How good was Duran's chin

Back then,when I scored that fight I really discounted the down as they didn't call it one,at got the fight a draw.

Either way Sims always had the better chance of winning at people's scores for this fight.

 

One stoppage loss in his career 20 pounds above his peak weight against the biggest puncher of the era who ended up a world champion at 175. Can't go lower than a 9.

 

I haven't been scoring the fight but it does look pretty even otherwise. That fight was probably Sims at his best.

Why do you say that?

 

I'd say it was because of the deduction, I had Duran ahead by two points at round 8,then Duran lost the round and got deducted,which makes the fight even closer.

The fifth round was a war that Sims arguably prevails if you look from the early going, Duran evens the round at the end tho.

Then that supposed slip could be a down you said,for all these three reason Robbie actually had a reason to win by 3 points,but the fight was thin,real thin to properly score.

 

Ah, I agree with you. I originally thought you were saying something about how he would've been the favorite to win, or something or other, and that's why he'd have the better chance at winning on people's scorecards.

I think that's what makes this fight so great. Just two evenly matched guys in the trenches throwing short punches round after round.

 

His chin was solid, but as others already said he rolled with a lot of shots and often didn't really get hit spot on.

I would have loved to have seen him against Ike Williams at lightweight. DeJesus floored him with left hooks and Ike could definitely crank the hooks a lot harder than him. Would have been interesting.

 

Somewhere between 8 - 9

Duran gets a reasonable pass versus Hearns; because Tommy's magic would turn any iron chin into jelly.

 

Ten when in prime condition, which he definitely was not for Hearns. Coming off of what he did against a peak Hagler over the Championship Distance, he made the mistake of taking a new SMW stylist Tommy too lightly, partying his way into that disaster. But as SRL kept repeating, Hearns was a "big wagon," who would have no difficulty carrying his power into higher weights. Tommy pulled off a perfect ambush.

In Cuevas mode, Hearns repeatedly buckled the willowy Randy Shields (who had gone the Championship Distance with Pipino, but had also been dropped and stopped by Benitez), and the only warning about what Tommy was going to try to Roberto was when he re-embraced the Hit Man nickname during the pre fight introductions. I've often wondered how Duran-Hearns II might've gone after Duran-Barkley, as there's no way Roberto would've taken Hearns lightly again, while Tommy might've been overconfident in a rematch.

Great conditioning can be immense when considering punch resistance. Eddie Davis was in what was by far the very best shape of his career for Michael Spinks, walked through everything the Jinx had, and nobody ever came closer to defeating Michael at 175. (I just wish that one had been over the Championship Distance instead of only 12 rounds.)

 

That Hearns detonation of Duran might be my favorite single punch in boxing history--(with "Smokin Joe's" 15th round wrecking ball left hook against Muhammad Ali in the FOTC a close second!)

 

Great post, John. Yet again I am not surprised.

 

The Hearns punch that felled Duran reminded me of the punch Hearns decked Pipino with. Devastating right hands that came from a downward trajectory with tremendous speed and power. What always surprised me is that SRL,a devastating puncher himself, never came close to hurting Duran, much less decking him. I wonder how Duran himself rated Leonard's punching power?

 

A solid eight.

 

He did off balance Duran at some moments in no mas,but that's all because Duran rolled a ton of punches.

 

Absolutely correct in your analysis sir. Duran took Hearns too lightly, partied it up and paid the price. Hearns vs Duran 2 would have been way different Duran would've trained hard like he did against Barkley. In some ways the Barkley win for Duran redeemed him for the loss to Hearns, since Barkley beat Hearns twice. As for chin, Cuevas, Leonard, Hagler none of these guys ever rocked Roberto. The Sims fight was a very hot affair outside and Duran shouldn't have been deducted a point either. After the fight Sims was asked what he thought Duran "had left" by a reporter and he didn't hesitate "I think he's got a lot left!"

 

As Randy Shields and Benitez previously stated themselves, SRL telegraphed his shots, so if you weren't intimidated, didn't flinch, and saw all Rays punches seemingly coming in slow motion, he wasn't likely to hurt you if you were in top condition.

Often, Duran actually seemed to enjoy getting hit. That mentality can segue into some first rate defensive elusiveness.