Was Pipino Cuevas Done By The Time He Fought Duran In Early 1983?

Pipino was totally shot . A fight in 79 would of been awesome

 

Both Duran and Cuevas were seen as washed up by their 1983 meeting. Hindsight of course proves otherwise for Duran as he still had some big fights ahead of him. Both were coming off big upset losses. Duran had dropped a decision to Kirkland lang four months earlier while as mentioned, Cuevas had the 1981 defeat to Stafford. Pipino was still relatively young age wise. Remember he was about 14 years old when he turned pro in 1971 so I’m guessing he was around 26-27 when he fought Duran ? But the flip side is that he had also taken a lot of beatings and that’s sometimes as bad or even worse than the effects of old age. I can’t speak as to why he was out of the ring for 14 months going into the Duran bout. Could have been any number of reasons ranging from Injuries, mental burnout, contract disputes, personal life problems or the inability to find a reasonable paying fight. Following the Duran loss, he never got back to world level and was Starting to lose to lesser opponents. So yes…. I believe Cuevas was finished by 1983…

 

He was finished at world class level for sure.

 

I wouldn't say he was shot but he was clearly off his best. He still had the power and speed but for me his timing was off.

 

He was done after but faded going into the fight ... People forget how feared he was as a welter champ going into the Hearns fight ...

 

I suspect ( but can’t prove ) that Tommy might have wrecked him. That was a nasty stoppage. Cuevas was taking a lot of shots before he was dropped

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Before the Hearns fight you couldn't drop Cuevas with a baseball bat. But after that KO he was done like dinner. He came back and blew out 2 softies early, but when he got dropped by the light-punching Roger Stafford while losing the decision it became apparent. He was done. The same cerebral effect that finished John Tate from the Weaver fight, Sean O'Grady from the Ganigan fight, Donald Curry from the McCallum fight and Livingstone Bramble from the Rosario fight. All once reliable/great jaws to shaky/poor jaws. Clear cerebral damage. They might be articulate today but the damage effected their resilience.

 

I have always suspected that when boys are thrown in the pro ranks it takes a unique toll on their longevity, especially when they are not carefully matched. He got KO'd in his first fight and lost as many as he won for a while. That's a rough way to start and doesn't seem to bode well for longevity, though I know there are exceptions.

 

Although he was relatively young the Hearns loss ruined his psyche. Never the same. Broke his aura of a wrecking machine.

 

Hearns pretty much " broke " him, so to speak. Cuevas was damaged goods by 1983.

Cuevas vs. Duran in 1979 would've been awesome to see!

 

I do had Duràn winning if a match for both were materialized early on,but yeah,Pipino Cuevas was shot,same to Duràn(although he managed to get his sh together and pull out some more comebacks)

 

If nothing else, he likely spent that time doing some earnest soul-searching, given that he looked like a spent shell vs. Stafford - his chin was shaky, his timing & reflexes were gone, & his facial tissues were, well, tissue.

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He'd already had a fairly lengthy reign w/ some tough battles prior to the Hearns fight as well. I don't think he was destined to remain in his prime for much longer regardless.

 

yes

he never really recovered from the Hearns loss