Boxing masterclass? - Sugar Ray Leonard

The first two are interesting .. exceptional credit for Duran moving up and edging one of the best pound for pound fighter of the second half of the 20th Century .. that said it was the fight it was because Ray fought Duran's fight period ... the second fight had other interesting points .. for starters Durasn was not properly prepared , all his fault but a fact ... second despite the fact Leonard boxed the fight through five was far from one sided , it was actually competitive until Duran, likely realizing he was not up to the task physically and livid over Leonard's showboating, packed it in ...

 

Yep, a masterclass of epic proportion. Showed up confident with a game plan and utterly humiliated Duran. Showed smoothness, technique and his trademark charisma, and Duran quitting was just the icing on the cake. I know a lot of Duran fans refuse to believe it, but this fight was absolutely a masterclass and the ultimate redemption story.

 

Warned for what exactly? Being a big ol' meanie pants?

 

Imagine in a sport where your goal is to beat your opponent unconscious that a little teasing and mockery is considered a foul.

 

If only within the confines of the sport, Duran were allowed to do something about Ray’s taunting … like hit him or something.

 

RJJ showed James Toney what you do when someone makes faces at you.

 

Actually, that’s just how I saw the first fight as it played out, before hearing whatever Ray or Angelo had to say on the matter after the fact - and the commentators were of the same opinion in real time.

Not that their opinion makes me more right - just noting that these observations were made before any potential embedding of false narratives.

Not to discredit the effect and successes of Duran’s pressure in its own right - it was sublimely intense and at different times and in varying degrees that relentless pressure did force Ray into a brawl without alternative option but I do feel Ray accommodated Duran’s style to a self defeating degree.

Factoring that observation realistically into a forecast - after Montreal, because Ray still ran Roberto so close fighting Duran’s fight, I felt the rematch would be somewhat different if Ray fought exactly to his own strengths.

Of course that’s just my imo also Rob - I
think the rematch can be seen to vindicate the aforementioned view on Ray’s less than ideal strategy in the first fight but of course Duran had his own back story to argue that he himself was understated for the rematch - and somewhat removed from his Montreal form.

 

I would argue that SRL was out of ideas and in reaction mode to Duran's feints and pressure. I don't think he fought the wrong strategy as much as he was confused. If anything, SRL was moving a lot in the opening round but Duran was able to track him down quickly. SRL got back in the fight by doing something counterintuitive; he pushed Duran back.

In the rematch, Duran was definitely not the same fighter and Leonard started mixing up his foot rhythm more than he did on Montreal. It really confused Duran who already looked as flat as a 1 month opened bottle of soda. Duran actually started tracking Leonard's movements again despite looking like a slug. This time though, SRL was actually getting the better of the lethargic Duran on the inside. One thing to notice was that Duran looked completely out of steam after his short rally in a couple of rounds. Not only that, SRL was playing his foot rhythm again plus he was taunting Duran. Duran had nothing left physically and was broken psychologically as well.

A lethargic Duran still showed that he could track down an even slightly improved SRL (although briefly). That tells me that the Duran in the first fight would have still troubled Leonard with the pressure and made it a very close fight.

 

As I recall, in Montreal, Ray was notably more flat footed from the outset. Duran took full advantage and it exacted such a toll in the early rounds, Ray’s full capability to move was taken away in the later rounds. So, there was a point in fight 1 when Ray’s option to move was eventually no longer available to him.

If Ray had moved from the outset in Montreal and kept moving (as he did in New Orleans), the whole dynamic would’ve been changed somewhat.

It would’ve seen Duran chasing and missing more, expending more unfulfilled energy, whilst copping periodic and incrementally more damaging offensive bursts from Ray and becoming increasingly frustrated with it all. The steady momentum Duran was allowed to build in Montreal would be broken and disarmed.

To flatly say Ray fought to his best potential in fight 1 but conversely suggest that Duran was lethargic and well below himself in the rematch thus allowing Ray to shine more is kinda like wanting to have your cake and eat it too.

Even before the dynamic settled down in either fight, the difference in Ray’s approach and strategy, in their own right, from fight 1 to fight 2, immediately from opening bell was very obvious imo.

 

Very good. In fact your little exchange with @lonestar has been a micrcocosm of the No Mas fight where you have looked razor sharp but this may be down to the performance of your opponent as well. The jury's still out on you, clinikill

Something about Leonard that gets some of our more brain dead posters riled and encourages them to air their talents. There was one called Red Rooster/Mark Dunham who could be relied to pounce on every Leonard thread to say that his loss to Camacho at age 41 - and without a fight in six years - was evidence that, despite beating prime Hearns, Benitez, Duran etc, he was actually crap.

 

Well given how much James had eaten since the weigh-in, let's be glad they weren't identical. Even with Toney's huge shorts, that would have been nasty.

 

You are putting words in my mouth. I never said SRL fought his absolute best fight. I am saying he still fought a great fight but didn't quite find the most ideal method of neutralizing Duran.

 

It’s funny (ironic) that some people criticize Leonard for allegedly ‘not wanting to fight Duran at his best,’ but nobody criticizes Duran for all his antics leading up to the first fight designed to get Leonard to not fight his best style — to lure him into a slugfest instead of wanting to beat a Leonard who used his boxing skills.

(Not to mention it was Leonard, not Duran, who went on a run the day of the second fight to make weight.)