Roberto Duran vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. at 135 - 12 rounds

It`s almost comical how people compare Duran to a bull. You need to go back and watch vintage Duran. Does anyone think it was just a dumb bull who did the trick to Leonard????? That was a savvy ringwise veteran in there that night. He had a plan, and he executed it. If you want to see a bull. Watch Tua against Lewis(no offense to Tua). That is an effort worthy of a bull tag. Duran did so many things, subtle head movements, counter right hand over the top. Hook the opponents arm and work him with his free hand. I mean Leonard has power, (please no comparisons with PBF, power) and Duran walked right through him. Calling Duran just a brawler does him no justice at all. He would be too smart for PBF...

 

Some of the best inside work you'll ever see. Watch the way he feints his way in at times, and especially his in-fighting skills when he has Leonard where he wants him. Watch how every time Leonard tries to tie him up, Duran is able to loosen up his arms while keeping Leonard pinned, and work with his off hand, landing clean shots to the body and head throughout, always working tirelessly, and showing great defense in evading Leonard's flurries off the ropes, only to catch him right back against and resume his work. This is no bull, he is the more skilled fighter in the ring, the superior technician, against one of the most skilled fighters of all time.

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Great fight! Duran was a great technician...his style however kind of overshadowed his skills. Technically he was very sound both in offense and Defense...he could either beat you by striaght whoopin yo ass or take your ass to school by controling the fight with a vast array of offense and defense....but usually he'd end up out "burtalizing" his foes by aggression...but even then there was a method to his madness inside the ring.

 

There was always a method to his madness, which is what people don't seem to get. He never went balls to the wall and just brawled aside from his earlier fights at LW, where he still showed flashes of technical brilliance at times. He became the master technician from the mid 70's on, and was at his peak from then until his early days at WW in terms of having the whole package.

 

HA HA HA! :happy

 

:rofl Cant belive a lot are picking pbf fan boy's or dont know to much about BOXING.

 

It really is insane, and sad at the same time. They have clearly never saw Duran fight, nor understand the difference in beating peak Sugar Ray Leonard and beating Ricky Hatton.

 

True i bet you they will pick pbf to beat SRR

 

You could argue what exactly???? :think

 

He was at times, and the early half of the 70's he was maybe at his wildest. I never liked his style against Buchanan. Thats part of the reason I never liked him that night, he was too wild. He was certainly wild against Palamino, in a refined way it must be said.

 

Duran beats Mayweather but I still feel Mayweather beats Julio Cesar Chavez.

 

gandalf the great corteez

 

I thought the Palomino fight was actually one of his best performances technically. One of my favorite fights of his.

 

It's easier and IMO, fairer, to compare fighters with similar styles. Duran was an aggressive fighter who could only fight on the front foot with a bit shifting from side to side in some fights. eg; like against Hagler. Duran was more effective with his skillset? When Mayweather was firing in 5th gear at his peak, Corrales at 130 and Gatti at 140, not sure Duran could do it better. I do take into account that Duran's win over Leonard outdoes anything Mayweather ever did. But when looking at them soley on their own rather than their opposition, I'd say they are evens.

Yes, you could. And rightly so. I actually should have mentioned that with Duran to even them out. Mayweather clearly couldn't go with a 'Duran' like strategy against Leonard and do it as well. He's simply not an aggressive fighter, well not at the best of times anyway. I reckon Mayweather's ability to draw leads, then counter, lateral movement, right hand and left hook leads, body punching, and ability at long range is just as effective as Duran at his key strengths.

Mayweather was a far more accurate fighter. While Duran wasn't a 'bull in a china shop' who fought like a Mayorga or Hatton, he wasn't quite as pin-point as Mayweather. The early Duran can't be overlooked as we are looking at their entire careers. And that Duran wasn't anywhere near as accurate and refined with his punches than any version of Mayweather. Even when Duran did fight a tactical 'boxing' type of fight against Hagler his punches were hardly on the money on a regular basis. He pawed with the jab, circled, had success with the lead right which puffed up Hagler's eye, but rarely threw more than 1-2's. Even at that, his connect rate wasn't sublime. His defense on the night was very good considering being past his prime.

Duran's intensity, ferociousness, and being the hunter more often than not doesn't allow him to be as resourceful with his shots than a brilliant defensive 'draw the lead and counter' type of defensive fighter that Mayweather was. With Duran's style and most fighters with type style it's a hard ask for him to be as accurate as Whitaker, Mayweather, Hopkins, etc, and those type of fighters.

His movement against Corrales was as good as it gets. He was rather smooth on his feet that night. I will concede that his movement would have been tested more with someone closing the distance quicker, feinting, etc. Duran for example. Mayweather's feinting wasn't bad either. His feints are part of the reason he was such a good counter-puncher. Duran would feint to attack and take an opponent out of his rhythm. But Mayweather would use feints differently. He'd do it to turn his defense into attack.

One thing which prevents me from saying "Duran was more skilled than Mayweather" is that he wasn't particularly good at scoring at long range and also wasn't as adaptable strategy wise. I certainly think that Mayweather was better 'up close' than Duran was at long range. If you look at the Leonard rematch thats a fight which really highlights Duran's limited outside game. While stalking Leonard he wasn't even trying to box his way inside. Duran was great at long range when coming forward, eg; the first Leonard fight. Right hands over Leonard's jab. When stepping in with shots he was good at long range. But when an opponent kept him at long range, or Duran himself opted to stay there, was was limited. Part of the reason why I pick Whitaker over him actually.

It's a hard call.

 

You had to look at their opposition to understand them at their best. Could Mayweather have done anything remotely close to what Duran did to a Leonard level fighter after moving up? No, whereas Duran could've easily done the same and did to shot B level fighters like Gatti and One-dimensional fighters like Corrales.

Floyd's body-punching is not on Duran's level IMO, in terms of effectiveness.

Mayweather generally had a much more defensive style and fought with a lower workrate than Duran, which would lead to better percentages, but in terms of effectiveness, I think Duran's shots were as good as they got at his best. Against Leonard his body punching accuracy and efficiency was amazing, as was his head work, especially his multiple uppercut combos inside.

And Hagler is a different level, especially for a natural LW, to anything Floyd has ever faced, so I don't understand the comparison really.

I thought Duran was very accurate, as I've stated already, and believe his punch variety was excellent, as were his means of getting off his punches, slips, feints, etc.

Corrales couldn't cut off the ring to save his life, he presented little challenge in that regard to Mayweather. In many other fights Mayweather has shown susceptibility to being pressed along the ropes(which is where he thrives, but not against Duran), and never against a fighter like Duran.

Perhaps, but that was just a styles disadvantage, it would take the highest quality of that style of fighter to actually beat him, and a peak, motivated Duran may have been another story.

In your opinion. I'm a bit more set.