Sugar Ray Robinson .Vs. Roberto Duran

Would be a very interesting fight. Robinson had the firepower to keep Duran off for certain, which would more often than not determine how the fight played out. Duran would have his moments on the inside though.

 

I think Robinson would take this fight by decision. I can't see Duran anywhere near his prime, and Montreal was a prime performance, being blown out by any fighter in history, not even Robinson. Close Decision.

 

Robinson stops him late.

 

Robinson by fairly close UD.

 

Although he was past his prime against Thomas Hearns, he was still fairly competitive, and Tommy dusted him rather easily. I'm not sure how much better Duran would have done even a few years earlier....

 

The Montreal Duran would've definitely have done better at WW IMO, though Hearns was always a bad matchup for him.

 

:huh

 

The Duran of Montreal and the one of the Hearns fight are moons apart. Even Duran of the second Leonard fight was a long way from what he was in the first. Forget the shits, Duran just wasn't properly prepared and most vitally, he knew it.

Anyone picking Robinson to win easily is either overrating Robinson or underrating Duran.

I'd pick Robinson, but there's no 'obviously', 'of course' or 'definitely' about it. Remember, Robinson could box well but he was no Leonard in terms of sticking and moving (and I still don't think a more cautious Leonard beating peak Duran is a given). A fight between him and Duran would probably look similar to that first Leonard fight but with more vicious exchanges, a bit of blood and a knockdown or two.

There is no bollocking way Robinson is beating Duran in anywhere near the same fashion as Hearns did. Duran, then physically past his prime, no longer had the agility to weave and bounce in and out of range like he did in the '70s and that's where we saw the change in his style. He was a 5ft 7in fighter boxing like Carlos Monzon, and that was never going to work against a man like Hearns, who had a clear advantage in speed, focus, and perhaps more importantly, power and stature. Robinson couldn't make Duran back up like that, and I'm not even sure Hearns would have done if he'd met Duran in 1980.

 

Olson wasn't all that aggressive with Robinson.. Graziano barely threw a punch aside from the one that scored the flash (very quick flash too) knockdown. But I'm nitpicking, I agree that Robinson takes a close decision albeit by a bloodier method than you might be imagining.

 

Hearns back in 1980 probably wouldn't have backed up Duran like he did at jr middleweight, although it's still possible. But he would have caught Duran as he was coming towards him. Duran just lasts longer based on his greater physical condition and more options defensively while stalking Hearns. IMO Duran would be better balanced out defensively and offensively than he was when they squared off at 154lbs. Hearns' jab is too troublesome for Duran to cope with. He was very good at using his height and creating distance.

 

He was, and I pick Hearns to win that fight too. I wouldn't expect Duran to just charge in there or even weave his way in consistently, but he'd certainly hold his ground. He'd probably have a strength advantage and he'd cope with the speed much better, as well as dish it out which he didn't do in 1984. I think Hearns knew that Duran, while still pretty good, was ripe for the picking and he was so, so confident in his own ability. He knew he could just blitz him and that's exactly what he did, same with Pipino Cuevas, but the snarling Duran of '80 is too different an animal for us to expect the same outcome or even anything similar. I mean, we are talking about a man who tapped his chin and made Ray Leonard miss nine punches in a row.

 

I'm not sure I understand your puzzled emoticon. What exactly did you find as being off base about my statement that Duran was still fairly competitive during the time frame that he fought Hearns? I think most will agree that he was past his prime, but still years from the end of his career.

What's the problem?