Roberto Duran vs Jose Napoles(welterweight)

Duran

 

Duran who beat Leonard win by decision as well.Maybe by TKO (Cuts)

 

Napoles was a very good fighter but Duran at that time was fighting at an upper A+ level, Roberto by late stoppage

 

All I know is that this would have been an absolute savage WW war with both skills and aggression put on display. The Duran that beat Leonard would most likely get the better of Napoles and could very likely stop him on cuts but it'll still be a highly competitive well fought battle while it lasts.

 

Going against the apparent grain here, I think Napoles had the potential to be a stylistic foil for Duran - I think he was smart & slick enough to avoid getting sucked into Duran's fight to the extent that SRL was, & he could answer Duran's inside mauling/smothering tactics w/ his counter uppercuts.

Of course, all bets are off if Napoles' facial tissues don't hold up, which is as likely a scenario as any other.

 

Nice match-up, FT! Well done

 

I will add that Duran, on the outside, is also great at baiting opponents to commit so he can then counter them, he’ll give a target then take it away and counter, Duran is much better on the outside, he can actually box at range, go up and down with the jab, counter your jab, and on the inside, which is where Napoles is great, Duran is greater, he’s far more slippery and has more tools on the inside, he can slip and slide into different positions/angles, do different things with the hands or drop his left hand so they commit, would touch to somewhere to get a commitment out of the opponent so he could time them, he was more versatile even in the inside than Napoles.

 

Duran look much more natural at welter than Napoles in my opinion.
In fact I feel if he remained at the weight, with Leonard retired, and
Hearns and Benitez moving up in weight, there was no one to stop
him from regaining the title and going on a good run.
Napoles was an excellent fighter, supremely skilled.
His skill level was the reason he did as well as he did at welter.
His physic suggest his best weight was lightweight. Like
Aaron Pryor his skill level overcame his physicality disadvantages.
Napoles best opponent faced at welterweight was Emile
Griffith or Curtis Cokes.
Griffith was an ATG.
Neither one as good as prime Ray Leonard.
It's the reason I see Duran beating Napoles, and beating him
more convincingly than most of the posters may imagine.
When two fighters are just about even skill wise, (Though Duran
in my opinion was better skilled)
Then I look at the size of both men. Duran though about the
same height as Napoles carried the weight at welter much better
than Napoles. The weight fit him like a glove.
Duran stops Napoles with in 12 rds. in my opinion, with Napoles
susceptibility to cuts possibly earlier.
Best night vs best night for both men.

 

Napoles stopped being able to make lightweight around the age of 23 and strung together one of the most memorable and greatest runs at welterweight yet Duran who spent the bulk of his prime at 135 was a more natural welterweight? Arcel himself said Duran could've dropped back to lightweight for the whole duration of his stay at welter, and Duran is both the shorter and less rangy of the two. I'm sorry but that's just a bizarre take.

 

I'd take Napoles. I don't really think he's all that different from Benitez stylistically: slippery counter-puncher with good movement, sharp counters, and enough defence to make opponents miss but enough offence to stifle opponents and give the judges something to score.

 

Napoles was by far the greater WW, but H2H vs the version of Duran from Palomino or SRL 1, wow, I don't know that I could call a favourite.

The skills and versatility on show would be off the chart, though.

 

Duran, but Mantequilla is gonna make him work very hard for his bread.

Napoles was slick as oil and a master counterpuncher, who was able to adapt and match Duran aggresiveness punch by punch.

At the end I think it comes down to who has more toughness and endurance and there I give Duran the advantage.

Duran late stoppage.