If Leonard had boxed Duran in the first ft like he did the rematch , what's the result?

1 of the greatest posts ever!

 

K you have succinctly defeated pern in battle o f words and facts! Good job man.

 

I had Leonard scraping out the first fight. It was close though, and I had no problem with Duran winning.

 

The final nails in the coffin. I shall read no more.

 

I think Duran got into leonards head the first fight and Leonard got into Duran's head in the second fight

 

Thanks for the reply. Shouldnt Duran shoulder most of the blame for not being in shape though? I may be wrong here but ive never heard this excuse for him for any other fight in his 30yr, 100 plus fights pro career. Now even though it was known he did tend to balloon between fights im sure he knew that a rematch was gonna be on the cards as i was informed negotiations began sometime in July, so surely one would imagine he would be professional enough to keep himself in reasonable enough shape in anticipation of the rematch (and a helluva purse too). Im not shitting on Duran either, im a big fan, i just think it was unprofessional of him knowing the fight was being negotiated as he was letting the pounds creep on and that he has to carry the can for that, not mike trainor nor leonard.

 

Of course it's his fault but more importantly, the excuse-making over his weight is just silly. I have a newspaper article from August 24, 1980 that discusses the tentative plans for a rematch in November, and an article from September 11 that explains he'd already begun training. The idea that Leonard purposefully waited for him to get out of shape and then lured him into a hastily scheduled match is just a nonsensical yarn that Leonard and Dundee tell to make themselves look smart and that Duran fans tell so that they can pretend that the first fight is the only one that really matters.

 

Oh the buck stops with Duran, for sure, but there are mitigating circumstances, of that I have little doubt. I don't think we can discount the idea that Leonard intended to create a challenge in the timing of the rematch, as "nonsensical". It actually makes perfect sense and I think it's the way the lead up to the agreed bout went.

A rematch was being mooted almost immediately after Montreal. An actual date being agreed on a rematch is something a little different from tentative talks, which are just that - talks.

This begs the more obvious question and, in my opinion, the one that gets to the crux of the matter: Why did Duran agree to the rematch on a date, for which he could not have been confident he'd be ready?

 

Scores at the time of Duran's "retirement":

• Referee: Octavio Meyran
• Judge: Mike Jacobs 68-66
• Judge: Jean Deswert 68-66
• Judge: James Brimmell 67-66

 

In the rematch: Leonard stayed on the outside. Basically ran for his life, refusing to engage acting like a clown.