No, in a word. I'd rank Foreman vs Ali, Frazier vs Ali, Douglas vs Tyson, Walcott vs Charles 3, Lamotta vs Robinson 2, etc over it Great win for Duran though
It's up there. Can't come to think of one I think is clearly better. Perhaps Leonard-Hagler, but not by any significant margin in any case.
That’s perhaps #1 but it’s hard to rank it with authority given there’s no footage of it. What’s on film it’s damn hard to go against Duran-Leonard IMO.
Yeah it probably rivals any non heavyweight fight in terms of historical importance and impact. I might put Benny Leonard vs Barney Ross alongside of this but can’t come up with many that had equal or superior impact. Edit: oooopppppssss I meant Armstrong vs Ross
Hmm I think it might be, certainly in terms of 2 guys who both have a claim to be in the top 10 p4p of all time. The most important historical win of all time may be Johnson vs Jefferies or even bigger is Louis vs Schmeling 2. Without doubt the biggest fairytale win which gives everyone hope (in sports) has to be the rumble in the jungle.
It's certainly way up there and Leonard - Hagler is certainly up there for sure. You could add Hearns - Duran too and it's chilling efficiency. Hearns may have been favored but what he did that day was ridiculous and supported by what Duran did both prior to and after the annihilation. The Fab 4 certainly provided.
The past prime ones like Duran-Barkley, Foreman-Moorer, Holmes-Mercer, Hopkins-Tarver etc are certainly not to be scoffed at, but I think a fighter primarily should be judged on what he did at the peak of his powers, and going up two divisions from the one you've dominated to beat a fighter of Leonard's quality is probably more or less unique. I can't come to think of anything similar right now at least. I mean, I think Spink's win over Holmes is impressive, but imagine if he'd done it against a peak Holmes.
