Duran beat Leonard more convincingly than I originally thought.

Yeah, in the clinch Duran was immense, he can't be 'handled' there, not by any1.

 

Duran was probably the best I ever saw with his abillity to roll with punches. Leonard was vicious with that left hook to the body and head, and when he threw that looping right hand for power. I need to re-watch this fight just because it's a great one, but I don't recall Duran being in any serious trouble during the fight. That's pretty amazing considering how many hard punches Leonard threw.
Duran pretty much jumped a weight class to beat one of the greatest welters ever. Leonard brawled with the master brawler. I don't recall anyone ever trying that with Duran in his prime (Hagler was even tentative against Duran). I don't think there were any knockdowns, because on this night, I think the will of each fighter was too great to allow that. Where's this fight rank historically? It has to be pretty high.

 

The Ring done a good section on the 10 biggest title fights of all-time back in 1996. It was the issue with "Tyson-Holyfield, finally" on the front cover. I'm sure historically they rated Duran-Leonard I very high on their list. Does anyone have this issue? If so, please post the list.

 

This content is protected

Thats the issue. And at the top reads "The 100 greatest title fights of all-time" I'm sure Duran Leonard I was about halfway down the top 10.

 

To me, in the first fight Duran had too much experience for Leonard.

Duran was 71-1, while Leonard was 27-0.

Duran had beaten basically all the contenders at Lightweight, Palomino at welter, and was a man on a mission when he went in against Leonard.

Ray's sheepish grin at the end of the fight pretty much told the story.

 

He looked more DOMINANT vs Dejesus but considering quality of opposition, I dont think he`s ever looked better than vs Leonard in montreal. A true ATG performance that showed every part of Duran`s well rounded game.

I had the fight close, about 2 or 3 pts to Duran.

Ps. Id fancy Leonard by a similar margin if you put the SRL of `no mas` in with Duran of montreal.

:thumbsup

 

Duran beat Leonard from pillar to post in that fight. Enough said.

 

Yeah, thats like saying RJJ/Toney was a close fight.

 

Decided to go on youtube and watch this fight again, for the first time in years. It's a tough fight to score. I'd say rounds 2,3,4, and 9 were clearly Duran's. I also gave Duran rounds 7, 8 & 12 although they were close. I gave round 5, 6, 11, and 13-15 for Leonard who came on somewhat at the end, particularly the 15th, where Duran coasted. I scored rounds 1 and 10 a tie, but truthfully, about 9 or 10 rounds were close enough to go either way. The big difference to me was that Duran initiated the action and dictated where they fought, (ie on the ropes) most of the fight, and the rounds he won, particularly 2-4 were decisive, even wobbling Leonard in the 2nd round. It was a fight where Duran often landed fewer but harder punches, and dictated the action and where the fight took place, while Leonard landed more punches in combinations and mixed this up with a number of power punches. This is why it's a hard fight to score.

It's amazing they both made it through that fight standing up.

Awesome fight!!

 

Good post. I think it was a close fight, but most of those "either way" rounds I'd give to Duran. As you say, he dictated the action.

 

Duran rocked Leonard on several occasions & dictated the entire fight. He gave away the last couple of rounds & it was still 9 rounds to 6 for Duran. Duran partied for 5 months & had not properly trained for the rematch. Leonard as much as said he wanted a rematch asap because he knew he could not beat a prime Duran at his best. Duran is one of the ten best fighters of all time.:hey

 

I think Duran was always landing more punches by sheer activity, while Leonard's combos looked flashier.

 

That was the best Duran at Welter, I think Duran rocked Leonard early on the 2nd or 3rd rds and it gave Duran a big edge, even though the fight was ebb and flow, Duran mantained the dominance....Leonard fought his fight and Duran was fast and strong...I had Duran ahead by 2 rounds or so 8- 6- 1 but Duran had 2 impressive rds that stood out dominant, that cappped it

 

That's pretty close to my score as well. They were pretty even in the mid rounds, but Duran established an early lead by winning the first 3 or 4 rounds.

 

Well having just watched the fight, I'd have to slightly disagree with this comment. Certainly there were many round where Leonard did his Ali stitch by throwing combinations near the end of the round. In fact he would often throw combinations to the body during the entire fight when backed against the ropes. Having said that, I don't believe these punches were as effective as Duran's in terms of power and Duran was clearly the aggressor. But if punch stats were available, I think the total number of punches landed would be damn close and it wouldn't surprise me if Leonard actually landed more punches, even though I felt Duran won the fight.