Inside fighters better than Duran?

I don't think there are any, Duran's inside game was incredibly nuanced .

He would press his gloves against his opponent's, and would use his sense of touch to tell whether a punch was coming or not, and he would react accordingly. Since all of his opponents relied on a high guard, the fact that Duran was pressing their arms back meant that it would be extremely difficult to punch to the head, so they would often try to go to the body. Thus, Duran would block the shot with either his left or right hand (depending on which hand his opponent threw the shot with), and would then immediately go upstairs to hit his foe's newly created opening. If his opponent would manage to actually set up any type of shot to the head, Duran would avoid it, abandon the inside position, counter (mostly to the body, if I recall correctly), and then go on the inside again.

His sought after inside position was one where he would place his head on his opponent's lead shoulder in order to smother him, and would press his foe's rear hand with his own in order to nullify his other arm, or he would just grab his opponent's wrists like a Greco Roman wrestler, with his lower body further away from his torso to both create leverage and the necessary space to throw. This meant that Duran could fire away his uppercut with almost no repercussions since he had a free hand, while his opponent did not.

He was able to find this sought after inside position pretty easily the moment he went inside, whether it was by utilising the Fitzsimmons shift, blocking consecutive hooks or swings coming at him from either direction, slipping his opponent's shots and then closing in, or by placing his hands on his opponent's body after throwing a punch, mostly a left hook or a right hand. In order to look busier so that the ref wouldn't break, he would change head slots, which further lead him to creating leverage in the short space he was working with, and it also aided him in using his forearms, elbows and shoulders to place his foe in disadvantageous positions inside and break their stance.

He also had some cute little tricks on the inside. By pushing his opponent back while on the inside, he would force them to try to push him back, he would then turn their weight and strength against him, as he would pivot to an outside angle and hit them while they were still realigning themselves. He was also very good at turning his hands in certain ways to free his arms from really tight positions if his opponent was using an over-hook or under-hook on them.

Obviously, guys like Chavez, Armstrong and Toney were no slouches either, and some could argue that a few of their infighting tricks might actually be preferable to Duran's in certain situations, since they tended to user their shoulders more than their actual hands when not punching on the inside. But when it comes down to it, I don't think they had quite the tool kit that Duran had.

 

I don’t think Duran is the best inside fighter ever as he’s been described before I would call him a great one though. Roberto was brining a lot of old skills into the modern era - if however Roberto had to fight in a time when it wasn’t an exceptional skill I think he’d have looked much more mortal.

A recent example? JCC would’ve had a lot to say about who controlled the inside. “Consistently” is harder because it implies to me a forceful and absolute vacating of the inside.

Armstrong certainly, Robinson would’ve had him running for cover pretty quickly, Jose Napoles, Mickey Walker was too much- Samson come again. I’d have to assume Greb based on who he was? staying on top of Toney or D Tiger would’ve been self destructive. An exclusive list (Albeit incomplete) and very flattering IMO.

Edit: Because you didn’t mention it had to be a weight he fought at - “Terrible” Tony Galento would’ve beat him the quickest and most consistently out of anyone on this list.

 

Henry Armstrong perhaps.

 

There have been great inside fighters like Chavez and Armstrong but none was better than Duran.

 

No none, Duran was the best inside fighter in that regard he is the GOAT.

 

Not the same thing exactly but Sammy Angott was nearly impossible to do anything with inside. I’d like to see what Duran would do with a spoiler like Sammy.

 

I don't know about better, but Toney, Chavez, Tyson...

 

Hagler had no problem getting the better of a lot of their inside exchanges, I see Hagler somewhat easily repeating that performance

 

One of the best posts I have ever read. Cheers, I.T.!!!!

 

Well Duran was 25 lbs over his naturally best weight, imagine Hagler at 160 moving up to fight a natural 185 pound Duran?

 

Great post friend. Excellent assessment of what makes
Duran the greatest at inside fighting.
What I'll add was his intuitive feel for defense
at close range. His ability to slip
and ride punches. That's what separates him
from other ATG in fighters like Armstrong
and Chavez... Others.

 

Duran is #7 on my p4p ATG list.

Of the 6 above him, I'd only describe Henry Armstrong as an inside fighter.

Not quite what the OP asked, but on that basis, I consider Duran the 2nd greatest inside fighter of all time.

 

Great post.

 

Leaving it vs. guys his size 130-135-140 etc...., I can't think of any fighter ever that was as adept on the inside as Duran. I know some are saying Armstrong but I know and have seen far more of Duran than him, hence me siding with Duran. Chavez to me, quite frankly ain't as good as Duran in the trenches.