Why did Duran go from LW to WW? I have never heard of an official reason on why he skipped 140. I figure it's because the money from a SRL fight, but a Hawk fight would've been amazing.
I really believe that the main obstacle is the monetary gain for Roberto Duran, he felt he would have more to gain by fighting a legitimate superstar like Sugar Ray Leonard.
Definitely money driven. Way more dollars to fight Sugar Ray then Pryor. With that said, Pryor vs Duran would have been a classic.
When Duran moved up to welterweight, Pryor was still a lightweight fighting guys like Scotty Foreman and Marion Thomas. He was on no ones radar as anything other than a prospect. The only big match at 140 for Duran would have been Cervantes and he wasn't exactly renowned in American rings. So if there was going to be a money match, welterweight was getting hot and heavy with Leonard, Hearns, Cuevas, Benitez, etc.
The $ and I don't think Jr. Divisions held as much esteem in those days. Benitez and Leonard being there made the division bankable. Cuevas too.
Leonard was THE global star at the lower weights and Duran wanted that acclaim. watch his interviews even some people close to him didn't think he could beat Leonard so he wanted to prove them wrong. Leonard had had a relatively easy ride to the top so Duran was pissed off with that as well.
People saying "because he wanted to fight Leonard" .... can you cite where he gave that as his reason ? Leonard was still many months away from being champ when Duran moved up.
If Duran went to 140 instead of 147 and stayed there for a few fights i would venture to say he would have been as hard to beat as anyone at any weight ever.
Leonard was not champ yet, but the writing was on the wall. SRL was ABC's media darling with the Olympic gold medal. The public and the media loved the guy. Duran and his people could see this. P.P. Smartest thing Ray Leonard ever did was hire Mike Trainer as his lawyer.
I don't think it was strictly because of Leonard. Ray wasn't even a world champion yet when Duran began fighting at 147. I think it was weight issues and that the 147 division was more lucrative in general than 140. I think he may have been initially eyeing Benitez and Cuevas. Notice he fought Palomino shortly after Carlos was dethroned by Wilfred. He was probably actually pi$$ed that Leonard got a shot before him which only added to his motivation to beat the media darling.
Leonard definitely took a proper path to the 147-pound championship. He beat contenders like: Andy Price — the ‘uncrowned champion,’ who had defeated both Carlos Palomino and Pipino Cuevas (who went on to hold, at the same time period, the two welter belts after he beat them) by KO 1 Pete Ranzany — NABF champion and former title challenger Tony Chiaverini — Ranked No. 4 at junior middle Marcos Geraldo — Full-blown middleweight, champion of Mexico and California Fernand Marcotte — Canadian middleweight champ Randy Shields — Ranked No. 5 by WBC at welter Roger Mayweather — Floyd Mayweather, ranked No. 6 by Ring Magazine at 147 Plus some decent competition like Adolfo Viruet and Armando Muniz, a four-time title challenger who had gone the full 15 in a challenge of Palomino earlier the same year. That resume is a LOT better than most before challenging for a world title.
