What do you think? Both were very different stylistically but were excellent counter punchers, especially with the right hand. Who do you think showed better counter punching abilities? Duran seemed more slick and could counter while avoiding getting hit while JMM had to take a shot or two to fire his own counters in combinations.
i would really have to rewatch some old Duran fights before making such a comparison...ive always thought of Duran as an offensive fighter by comparison, JMM is my gold standard of modern day counterpunchr the punch that flattened Packeow was basically a timed counter, and it was probably one of the best single punches in the hidtory of the sport. right up there with Walcots single punch KO of Ezzard Charles
Personally l think Duran is a significantly better counterpuncher than JMM simply because he was alway in position to counterpunch. The Palomino fight is a great example as is the first round of the Barkley fight.
JMM. Just a preference for the way Marquez made adjustments throughout fights. * JMM had to weather Casamayor's speed and jab early on. By the 6th round Marquez was landing that sharp right hand almost at will and the fight completely changed * JMM countered the great MAB in their fight. The straight right over the jab was as perfect as you draw it up. * Juan Diaz in the first fight, JMM made adjustments to block the inside left hand and his countering right uppercut became a key weapon. * Vs Terdsak J. JMM is having a tough time and was being caught by the assertive Thai southpaw. But again JMM finds a home for the straight right down the pipe. The fight changes slowly and within 2 rounds JMM is backing the Thai up and bangs him out with that punch.
Duran at his best had bucketts of almost everything..I'm not sure I've ever seen a better range controller that Roberto Duran..this why he could sit in the pocket and make the other guy miss while countering him to death. In the morden game it's hard to look past Dynamita for the best counterpuncher..except maybe other than Mayweather who was simply far faster with it. Yes Marquez was a great counterpuncher,certainly the best of his generation(he was old when he met Money May and weight drained) but he did tend to take a few shots to deliver his conters. Excellent counterpuncher for sure JMM was.
Marquez was one of the best counter punchers ever and we had some great ones.. In the last 5 decades I could mention Wilfredo Benitez, James Toney, Muhammed Ali, Many Paquiao, Salvador Sanchez... All these fighters made a career fighting as counter punchers. Duran had it all.... Relentless attacking, counterpunching when he had to, excellent boxing skills weather it was outside, mid distance or infight. Definitely not one of the best counter punchers because it was not his bread and butter like those above but a much more complete fighter than almost all of them. Between the two, Marquez was a better counter puncher because he relied on that style.
Duran was better at everything but Marquez was a great counterpuncher too. I think his KO of Pacquaio was helped a bit by Pacquaio, coming in with his hands down in a moment of idiocy. I wouldn't put it on a greatest KO list personally. It was still a brilliant punch, of course.
At range, Marquez, inside Duran Technical - Maybe Marquez from a purity and how much he relied upon it I guess. Duran didn't rely on it as much, so it wasn't in the spotlight at much, so maybe it wasn't as "pretty". Functional - Duran, he integrated it within his style, to form a better offensive counter punching package.
Duran was simply better at all faucets of boxing than Marquez. That includes counter punching. Marquez seemed to get hit cleanly much more than Duran did before he countered. (Possibly because he stood straight up on most occasions with little bend at the waist) Marquez's counters came after repeatedly seeing the same mistake being made, he gets the rhythm and catches the opponent with the counter. Duran needed to see that mistake being made 2-3 times, his intuition and his reactions to openings were so much faster. Duran was simply a better fighter in all in all areas. Counter punching included .
