How good was Duran - P4P GOAT?

Duran was undoubtably a great fighter, but just how good? Some go as far as saying hes P4P no1 or P4P top 5. Whats undoubtable abotu Duran is his magnificent lightweight reign & his magnificent Leonard victory. What about the fighters he didn't face from 135-147 though? Whats also up for debate how good his career at 154 and 160 truly were.

Lightweight Reign - Excellent

An extremely dominant 6 year reign but as a whole the quality of competition is poor with no real ATGs. Highlights:

Buchanon - strengths - very skilled, jab, movement, tall, conditioned.

Dejesus - excellent fighter - but great? Probably not, Duran showed his mantle by dominating Dejesus a further 2 times. Cervantes also dominated Dejesus at 140. Duran-Cervantes would have been a great fight to make.

135 - Who was missed: Buchanon rematch (the first fight ended with a low blow), Arguello, Laguna (could the ex-champ have had a shot)

Welterweight (1hit wonder?)

SRL 1 - stupendous win, the highlight of Durans careera and a masterful performance. The only criticism of the win is SRL was still slightly green but it was a great win.
SRL 2 - dreadful doesn't win a round.
Palomino - very good win over an ex-belt holder

Who he missed at 140-147: Hearns, Pryor, Cervantes

Light Middleweight

Benitez - similarly sized Benitez outfoxes Duran

Kirkland Laing - very skilled operator that never proved himself above British level outside of Duran. A very embarassing defeat

Hearns - destroys Duran

Davey Moore - only a 12 fight veteran. Needless to say a very weak belt holder despite wins over Kalule and a past prime version of Benitez who was unfortunate to break his ankle. Moore would go onto be a journeyman

Cuevas - Cuevas was clearly on the slide and past prime but a good win none the less

Who he missed at 154 - McCallum, Curry, Julian Jackson

Middleweight

Hagler - Hagler was not at his best and Duran really pushed him but Hagler did seem to overly respect Duran.

Barkley - decent win BUT Barkley was not a top 5 middleweight when Duran edged a SD over him. Nunn, Benn, Kalambay, McCallum, Eubank, Bomber Graham, Mike Watson would all have whooped Duran and Barkley. BEnn took Barkley out in 1 round, Toney completely dominated Barkley who became something of a journeyman.

SRL 3 - 1 sided loss at a ripe age it must be said

Who Duran missed at 160 - Nunn, Benn, Kalambay, McCallum, Eubank, Bomber Graham, Steve Collins, Mike Watson

Total List Of Top Contenders Duran Didn't face 135-160 - Buchanon rematch (the first fight ended with a low blow), Arguello, Laguna (could the ex-champ have had a shot), Pryor, Cervantes, Julian Jackson, Nunn, Benn, Kalambay, McCallum, Eubank, Bomber Graham, Steve Collins, Mike Watson

Conclusion

Durans lightweight reign was dominant but with only 2 stand out wins. His win over Leonard was remarkable but his Welterweight reign is a 1hit wonder. At 154 he wasn't top5. At 160 his sole achievement was to beat a journeymen beltholder in Barkley who got lucky against Hearns. In fairness at this stage he was a side-show fighter

I have listed the fighters he didn't face not to downplay him but to show that he wasn't a dominant forced from 147-160 that some like to paint him as. He also wasn't facing and beating top fighters at either 154 or 160. He was only truly successfull at 135 and 147.

His success at 135 and 147 is truly great. How good? Very but not P4P GOAT in this writers opinion.

 

Define Great - do Buchannon, Palomino (past prime), Cuevas (past prime) qualify as great?

 

I think I'd have to agree that he lost to every great he faced. However hes slightly unlucky from a legacy stand point he didn't get a Arguello type of fighter at 135.

Theres a fine line between a great and very good fighter and many very good fighters may beat greats.

Its very disapointing we didn't see Duran fight at 140 against Pryor, Benitez, Cervantes because 140 may have been his best weight.

Then again he may not have had the chance to take Leonard down if he got beat at 140.

 

He hadn't peaked when he lost to DeJesus and it probably made him come back better. I think hes aloud that 1 learning loss that he avenged twice.

When taking a closer look at Durans lightweight resume though it looks very very thin outside of Dejesus and Buchannon