duran from montreal vs. Hearns from the 1st leonard fight

IMO any Hearns would knockout any Duran. This fight would last a little longer, but the outcome would be the same.

 

Put some high heel boxing shoes on him and he's got a chance

 

This is a better fight but I just think Hearns is a tough matchup for Duran. Duran woud have to force the action against Hearns. All Hearns would have to do is fire that jab and right hand and wait for Duran to make a mistake. Look out though if Duran got inside. A mauling would take place. But I think Hearns would get Duran by tko in 11.

 

This one would go down to the wire. I say Duran by NARROW decision, as Hearns hadn't quite peaked yet. But he would give Roberto all he could handle, while Duran would know that he was lucky to win and wouldn't be anxious to face Tommy again. One thing for sure, he would show much more respect for Hearns than he did Leonard.

 

I give Duran a pretty good shot here, He can land some big shots of his own and possibly survive for the distance and take a decision, but I just think Tommy is a horrible match up for him. He's like what, 7 or 8 inches taller, something like a 10 inch longer reach. A murderous puncher with fast hands and excellent technical skills, I don't see any lightweight beating Hearns, Duran included.

 

I think Hearns is a really bad match for Duran at any point, both physically and style wise. (That kind of hand speed and foot speed combined with that power? A major problem for Duran). Duran's best chance would be to rush him and try to hurt him bad early.

Strangely, according to a biography on him, Hearns was always in Duran's head... that was a time that they met years before they fought and Duran looked spooked and jumped like he'd seen a ghost. With that kind of physical and mental edge, it's hard to pick Duran to win, but maybe a younger Duran who was still hungry would have a shot.

I'd pick Tommy though.

 

Duran knew they would meet sometime down the road.

In all the bouts Hearns fought in, I don't remember him ever being intimidated.

 

Well put. We've all already seen Tommy brutally KO Duran. I just have a hard time seeing any other solution, save Duran maybe making it to a decision.

 

(I can't call it) :bolt
But I don't think Hearns pulls a Knockout over this version of Duran.

 

Hearns would have beaten Duran. If you were developing the perfect fighter from stratch to topple Duran it would be close to Hearns' skills and physical tools. The only area where Duran would always beat Hearns would be an inside affair round after round. But Hearns has the perfect attributes to tame him and dominate the action, thus nuetralizing Duran's kind of fight.

Yes, Duran was brilliant at getting inside on opponents. He was intelligent when it came to picking the perfect opportunties to strike, used fients, and slipped punches to counter extremely well indeed. However, Duran wasn't quite superman as some people like to think. As good as Duran's defense was he'd be tasting Hearns jab often, especially since he'd be coming forward to close the distance trying to get inside. And trust me, Duran getting past Hearns jab would mean he'd step right into his uppercut. Whenever this fight was at long range Hearns has the movement, speed, height, reach, and fluid style to box Duran and have him coming off second best.

And to make matters worse, power. Hearns was the first fighter ever to knock out Duran, although it was at 154lbs when Duran was past his prime and Hearns was pretty much still at his peak. Hearns knocking out Duran inside two rounds at welterweight isn't what I would call an impossible task, more an unlikey one. But with all that said I would pick Hearns to stop Duran around the 8th.