more disciplined at fighting on the inside than leonard; he was targeting Chavez body from the get go which leonard didn't do early enough on duran.
Taylor also had no power. Arm puncher. Leonard could stop you with either hand. Chavez couldnt roll with shots like Duran. A giant part of your defense is footwork and Duran had him beat there too. Chavez isnt close to Duran defensively IMO. Duran did so much suttle slick moves. Palomino fight is a prime example as is DeJesus lll
