Watched Leonard/Duran 2 last night.

I don't have a problem with Leonard, dancing and moving, all night on the outside. He threw Duran a puzzle that he couldn't solve. However, if I had one problem with Leonard in this fight it would be his very low punch volume. He could have let his hands go more often, which would have shut-out Duran altogether with no close rounds.

 

Leonard was winning, but he was not actually destroying Duran on the scorecards. Of course mentally it was seemingly a different matter. It shows you how great Duran was though, to recover from such a devastating loss to go on and have 1983 and the Barkley fight...

 

What scorecard did you have at the time of the quittage rip?

 

I disagree that Duran was lucky to have a just decision come his way in his first encounter with Leonard. Also, if you simply take the amount of time between the first fight and second, you consider the weight he started and finished at, and then consider his highest weight in-between that period, you would understand he couldn't possibly have been in fighting condition at all.

He made weight, that's all, and even that cost him a lot of effort.

 

Yeah, it was a horrific beatdown. :roll:

 

Duran lost the fight. What else is there to say?

 

Exactly. When Ray fought his fight Duran could not beat him.

 

Leonard was so eager to get the rematch asap because he knew Roberto would be out of shape. In Duran's best shape of the trilogy, SRL lost. I don't buy the "he fought out of his element" thing either as he was doing very well on the inside with one of the best inside fighters of all time. Pretty damn impressive if you ask me and also pretty impressive to make Duran who was a tough fighter quit. Duran redeemed himself against Barkley but that doesn't eliminate what happened in the second fight.

SRL fought beautifully but in the 2nd and 3rd fights he could've and should've let his hands go more no excuses for that. I prefer his losing effort in the first fight as it was close and he fought his heart out giving the only great fight of the trilogy. The second fight was good imo but as I said he should've let his hands go more and not goofed off as much in the last few rounds. Fan of both btw.

 

atsch

MAG, you don't have to post anymore. We already know what you're going to say every single time, without alteration.

 

That first fight was hard-fought, but there really was only one winner and the judges got it right.

And had Duran trained for 10 months with Marciano-Holyfield-like committment after Montreal, he wouldn't have beaten Leonard again. He wouldn't have beaten Leonard before it either. Duran caught lightning in a bottle on that one night.

Leonard is one of the greatest fighters ever in one of boxing's toughest divisions -one fighter beat him in his prime. Leonard deserves all the credit in the world for going 15 vicious rounds with him, but Duran deserves all the accolades for beating him on his own turf.

You know the old adage - "A good big man beats a good little man." Leonard was a great big man. What does that make Duran? --Lucky??

 

But Ray didn't always fight that kinda' fight did he?

 

The same way ray couldn't beat duran when roberto fought his fight?

 

Duran would not have beaten Ray again. Duran fought for the WBC superwelterweight title at 154 just 14 months after he fought Leonard in the rematch. This was for the title in a weight he fought at for 4 years. He had time to train and he lost a decision to Wilfred Benitez. Pretty onesided-more than the scorecards would demonstrate. Duran had a chance to beat Leonard in the rubbermatch also. Duran was older, but Ray was older also and couldn't move as well. But Ray still won in an older body, he outboxed Duran at a time when Duran's age would affect his style less than Ray. Like I said before. People should watch the first fight and second fight and notice the foot positioning and it is easy to see the story. Someone watched the fight and had an opinion that Ray won easily and fought his fight- which people then do not respect.