Prime Henry Armstrong vs Roberto Duran at Ltweight

What Armstrong fights have you seen?

 

Actual the better question is.. which fights of Duran have YOU seen that you would say Henry looks better on film.. and which fights are these that gave you this wrong conclusion?

 

De Jesus I
Hiroshi Kobayashi
Ken Buchanan
Lou Bizzarro
Carlos Palomino
Wellington Wheatley
Zeferino Gonzalez
Sugar Ray Leonard I & II
Wilfred Benitez
Pipino Cuevas
Davey Moore
Thomas Hearns
Robbie Simms
Iran Barkley
William Joppy

 

Not bad Addie dear boy. Watch the other two Dejesus fights and the Lampkin scuffle.

 

:good I've also watched the Ortiz fight.

I have all the DeJesus fights I just haven't gotten round to watching them yet. I don't rank Duran as highly H2H as perhaps others do. I think he beat some B level fighters at Lightweight and he bullied them to do it, he didn't necessarily show the capacity to hit and not get hit. I'm not sure he showed an above average defense at any point in his career. I'm willing to be proven wrong though.

 

and Armstrong didn't bully people.. instead he showed better technique than Duran? You Jest? Surely you jest. So I'm waiting on WHICH fights of Armstrong did he look better in

 

And yet nobody has built up Armstrong into a defensive genius, and a boxing master, like they have Roberto Duran. Non-comparable.

I've watched a number of Armstrong fights...Ross...Garcia II...Ambers II...Arizemendi IV..and so yeah, I guess I was more impressed by Armstrong in terms of ability.

Sorry KuRuPT. This is obviously a bit of a culture shock.

 

I think if were comparing defense the fact that Duran had stupendous longevity would surely be a mark in his favor.

 

We aren't comparing defense. One fighter gets credited as being a defensive virtuoso whereas the other doesn't. What I'm saying is...I wouldn't necessarily label either fighter as being defensive geniuses. I'm well aware of the nuances. Duran would roll, he'd smother his opponents work, and he'd counter beautifully on the inside. But I think he won the majority of his fights through bullying, not through outboxing the opposition. Not neccesarily a bad thing, I just think Armstrong was better at that.

 

Duran. He was multi-faceted. Hank could beat you one way. Duran could beat you several- box, slug, counter punch....you name it.

 

I completely disagree because your unnecessarily limiting the word outboxing. Against Hagler, against Barkley, against Jimenez that's boxing. I think Duran is excellent defensively and although not Carlos Ortiz or Emile Griffith versatile, was more versatile than Armstrong. That being said Hank is possibly the most gifted offensive fighter.ever so there's that.

 

Did he beat Hagler? Who's Jiminez? Barkley? I love the Barkley fight, and it was a mountainous performance, but it does not take a boxing master or a defensive genius to outbox Iran Barkley. I'm not trying to step on Roberto Duran. I'm simply saying I think his abilities are a little overstated.

 

Of course they are. He's a top guy and has a huge rabid fanbase. Its a given people would overstate him.based on mystique. And it doesn't matter if Barkeley was easy to outbox or didn't beat Hagler; you stated that Duran succeeded by bullying guys and I listed two examples where he was very successful against guys he couldn't bully. Same with Luigi Minchillo. Or Pipino Cuevas.

 

How is that jab of Henry?

 

Duran had a fairly lengthy career, didn't he? You listed me three examples, and at least two of those were when he was past his best. Duran was crafty at that point in his career, but when did he show that capacity at Lightweight? Bizzarro, Ortiz, Gonzalez, etc. these were pretty poor performances. It looked as if in some of them he was fighting at a distance and actually coming off the worst so he then reverted back to bullying and imposing his will. That's what it looked like to me anyhow.