Roberto Duran vs Floyd Mayweather

Agree on this. Hearns would beat PBF even worse than Duran.

 

I don't think Leonard had any choice but to fight Duran's fight. The shape Duran got himself into for that fight and his mental focus was just incredible. Leonard definitely had a better game plan second fight around but Duran wasn't the same force he was in Montreal which has been proven. Even Leonard himself admitting as much.

Yeah, Floyd was great in the pocket and had great reflexes/reactions but Duran is arguably the GOAT in that area. Durans reactions in terms of getting his body into positions to throw punches is better than Floyd's. He also had the ability to seamlessly transition from offence to defence and back better than any fighter in history and the same goes for his use of faints. Floyd has the faster reflexes on the back foot and better reactions in terms of throwing single shots in certain positions but Durans reaction/reflexes in terms of the speed in which he moved into punching positions is far superior to Floyd.

 

I've got Mayweather on points because he'd box in a 100% defensive style and pick off the points he needed on the counter. Mayweather is SRL light and he'd copy the Leonard style of the second Duran v Leonard fight. Whilst not being anywhere near as good as Leonard he has the evasive skills to pull that tactic off.

Point of order: Duran beat SRL on points in their first fight because Leonard went toe to toe with him to prove his critics wrong. He'd been ridiculed and labelled a runner and a pity pat fighter who was incapable of fighting honestly. It's arguable that SRL won the first fight with Duran but he proved his point and went to war with the toughest boxer on the planet, shutting his critics up in the process.

 

And what if Duran decided to box off the back foot against srl? Duran is a warrior and will always come to fight. He had the ability to be a negative defensive 'fighter' like floyd, but He is not a coward

 

During a recent interview Duran said he would have damaged MWs ribs.

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Leonard was advised to get at Duran before Duran could recover from his between-fights food binging. He carried out that plan perfectly.

 

Indeed he did.

 

Duran beat Leonard and comprehensively so.

 

* Duran to win competitive decisions against Floyd at 135 and 147.

* Floyd to win a clear decision at 154. Duran had some good performances at the weight, but they were against guys who weren't as mobile as Floyd was. Manos de Piedra hadn't quite pulled himself together following New Orleans and Floyd at that weight makes him pay for being in that state.

 

Fyi: fmj loses tons of his talents, skills and fighting ability in every hypothetical match up.

Fmj would frustrate the hell out of duran. Take srl Duran 2 and multiplie that by double, very wide ud OR tko with duran claiming **** this.

 

Style wise Tommy was all wrong for Duran. However as impressive as Tommy was in that fight, Duran's poor conditioning played a major part, just like in the 2ND Leonard fight.
Floyd always comes to the ring in shape. I could see him being outboxed like SRL in the first fight, the difference though is Leonard had the dangerously ability to pull the trigger and go for broke when needed. Floyd does not have that. Floyd would never hurt Hearns.

 

Oh without doubt Duran is great at getting into angles at positions to unleash punches.

However the main difference between the two is:

Duran is always looking to attack, he has slight head movements to take away punches or reduce their impact. Duran's main goal was to get his shots off.

Mayweather's main goal was to not get hit, which he was brilliant at. The De La Hoya fight is a great example, under immense pressure but really it was defensive genius. Floyd took the opportunities when they came, it is why his punch accuracy is so high.

Duran creates opportunities for landing shots, whereas Floyd looked for them.

 

Floyd's never fought an elite pure boxer before besides Marquez who was tiny and older. So how do you know that Floyd can't be outpointed? You don't think Pernell Whitaker can't outpoint him? Of course Pernell could outpoint. Hell even a prime Erik Morales presents a bigger challenge technically than anything Floyd has ever seen and it's not even quite close in all honesty. He's never even fought someone near the technical skills of Morales let alone a prime Sweat Pea. So of course Floyd can be outboxed.

 

Duran is the heavy favorite. Would be a massive upset if Mayweather could have beaten Duran. Roberto is a massive step up for Mayweather. And actually Floyd could an actual step down from the type of talent Duran was routinely in with.

Do you realize the type of talent Duran would step in with?

 

Sure he can and has been outboxed. Castillo is the most prominent example.