Roberto Duran vs Donald Curry 147lbs

Well, tough fight to pick. Donald had speed. 15 rounds I think Duran gets to him and stops him in about 10. Donald did not have the lateral movement to win this fight or power... Not down the stretch... it matters if Duran can deal with Donald's handspeed early and not get discouraged and go into survival mode.

 

Leonard couldn`t tag Duran enough in Montreal because of Duran`s ability to slip, I feel he`d dodge most of Curry`s shots and out hustle him the same way he did to Ray in Montreal.

 

If u think the beating Honygon gave him was bad, Duran would b much worse. Curry was a good standup boxer, but Duran would slip most of his shots and counter, work his way to inside and chew him up, Duran by KO by fifth rd

 

Duran wasn't that kind of puncher at 147. I agree with everything else but I think he would take longer.

At 135 Duran could reliably hunt down and destroy a mover(Fernandez, bizarro)
And stops basically anything that was willing to stand in front of him (Dejesus Buchanan lampkin)

At 147, the elite guys like Leonard and palomino would still get hurt but could still make it somewhat competitive without having to move excessively.
A truly elite mover could beat him at this weight.

At 154 and 160 Duran could lose even if the opponent didnt move (benitez hagler hearns) and needed his opponent to stay in front of him and be hittable to win(Barkley Cuevas and Moore) at this weight he didn't have the footspeed or power to slow down a mover.

 

Curry was a sharpshooter and fast and had 300 or more amatuer fights. I am not sure it is that easy.

 

Duran was far better than anyone Curry fought at welter, I feel.

 

yes but Duran had trouble with styles with speed, and you could almost say Curry could be better than anyone Duran fought at 135

 

Duran would stop Donald but don would be sharp and competitive early.

 

Duran was quicker than Curry.

 

I am not sure about that. GGG is quicker than Canelo. It is just a statement.

 

Duran said Buchannan was the best fighter he ever fought overall and that he had the best jab he ever faced, but McCallum stated that Curry had the best jab that HE had ever faced, so maybe Don`s jab would troubled Duran even more than Ken`s did, the problem is Curry wasn`t as mobile as Buchanan and wasn`t as effective inside like DeJesus was vs Duran, Curry was too fragile to fight Roberto inside, he didn`t look good enough inside vs Starling and Duran would dealt with Starling better than Curry.

 

BEST JAB

Buchanan: He was tall, boxed well and his lateral movement was extremely good. Buchanan’s jab was difficult to deal with because he threw it on the move.

BEST DEFENSE

Buchanan: He was hard to hit cleanly. I was very young, lacked experience, and Buchanan had been world champion for a long time. A lot of people will expect me to say Wilfred Benitez or Leonard when it comes to defense but I wasn’t prepared properly for Benitez or the Leonard rematch. Davey Moore, who I beat easily, knocked Benitez out so there’s no comparison there. I was coming into my prime against Buchanan and he made me miss often.



BEST PUNCHER

Esteban De Jesus: De Jesus was the first opponent to knock me down and he had me down again in the second fight. When I lost to Thomas Hearns I was drained from losing weight too quickly, and that had a bad effect on me. Hearns got me with a great punch but I could have performed far better in a rematch. Marvin Hagler, who is a good friend of mine, told Hearns the only reason he knocked me out is because I wasn’t at my best.




FASTEST FEET

Buchanan: At lightweight the opponents were much swifter on their feet and, back then, we were boxing in 15-round fights. Buchanan always kept on the move but I caught up with him eventually. That victory means a lot to me.













Tom Gray is a UK Correspondent/ Editor for RingTV.com and a member of THE RING ratings panel. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

 

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Duran (left) challenged Hagler (right) for the middleweight championship.

BEST CHIN

Marvelous Marvin Hagler: I hit Hagler with a lot of punches and he just kept coming. I didn’t find him as skillful as some of the opponents I faced but he was the toughest.

BEST PUNCHER

Esteban De Jesus: De Jesus was the first opponent to knock me down and he had me down again in the second fight. When I lost to Thomas Hearns I was drained from losing weight too quickly, and that had a bad effect on me. Hearns got me with a great punch but I could have performed far better in a rematch. Marvin Hagler, who is a good friend of mine, told Hearns the only reason he knocked me out is because I wasn’t at my best.

FASTEST HANDS

Sugar Ray Leonard: He was the fastest fighter I ever fought but in the first fight I saw everything that was coming at me.

FASTEST FEET

Buchanan: At lightweight the opponents were much swifter on their feet and, back then, we were boxing in 15-round fights. Buchanan always kept on the move but I caught up with him eventually. That victory means a lot to me.

SMARTEST

Leonard: It’s hard to give you one name but Leonard stands out because he made adjustments during fights.

STRONGEST

Hagler: It was an extremely close fight but he got me tired late. Even though I built myself up to middleweight, Hagler was much bigger and used his strength on the inside. After making weight, a fighter rehydrates and there was a big difference there. Still, even when I was tired, Hagler couldn’t get me down. There was no way I was going to get the decision but some fans and reporters thought I’d done enough. Hagler had big American fights pending with Leonard and Hearns so there was a lot of money at stake.

BEST OVERALL

Leonard: I have to say Sugar Ray Leonard because look at what he did in his career after he lost to me. It takes a lot to come back from defeat and Leonard did it.

Special thanks to Jovanna Duran Orts (translator), Carl Holness and James Ward for their participation in arranging this interview.

 

Duran by 13th round TKO. But Curry could win, especially if he slipped a thumb or low blow in there.