I came to a few conclusions. There are three Duran's. The first is the rushing onslaught who threw caution to the wind and was as hungry and as war ready as a younger fighter gets. Watching him against Buchanan showed me that he was an animal in the ring going of all instinct and slight boxing skill. He could box but he did half hearted. He wanted to get close and unload. He overwhelmed his opponent with speed, power, and pressure. His defense was at it worst during this time. He could be hit and dropped because at times he was wild and open...if you had the nerve and power to stand there and deliver the shot. The second was the basically the same as the first version but this one learned from his mistakes and started to add his version of boxing. Lateral movement, purposeful jabbing, slipping and countering but still coming on with about the same firepower when the situation called for it. This version came around his 59th fight at lightweight and lasted until the second Leonard fight. This was the prime thinking animal that will never be seen again. He was on you from the bell but you had to deal with his fast hands, his feints, and mixes of punches, and of course the defense that was in the mature stages. He still took punches here and there but he really never took a flush shot at this period. The third movement of Duran is the one I admire the most. This is the guy that is supposed to be all done. He has been No Mas'ed and Laing'ed. He lose Arcel and Brown, he could not keep his weight under control and he was destroyed in 2 by Hearns. Yet this Duran for me is the best of the three in defense, and countering, and just outright skill. Gone were the bull-rushes and lateral movement. Now he was simply flat-footed and overweight. Yet his chin, heart, and guile were at there finest. Every time he stepped in the ring he was supposed to beaten by the bigger younger contenders/champions yet by the middle of the fight he was laying out a beating or giving as good as he got and surprising everyone watching. His destruction of Pipino Cuevas and Davey Moore showed his slipping, rolling and countering skill at it's finest. His going the distance with Hagler at times making Marvin move away for an entire round rather than engage with the former LW. Then his war with Iran Barkley who just finished taking care of Hearns. Seriously, Duran is in his mid 30 to late 30's and is way smaller yet his skill at slipping punches and drawing guys into punches all the while trying to overcomes his own fatigue and age are a marvel to me. If I could fight like any fighter, it would be this version of Duran. This was a truly a unique fighter. He was born and fought his entire life from 15 until 50. If I ever met this man I would not pretend not to be a huge fan. I would pay homage to the man who went toe to toe with Leonard, Hearns and Hagler (back to back...who does that?). Every version of him threw combinations and hit hard. The latter version was not able to keep his pace throughout all of his fights, If is stamina was up he may have been the fighter to beat a prime Hagler (even if the judges were crazy) These are my new insights on this great fighter. Thoughts?
Duran was great. I recently watched the No Mas documentary, very entertaining. Anyway, he was a beast at LW. WW and above he sometimes struggled for several reasons. 1. He liked to party. 2. He had come up from LW. 3. The level of opponent. I agree he was craftier in some ways after he moved up. He had to be, he couldn't keep up the pace that he once could and his punches had less impact on these bigger fighters. His skill and touhness allowed him to compete until the age of 50. Leonard x3, Hearns, Hagler, even Benitez. These guys were fvcking great! No shame in losing to any of them. Hearns really knocked the shlt out of him. I think Leonard could have beat Duran in their first fight had he fought like he did in the rematch. The sad part is that Duran was not as good as he was in their first fight and that pisses Leonard off because he feels he is the better fighter. I agree with Leonard but Duran was great too.
Duran was my favorite fighters of the 70's, in an era that included Ali, he had his flat moments where he could not get his body into top form but for the most part stood out, he was a gifted fighter with all the tools and killer instinct but also very well taught by masters like the great Ray Arcel & the great Freddie Brown and he had Dempsey the look before Tyson ...Hands of Stone...Roberto Duran
Hagler recently said Duran was THE BEST BOXER, he ever faced:deal... Hard to believe the man fought until he was around 50....
