FANTASY FIGHT: Roberto Duran vs Terence Crawford (15 Rounds/Poll)

Lol those pics are funny.

I got Duran in their first match then Bud in the rematch

 

Make it a trilogy. Each one at a different weight as they move up.

 

well at the weight Crawford is still the bigger man and wasn't quite the fighter he would later become, where as Duran was already marked as a great at the weight and Roberto fought bigger greats too as he moved up.

so I'm obliged to say Duran, but an upset wouldn't at all be a surprise...

at LW it has to be Roberto...

 

Duran was a monster at lightweight.As good as Crawford is he ain`t beating Roberto

 

Duran no question

 

Duran beats the **** out of Bud.

 

Duran.
No way I'm picking against Roberto here'.

 

Let's be honest. Duran made a career off of ducking. He'd never fight Crawford, just like he wouldn't fight Pryor or McCallum or Spinks. He'd pull his move and shift weight classes and find a style he thinks benefits him, and duck the ones that will make him needa poo mid-fight. He was a scared fighter then and he'd be a scared fighter now. First he tried to preserve his 0, then his 1, then his 2, then his 3..../thread.

 

yeah, he was, a 120 times.

 

Hell,he wouldn't even fight old Foreman!!

 

At 135 this is all about Roberto Duran. Crawford is long and lean with physical advantages but he was still somewhat green at 135. One of Bud's big advantages was his mean streak but his would pale in comparison to Roberto's.

As an aside, at 147 I would take Crawford. Duran had great moments above lightweight but other than his classic win over Ray Leonard he never beat an all-time great fighter at 147 or above.

 

I think a major deciding factor here is the weightclasses. Crawford didn't seem as durable and powerful at 135 and although still tremendously skilled and strong he wasn't quite the offensive force he'd become at 140 and 147. Duran on the other hand would be at his best here. The higher we go in weight the tougher it will be for Duran but at 135 I don't think he loses to Bud.

Stylistically I think Duran would pose similar problems to Bud that Madrimov did at 154 and Porter did at 147, atleast in the early going. Crawford would have a hard time finding Duran with anything clean while Duran would be ripping him to the body up close and catching him with big shots to the head at mid range before escaping any return fire with his head movement. I can see Duran possibly even scoring a knockdown early on.

The longer the fight goes the better Crawford does, as usual. Eventually he switches to southpaw and starts timing Duran's entries and picking up on his tendencies to find countering opportunities, likely starts attacking Duran's body aswell when he finds the head too difficult a target. I think his right handed jab troubles Duran a good bit for the duration of the fight.

As adaptable as Crawford is Duran was also incredibly adaptable and versatile and would be able to make adjustments to get past Crawford's jab and counter his counters. I don't think Crawford was defensively disciplined enough to shut down Duran's offense in the way that somebody like Benitez did and this would allow Duran to pick holes in his defense, hurting him a few times and continuing to have success over the last few rounds. Still I think Crawford through his grit and intelligence likely finishes the stronger of the two. By the end of the fight I think Duran wins a very competitive but relatively clear decision winning maybe 9 rounds to 6 or 8 to 7 with a possible knockdown.

Overall I think Duran would prove too slippery and too difficult for Crawford to fully figure out, and his aggression allows him to build up a strong lead through the early rounds and he'd be able to adapt to Crawford's adaptations in the last few rounds to capture the win in what would be a fantastic technical war.