is Duran overrated as a lightweight? quality of opposition?

It's always best to look upon a fighters career after the fact. It's the only way to truely know if they passed the test of all time greatness. So post the 70's to assess Durans Lightweight ranking. Like Ali Duran is almost always top three....along with Gans and Leonard. So in effect by questioning Durans ranking to put him say 7th you are going against most all American (the one that counts) expert thought which would be akin to putting Ali below top three all time at hwt. Questionable at best. Arcel who lived through most all the eras (20th century) also rated Duran very highly.

 

Baseball has come up with many new types of statistics through the Sabermetrics method that we never used even 10 years ago. Things like WAR, WHIP, etc. Used to only see RBI, BA, ERA.

The fact that boxing doesn't have a statistical means of evaluating boxers is just another reason it's falling behind other sports in popularity IMO. And having multiple "belts" from the alphabet organizations doesn't help because they are based on corruption, greed, and nonsense. Even The Ring's rankings are now suspect.

Yes, I know there are "lies, damned lies, and statistics" but surely boxing could come up with an objective ranking system? Then again, who am I kidding?

 

And Arcel saw First hand all the fighters you claim are better than Duran from Leonard onward INCLUDING training Duran himself.

 

So you don't think a trainer will be bias in favour of his own fighter?

 

[emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]

How does it make ones opinion more valid when you are American?

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Sounds like you are already one step removed because you did not live through the era. Living in another country you are two steps removed.

 

There's no question that Duran's an ATG, but I do think he gets overrated when people say his #1 or #2 LW ranking is set in stone. To be clear: his longevity, LW campaign and win over Leonard are fantastic for sure. But I'll be honest, he seems to get a ton of leeway of the negatives of his career. Excuses, if you will.

Many seems to pretend like Leonard held a gun to his face and forced him out of shape into a rematch. Not at all; Duran was the champion, he held all the cards. He choose the date, and it was his responsibility to be in shape. Him not being in shape isn't an excuse, it's a black mark on his resume. Him quitting in possibly the most shameful way in several decades of title fights is another black mark. At the end of the day, Leonard clearly bested him in their series: he won more and his wins were one-sided AF.

Then there's the excuses for Benetiz (he ran?), and Laing. Lastly, his record against the lot of Hagler/Leonard/Hearns is 1-4. So without even considering the depth of talent at LW, I think there's enough to doubt his mandatory GOAT status.

 

Duran is rated top 2-3 as a lightweight almost universally. Been rated that highly for decades.

 

It's not a question of only Arcel. Duran is rated almost universally top 2-3 lightweight champion. Been that way for decades.

Arcel was a very respected voice in the boxing community. Not many saw what he saw and was at the same time able to communicate it articulately.

 

Maybe the young generation that you hate and have so much contempt for are just a bit more flexible if not more knowledgeable in their thinking. With access to info about just out any event that happened in the past, people can make up their own minds rather than blindly accepting the word of people that lived through it.

 

No. You just have no idea what you are talking about. Sorry.

 

Back in the 60's and 70's New York was the absolute Mecca for boxing. All local newspapers religiously covered the major bouts in terms of the lead up to, the bouts themselves and aftermath. Living in the NY area was an education like no other if you were truely into the sport of boxing. A few hour drive and you could watch Ali train. Most major fighters would train in the area as well. (Philadelphia, Playboy club in north NJ). Not only did I watch Ali train but also Duran, Foreman, Frazier, Shavers, Lyle....many others.