Roberto Duran vs Winky Wright @154

He was a decent puncher at those weights in spite of being undersized. And again, it’s not about the height, it’s about lean body mass. In that 1984 fight Duran had much less muscle than he did in Montreal. That extra weight was just extra fat not muscle. If you don’t think that lean body mass makes a difference, try matching up Hearns against Braxton (Qawi) whose style was similar to the younger version of Duran.

 

I don't think Hearns had a great lean body compared to his welterweight version either. I still think Duran was in decent shape. and Duran was never the type to have six packs. Duran was champ at 154 as he should have been with Moore or even Barkley as the opponent, and the left hook he took from Barkley would have knocked out most guys..

 

Also his handspeed.. Hearns was elite handspeed and he did land a couple of nice right hands on Hearns, but Hearns speed and offense were just so much. Nice post.

 

You are making assumptions of the older Duran which do not apply to the younger Duran.

Look at the SI cover of the Brawl in Montreal. He definitely had a six pack then, but never again after that

https://www.sicovers.com/sugar-ray-leonard-1980-june-30

Look at these pics of Duran in 1984

https://www.thefightcity.com/june-1...ler-sugar-ray-leonard-davey-moore-four-kings/

Do you really think he was in shape? Decent shape? Maybe, whatever that means, but top shape? Not even close. No six pack there.

 

I cannot accept excuses for fighters just to excuse a loss to a great fighter, who knocked out other guys the same way. And Duran in those years managed to beat champions Moore and Barkley in 1989. That is not about Duran either to excuse fights they lost, it is about any fighter. Pacman and the shoulder excuse, and yet I think Pacman was a great fighter-more than Floyd.. But on that fight, he lost. Regardless of Floyd waiting to fight him. The older Duran was not an old Duran. The older Duran was maybe 1996 Duran who fought Joppy.

 

Not trying to discredit your man Hearns, whose skills I really admire. Just saying Duran wasn’t at his best. I’m not saying he would have beat him in 1980, just that he would have given a much better account of himself, and had a good chance of winning just as SRL did.

Did you look at the pictures?
Wasn’t the 1980 six pack obvious?
There was no six pack in any of the 1984 pics.

And I agree that he really wasn’t all that old, but he never was as motivated as he had been before, and he never got back to the same level of fitness that he had in Montreal, even in his wins against Moore and Barkley, where he just got by on ring savvy.

 

Hi Pea, I would argue that Tommy's physique was better at 154 than at 147.

He was too skinny at welterweight unlike 154 where he looked incredibly ripped and strong.

I have to agree with Matt Bargas that Duran was never in anywhere near the shape he was in Montreal again in his career.

Duran turned pro in 1968 and defeated Ernesto Marcel in 1970 so he had been fighting at a world class level for 14 years and had been pro for 16 years when he fought Hearns.

To make a comparison your man Pernell had been fighting as a pro for 14 years when he faced Felix Trinidad. Nobody would say " Pea " was anywhere near prime when he faced Trinidad ( or even De La Hoya two years previously ).

Hearns was brutally kayoed by Iran Barkley 11 years after Tommy turned pro in their match at 160. Duran was a much better welterweight than Hearns was a middleweight in my opinion too.

Hearns was kayoed in 3 rounds by both Hagler and Barkley and came very close to being snuffed by James Kinchen.

Compare that with Duran's record at 147.

Duran was also undisputed world lightweight champion unlike Hearns who never unified a title.

Cheers.

 

It is a good picture and I see what you mean, although his body is turned to pull the muscles out a little. but yeah.. No there was not six packs in 1984, but neither when he fought Hagler in 1983 either, and many people consider that a good win. Nor in his win against Moore. Well I never thought his wins over Moore and Barkley were not great, my question was always how is he top ten ATG, which was the general thought. His win over Barkley I thought was good. The top ten or top 100 issue in boxing has always been frustrating since everyone has their own list and it is so different from everyone elses. And really as time goes by, the top 100 is a great list since in thought, the best fighter each year the past 100 years would be on the list, so a fighter to be top 10 would have to be maybe a top fighter for 5 or 10 years straight.

 

He looked better at 154, but he was a little more cautious. Each time he was knocked out he got a little more cautious, yet after Hagler his skill level dropped a little and he started to get hit by more ordinary guys and hurt like Kinchen. Yes, but Pernell was known for his speed and defense and that will break down more like say Tyson's style-which really went down when his skill level dropped even minutely- than Duran who in my mind had better fighting instincts than Pernell or Tyson, as far as what came naturally. That is why Duran could fight until 50. Duran was a natural fighter. I am not sure Duran was better at welterweight, but he beat Leonard in the first fight, so on that he would given that. Although he did lose to Ray in my easily in November. Well I think Hearns had a chance to unify ironically with Duran and would have, but Duran was stripped of his title. And he beat the best 175 pound titlist in 1991.

 

As far as the thread goes I would put my money on a prime Wright to beat Roberto by a fairly comfortable decision if they fought when both were at their best version of 154 pounds. A slightly sacrilegious view but one I hold.

Winky is too big, too strong ( Wright is as big a guy as Hagler ), too fit and too hard to hit cleanly for Roberto to beat him. Wright also had an excellent beard and like most world class southpaws he was pretty crafty at avoiding the right hand counter.

Wright had a masterful southpaw jab at his best and was bull strong.

Winky was a better technician than Davey Moore or Iran Barkley ( who Duran defeated ) and I reckon he would use his height and reach ( via the jab ) and great physical strength ( to clinch Duran ) to keep Roberto at bay.

Cheers All.