One of Duran's less discussed peformances but an interesting fight in that it doesn't seem to follow the 'Duran in shape = beats everyone / Duran out of shape = loses to nobodies' dichotomy that tends to get offered up on the forum. A caveat - this is not an anti- or pro-Duran thread so please keep the bias at bay and just analyse this fight. And if you haven't seen it, either watch it before you comment or don't comment at all. My view on this fight is that it was close and could have gone either way but that the point deduction Duran suffered in the 8th cost him the fight - and this is borne out in the official scoring with Jerry Roth's 95-94 card to Sims being the deciding card in the SD win for Sims. In terms of the way he looked, Duran appeared to be in excellent physical condition and looked ready and focussed - and with good reason. The fight was on a big Vegas card, sharing the spotlight with the McGuigan-Cruz and Hearns-Medal fights, and it was his latest comeback fight on the big stage (the first big event he'd been part of since his brutal KO at the same venue 2 years earlier against Thomas Hearns). In terms of his performance, I thought Duran fought well too. He just ran out of steam against a younger fighter (who was clearly focussed and ready himself) but it wasn't a disgraceful performance by any means (he'd looked worse in other fights and won) and the decision was very close too. So what is your view of the fight? Did Duran lose in your opinion? And how do you think he looked? Does this fight have any bearing on how we view Duran's work above lightweight and welterweight? It wasn't an off night and he would best Barkley two and a half years later so we know he still had something left in the tank. So why/how did he lose to a lesser fighter in Sims?
I remember being surprised at the time reading in the magazines just how close it was. Years later, upon seeing it on YouTube, I thought the close verdict for Sims was about right. Duran could have worked himself into better shape had he taken a few more tuneup. Haven't looked at Boxrec to confirm but it seems like he only had a couple fights in '86 leading up to Sims. He just ran out of gas.
Jel, this was my score and what I wrote about the fight a couple of months ago when viewing. Really enjoyed this one. Round 1: 10-9 Duran Round 2: 10-10 Even Round 3: 10-9 Sims Round 4: 10-10 Even Round 5: 10-9 Sims Round 6: 10-9 Duran Round 7: 10-9 Duran Round 8: 10-9 Sims (scored it even, but Duran lost a point for a low-blow) Round 9: 10-10 Even Round 10: 10-9 Sims Total: 97-96 Sims First of all - great fight! Fought in tight with beautiful, clean punches on both sides. Just felt Sims was a bit busier against the aging Duran who was puffing at the end. I had a number of even rounds but when you see the long levels of infighting, you'll know why.
Great, original thread Jel! Always enjoyed this fight. I first watched it for my 'Roberto Duran, The Thread', and had it 97/94 for Sims. Since, I've rewatched it and my scorecard is below. Very, very close fight but I tend to agree that the right man won. Action-wise it was a very good fight. I always remember it as a simple case for Duran landing cleaner, but getting out-worked by the bigger, younger man. Very good win for Sims given the form Duran would show a few years later. This was actually the fight which made me a fan of Sims. Anyway, here was my scorecard: This content is protected 9 : 10 10 : 9 9 : 10 10 : 9 9 : 10 (47/48) 9 : 10 10 : 9 10 : 8 10 : 9 9 : 10 ( This content is protected )
Yeah, I thought he fought very well and he probably elevated his performance level being in with Duran on such a stage. Not that this is an excuse for Duran losing to lesser fighters than himself (and I don't think this is the case here) but if you'r ae relative journeyman pro and you get the opportunity to step into the ring with a legend like Duran there's a decent chance the performance level of that fighter is going to go up. Of course, the opposite could also be true and stage fright or intimidation could set in... But I think both fighters came to win, performed very well and the result, though close, was fair. I think that's what makes this fight a bit of an anomaly in Duran's latter career (within the context of the 1980s, anyway).
Roberto Duran v Robbie Sims Good, close fight that could have gone either way, although I think the judges got this just about right overall. The point deduction in the 8th was crucial though. Duran was edging ahead and that cost him his lead and meant he needed two strong rounds back to back. He had one in the 9th to even things up, leaving it down to the final round to decide the winner. Sims clearly took the round with the higher workrate and the better punches landed while Duran seemed content to mug and not throw enough. It cost him at least a draw. 1 10-9 2 9-10 3 9-10 (close. Duran definitely had his moments but thought he was just outworked a bit. Good round.) 4 10-9 (Duran picked his shots well and slipped Sims' punches) 5 9-10 6 10-9 (good round for Duran) 7 10-9 (another good round for Duran) 8 8-10 (Duran started the round well but Sims took over in the second half. Duran also lost a point) 9 10-9 (good recovery from Duran) 10 9-10 (Sims outworks and outlands Duran in the deciding round) Duran 94-95 Sims 5 rounds apiece but Sims edges it on my card and the official ones due to Duran's point deduction in the 8th.
I gave it to Duran by a point. I remember it being controversial among the Duran crowd, with shouts of robbery and whatnot. It wasn’t, though I’m surprised everyone here has scored it pretty much the exact same way for Sims. Then again I’m surprised there’s never been much controversy with the Barkley fight. Both were razor close with several different rounds that could’ve gone one way or the other. Sims isn’t as highly regarded, but he was on the same level as Barkley, I’d say. Beat a young Iran, actually. That was a damn good action fight, too. A 10 rounder leaves less room for error than a 12 rounder. Especially when the fight has a deciding factor like the point deduction. In Duran vs Barkley the deciding factor was the late knockdown. Otherwise both of these fights were legitimate either way type affairs. The deciding factor went in Duran’s favor against Barkley. Against Sims it went against him. He still looked good to me. Had some great counters and some sweet moves. He hurt Sims at the very end of the second or third with a right, I remember. Anyways, I don’t think Duran would’ve ever had much more success at Middleweight against this class of fighter. He’d win some and lose some in close fights against a lot of second tier Middleweights. He was a second tier Middleweight himself.
