1980: If SRL had fought Cuevas instead of Duran....

And Wilfred didnt have the power to win the WBA title. Benitez was a creampuff-all stare and no action.

 

he never lacked power when he flattened Maurice Hope

 

The optimum time for the two to meet was in the Spring of 1980 when Cuevas had 11 welterweight title defences and SRL had zero.

Common opponents included Pete Ranzany (goes 2 rounds with Cuevas and a year later 4 rounds with SRL) and Randy Shields (goes 10 round distance with SRL and later 15 rounds distance with Cuevas).

Shields was a small welterweight, but had a good chin and fought most of the jr. welter and welter contenders of that era. At that point in time he had a good record 33-5-1 record.

The Shields-Cuevas fight might show Cuevas could be outboxed and was beginning to slip a little bit.

Cuevas as a fighter was running about 9 months ahead of SRL, and all the boxing mags were speculating on this potential fight.

So if Ray keeps his cool, he could outbox Cuevas. But I think he will try to go mano y mano, and one of those Cuevas left hooks will find its mark in the first 6 rounds and that will be all she wrote.

 

I agree with the factual points you've made in hindsight...but if I remember correctly, Duran was judged to be the best, or at the very least one of the best boxers P4P at that time. The performance against palomino did nothing to hurt Duran's standing in that regard. The fights against Wheatly, Nsubuga (? spelling), and Gonzalez were considered tune-ups to adjust to the weight.
Cuevas was considered a verydangerous force, but I think Duran was considered the better overall fighter. Duran was not considered an 'easy option' by any stretch.

 

"Cuevas was considered a verydangerous force, but I think Duran was considered the better overall fighter. Duran was not considered an 'easy option' by any stretch."

I used to love that story about Duran, when as a unbeatable force at Lightweight saw Leonard parading around on ABC Wide World of Sports after a fight, said "Get me that "MoFo", we are moving up in weight".

 

at that time, anybody who considered cuevas, duran, benitez or hearns easy options were very foolish

 

Cuevas would have a chance to kayo Leonard. If Leonard tried to outslug like in Montreal, I pick Cuevas. Leonard could win if he stayed away.

 

Duran an easy option? The guy was like 72-1 at the time of his first fight with Leonard wasn't he?

 

leonard could slug and punch is well so his chances are good either way against cuevas. he outslugged thomas hearns to ko him and nearly outfought duran in montreal

 

Rememebr Leonard and Dundee were acused of ducking Hearns for quite a substancial time but later proved they were simply waiting for the fight to get bigger, and bigger. With Cuevas getting beat he never had the same opportunity. Imagine where the expected solid Leonard victory over Duran in their initial encounter would have left the unification.....

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Personally i don't think Ray was ducking Cuevas.

 

Against Duran, Leonard seemed a little in awe of the huge spectacle. Leonard looked intimidated by Duran & pretty much let Roberto due what he pleased. This would be a costly error against Cuevas. If Leonard were to let Cuevas dictate the pace & tee off with his powerful left hook, Leonard would be in big trouble. He did do well against Benitez, but there was no intimidation factor, Benitez had minimal power. However after the Duran fight, Leonard was a totally different fighter. Maybe due to Dundee or I don't know, but he looked ready for any situation therafter. Possible if not for the Duran fight, Leonard might not have been able to handle Hearns in thier showdown a year later.

 

Leonard had too many tools for Cuevas,imo he stop him late,around the 9th .Whatever you think of SRl he had heart, and a chin to go with his skills.

 

The Spring 1980 SRL - Duran fight was a title defense for Ray.

A Spring 1980 SRL - Cuevas fight would been a Unification Fight for all the marbles.

Maybe it was for $$$$ that it didn't happen....and that was a shame.

 

Why would anyone accuse him of ducking Heans? No one knew who he was yet and had barely made his mark. Cuevas was far more established than Tommy was in 1980 and had been champion longer than Tommy had been a pro. :smoke

 

Ray had the skills, he just didnt have the chin and that's what matters most in thi type of fight. Cuevas isn't going to try finessing him.

I also dont think Leonard was capable of maintaining the pace with so demanding opponent. This is why he failed in the Duran fight. Many people like to say Duran was performing at supernatural levels but this was nothing unusual for Pipino and was the kind of pace Cuevas normally set. That's why so many opponents bowed out early so it's not a question of if but a question of when Cuevas would get him out of there.