JorodzYessir watching Williams ko Beau Jack In Philly,1948 was a thrill,but it was a precursor to a more memorable event,a few hours after the bout...My friend and I ,two young kids then caught a bus from Philly,about 3am,to see the famous Atlantic City...We arrived early in the morning,sleepless of course,and decided to see the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk, before getting a room at a boarding house,,,Standing on the empty boardwalk near the famous Steel Pier, a Police car drove up to us and to gendarmes got out with guns drawn, and threw us in the back seat..They took us to the station house,searched us, grilled us then took us by car to the house of an eldrly couple who had been accosted and robbed of their money shortly before...Lucky for us .they were Canadiens and robbed if their Canadian money ,and we were released, and told to skedaddle home...Ehhausted, we followed suit.and took the next bus back to NY...Last time I saw Ike Williams ringside fight...
A close fight. Could go either way. Duran in Montreal was different then just about every fighter who ever fought, and It might make up for the difference in size. Duran trained ror that fight like he never trained before, and he had the win or die thing going on. Bringing up fights like Benitez or Leaonard 2 in this debate is a waste of time. Totally different animal here. This Duran was far and away the best fighter Robinson ever got in the ring with.
Good point. People fail to realize that one of the things that made duran so great was his highly overlooked defensive skills. He was actually one of the best defensive fighters in history but people mostly credit him for his ferocity and punching power, as well has a great chin. Duran was not just great but a top tier great, and anyone that feels that robinson would just blow him away is either not giving duran his just due or is underestimating him. Also take into consideration that duran was no doubt better than many of the fighters that robby faced. Yes, I'd pick the sugarman to win comfortably, but not by ko.
Randy Shields was emphatic in proclaiming that SRL telegraphed his punches, and he, Benitez, and Duran in Montreal, all did indeed make him miss a great deal. (For his part, Leonard repeatedly described how Shields was proficient at creating an "illusion" of hitability during Randy's challenge of Hearns.) I haven't encountered such a similar claim by Robby's opponents. In the videotape of Robinson-Dykes, we can hear Robby's shots thudding into Bobby's ribs as the announcer describes Robinson's early "cannonading" on the inside, causing Dykes heavily labored breathing as early as the second round. SRR would be no picnic for Duran in close quarters. On an all time P4P basis, I have the Duran of Montreal, Palomino and DeJesus III as number two, but Robby at the top of the food chain. For me, this would likely go the 15 round limit with no knockdowns. A prepared and alerted Robinson takes the decision cleanly, but I have no great quarrel with anybody who favors Montreal Duran. In a series, El Cholo could certainly spring an upset. What footage I've seen of a younger Robinson overpowering lighter competition (such as Angott), suggests more of an early Hearns type stalker than a dancing master, stabbing down with his jab offensively while advancing behind it. (JohnGarfield, can you shed more light on this? As versatile as he was, I get the impression he was more of a preying mantis when competing among lightweights and welterweights, a predator who tended to crush outgunned opposition, or hound them into retreat.)
Duran is the only fighter who is different for specific fights. If he wins he was just unbeatable, and the next fight he didn't train so he cannot be insulted. Bringing up other fights shows the complete picture of the man. You cannot selectively pick which fight you rate a person's greatness- it has to be the totality. Why don't we just ignore Hearns losing to Hagler and Leonard and Barkley and just focus on the Duran fight? This is why Duran in any discussion is ridiculous. Duran fans are not being logical about him. If he lost to all the greats he fought then that is significant.
I'm still wondering about your comment on how anyone with some speed and movement beats Duran easily. By the way Roberto Duran is my favourite fighter bar none and i picked Robinson inside the distance, though i never said so with 100% convinstion, i pick Robinson every time on this one regardless of the method of victory. Enough of the attempt to make out the classic forum overrates Roberto Duran now. Maybe we just rate him as what he is. He can be beaten, it takes a man to put it all together on the night to do so in his prime. We say it as it is here.
Why would you want to insult him? I bet deep down you wish you could go back in time & when given the choice you became a duran fan Just think how much happier you would be in yourself + you'd end up with all the 1st choice ***** & a succesfull businesman & live a long & happy life instead of this "Why don't people invite me to any parties" existance, Duran fan's are happy fans, it a'nt to late to make a succes of yer life, seek the light & be like mep:yep
Good post. I know what you mean. I just do not think that a fighter is so much different one time till another. Take any fighter and see how much better he looks when he wins. He looks faster and better and brilliant when he wins. The opposition makes him look that way.
I was a Duran fan actually. I rooted for him with Hagler. I like Roberto as a fighter and he has helped boxing- what bothered me was when he did lose-the excuses for Duran took away from great fighters like Leonard ,Hearns and Benitez, guys who put just as much into boxing as Duran. This is not about Duran it is about the excuses which take away from other fighters, and he encouraged it by starting the excuses. As though a fighter has to brawl with him to make it a real boxing match. SRL boxing in the second fight was brilliance. Saying Duran fans are happy is fine, but it would be more convincing if they saw his whole career honestly, but it is an interesting point. True happiness comes from true honesty, and for Duran fans to be honest they have admit that he had a weakness technically when it came to guys who moved or had speed, and that he did lose the fights to the best fighters he ever fought. As for the happiness stuff. I have met many people who smile all the time and act happy, yet true happiness when they are honest with themselves is the real accomplishment. How did you get me started on this happiness stuff. This is fun though. Take care.
Yeah i'm the same, i don't like saying 'Montreal Duran wins', but some other different Duran doesn't, he's just Duran. If there is room to be made though for being in form when it comes to hypothetical match-ups, or the fighter being in his prime, then that would either be him fighting Leonard or him at lightweight. Like i said though, i never do the 'Montreal Duran' thing, i agree with you that he's the same man all the time, providing he's in peak condition and prime. He really is one of the best to ever do it though. Robinson would win because of his ability to counter with multiple shots and his positioning together with balance in my opinion, it's not a case of him running round the ring away from Duran. It would be such a good fight though, these are two of the greatest ever for getting off first whilst standing off the opponent, that would be a spectacle in itself.
Yeah teeto, but you are a great poster, and a rational fan of Duran...I think you accidently got tossed in with some extremists!!! Peace