At WW only, Kid Gavilan decisions Roberto Duran. He would outflurry Duran and outpoint him. No one kos the concrete jawed Gavilan, even the prime WW Ray Robinson failed to make a dent. So Gavilan wins majority decision...
Close to call...... I´m not sure to be honest....I can see Montreal Duran beating Kid.....with amazing head movement and vicious body punching..... And what I will say now is probably controversial.....but I think Duran (Montreal) was faster than Gav..... This is so close because both guys are too versatile.... A more defensive version of Gavilan would have a great chance with his great jab, outboxing Duran......But I don´t know, prime Gavilan was a agressive fighter......
Montreal Duran would land the cleaner punches while Gavilan have his moments, but Duran was defensively better and also ironned chin. Durans power wasnt too far off from Robinsons or Hearns despite being a more compact fighter. SD win for Montreal Duran. Any other version I give it to the great Gavilan.
Gavilan is a better infighter than SRL. SRL did apply himself well tho. Hmmmm. This would be a cracking matchup, jeez. I'd narrowly favour Gavilan based on infighting skill. His lack of power is a bit of a worry but energy, speed and competitiveness allied to an ATG chin more than offset this.
I was just watching Gavilian's championship defense against Bissilio. Gavilian won a close conterversial decesion. Going into the fight The Keed had to deal with a cold and had trubble making weight. Bissilo took an early lead, but The Cuban Hawk stayed focused on his task and came out the winner. Contrast that to Duran's quit job against Leonard. The circimstances are not diffrent. Trubble making weight, giving an early lead to their oppoents. Duran is a bully who is great when things are going to his plans. Gavilian as a true all time great.
Basically my exact thoughts on this. I think there's also the "frustration" factor to consider - how will Duran respond, in a mental sense, to Gavilan's uniquely frustrating and unpredictable style?
I also think Gavilan has enough power here to make himself known, especially on the occasions he gets the better of exchanges. EDIT: Obviously he isn't significantly hurting Duran, but the Panamanian isn't laughing at him either, he would get caught with shots he didn't see coming from a spiteful, stinging puncher.
I also think Gavilan is a bit more naturally tough than Ray. Ray had great mettle, but Gavilan didn't blink an eye from punishment. Duran would not be able to bully Kid like he did Ray. That said, it would still be ultra close. I've got Gavilan by a point or two...
When Ray was 'intimidated' he'd circle and wait for an opportunity to strike back. Gavilan would get that demonic face on, slip and fire back. The guy was a monster to get in the trenches with and a really scary fighter when in a groove.
This here^^^^:deal But if they truly fought a few times in a three fight series, I think Kid Gavilan sneaks a win in there some how..... I'm talking 1949 Gavilan and 1980 Duran via time machine... Gavilan had great skills, but no real KO power.... Duran was still the better puncher up at 147...... MR.BILL:hat
