And thats Pure bull**** . It's quite shocking a boxing trainer would think Ward has more skill than Roberto Duran lol. Ward has a lot of skill but Duran was a genius. Duran has one of the most, if not the most complete skillsets of any fighter we have extensive footage of and is a certified top 10 ATG. Duran's considered the greatest inside fighter of all time and possessed one of the slickest defences of all time. As good as Ward is he can only dream of possessing the craft and skill Duran had on the inside. I hope you were trolling there Billy boy because that comment is laughable. This content is protected This content is protected This content is protected God level skill ^
Because both are considered brilliant on the inside so there's a comparison to be made in that regard. Duran's in-fighting was a seamless blend of offence and defence. Ward's inside work is very crafty but no where near as sophisticated as Duran's.
A inexcusable quit because he couldn't take Leonards clowning. Leonard was only up one round on the cards and Duran was never hurt once in the fight and virtually unmarked when he quit which made the whole thing even more bizarre . Duran had to cut a lot of weight due to excessive partying and wasn't the animal mentally and physically that he was in Montreal. On top of that Leonard employing a hit run and clown tactic that enraged Duran so much he turned his back and quit. Great tactics by the brilliant Ray Leonard. Even with the quit job and getting sparked by Tommy Hearns among other defeats like Benitez and Laing Duran still carved out a career top 10 ATG worthy and at his best is one of the most skilled to ever lace them up. Excessive partying and poor discipline in training camp was Duran's only real weakness as a fighter.
Definitely an all time great. I don't think Duran landed anything significant in that 2nd fight from memory, I need to watch it again, but it was an absolute masterclass from Leonard. I struggled to split them in the first fight to be honest. I've no idea how they could score it cos they leathered each other on the inside and momentum swung both ways throughout each round.
Fair enough point. Duran's inside work was menacing and intimidating, relied on strength and pressure. Agreed Ward is very crafty on the inside as well as subtle.
They use/used the inside for different purposes so not convinced of the comparison. Duran used the inside to attack, throwing hooks, bodyshots and uppercuts, to basically bombard his opponent. Ward uses the inside to defend, he defuses and frustrates his opponents. He's proper naughty with it and it wins him fights. P4P I love Duran, but his jab wasn't great. Ward would have dealt with him. Just my opinion, mind,
Duran won by a couple of Rounds in the first fight imo. The commentary were pretty biased towards Leonard. It's a fight best watched with the volume down. Duran had Leonard missing by millimetres with his slipping and ducking. Epic stuff from both guys. The second fight Duran wasn't as sharp or ferocious as he was in Montreal, and didn't land anything heavy appart from body shots. Cutting so much weight obviously had an effect on him. I wouldn't call it a absolute masterclass from Leonard either though. I think people have an image of Leonard showboating and think that's what went on the whole fight which is wrong. It was competitive with Leonard getting the better of most of the exchanges. Then in the last couple of Rounds he went on his bike and started clowning around with Duran but not really engaging. The commentary was terrible in that fight as well.
