Duran ran badly out of stamina at the end. It could have been fairly close though. Sims wasn't too impressive and basically just worked a lot to get the decision which is what he should have done to beat an aging Duran. 156 lbs seemed to be Duran's ideal weight at middleweight, whenever he fought at 160 and above he just looked out of shape.
Duran deserved a draw for sure.... But, Duran went low on Sims in round 8 or 9 while Sims hit Duran on the side of the head and, off balance, Duran went down... But Duran didn't lose a point for falling to the floor, but because he threw the low blow...That point deduction screwed Duran blue on the cards in June 1986..... MR.BILL
I thought Duran won by two or three and was surprised at the decision. Barkley style situation where he was doing the cleaner punching and better defensive work most of the time.
I remember the fight as being close and I think this fight was on the undercard of Little Stevie Cruz vs Barry McGuigan. Is that correct? I am a big Duran fan, but do not recall being too upset with the decision.
The fight took place in Vegas outside of Caesars in June 1986....... The card on PPV was: "Hearns-Medal" "Duran-Sims" "McGuigan-Cruz." I have the card on video..... All in all, Cruz taking the crown from McGuigan in 100 degree heat probably stole the show.... Yes, Yes, Duran and Sims fought a good fight too, but Sims getting the close shave nod bummed me... I wanted a draw bad..... Hearns and Medal fought a snoozer... Hearns claims he hurt his right early on Medals head and basically speared Medal to death to get the TKO somewhere around the 9th stanza.... MR.BILL