Why Duran did it, how it affected his legacy, how it affected your view of him as a fighter, and how you would rate him differently as an ATG fighter if it went down differently.
I think he was terribly overweight when the fight was announced, and he had too little time to prepare properly. His manager received an offer he didn't want to refuse ($_$) and they basically ****ed up Duran's body to get him at the proper weight with chemicals.
Duran was prepared alright, but Ray learned his lesson in the first fight, and Duran was alarmed by the difference.At the point Roberto quit, he was confused , tired , and getting embarresed.I have a feeling the quitting was impulsive, and if he could do it again, he may have hung in there, but he may have gotten ktfo, and he may have known this.At the time Duran was my hero, and since I've never really adorned just one fighter with my loyalty again.I still enjoy boxing , but I understand boxers are just individuals and my nuthugging days are over, thanks to "no mas".
i dont think it really has effected his legacy and if he had the chance to change it he would. I would agree it was impulse and would imagine something personal would have been in his head at the time. I would have loved to have met him to ask him.
I really wanna know what you people would do if you were getting beaten badly by someone you already beat, and to top it off hes making fun of you. I just hate it when fighters showboat too much its just annoying, and i think he quit more in annoyance and frustration that he couldnt do anything about it.
how many fights have been totally one sided and the guy getting the beating has came back late to win. i agree with your statement a lot of guys would quit but not duran he had the tools to turn it around even if it was a long shot.
I don't like hearing this notion that Leonard didn't fight in the second fight. Thats crap. He didn't stand there toe to toe with a fighter who was better at that style. He did in the first fight and lost. He used the ring more, but he certainly was fighting. And I also don't like hearing that Duran was losing badly. He wasn't. He was barely down on the cards. One round I believe.
I think it was a ***** ass move. If any other fighter does it (ie Vitali, Freitas, etc) then they're quitters!!! It's not like he was getting battered or anything. He didn't like what Leonard was doing and he got frustrated and quit, plain and simple. Just because a fighter is moving around the ring and not alllowing you to hit him, doesen't give you the right to quit. Adapt. Find a way to land your shots and try to take him out. (i.e. Corrales/Freitas, Whitaker/Hurtado)
Duran weighed almost 230 lbs. They got him down to fighting size with drugs. He wasn't in proper condition, and it took a while for him to recharge after that. He did not fight another impressive fight until two years later, against Cuevas. After that he was substantially better, and faded more gradually. I'm not excusing him for No Mas, but I do believe he physically felt terrible. Duran could deal wit frustration. He was in a similar situation (minus the making faces) against Viruet and even Bizarro, chasing after guys that were hard to catch, but I think the difference this time was that he felt he didn't have the energy, might have been nauseous, a little dizzy, just spent from losing that much weight through the use of substances. I don't believe Duran stepped out of the ring simply because Leonard made a few faces and clowned a bit. I wish I could, that would give it some moral highground. But I personally believe, as Duran himself has said, 'I didn't have anything to give that night'.
Vitali Klitschko is already a quitter, he quit against Byrd whilst winning almost every round with only 2 rounds to go he quit because of a shoulder injury...........now call me stupid but all he had to do was survive 2 rounds, 6mins against a small powder punching Byrd who was never going to stop him and he would have won the fight. He could have lost the last two round by not even thoriwng a punch and still won the fight............why he quit is beyond me other than he has no heart or is mentally weak! Now wait for all the Vitali nuthuggers to come on and defend him..........calling me a hater :roll:
Somewhere inbetween all the legends, it was a bit of a "**** you, fight my way or no way" / being sick / feeling he couldn't win mixture, terrible that it happened.
Didn't hurt his legacy much...maybe a little, but regardless, Duran is still considered a top 10 fighter with or without the "no mas"
Duran is still an ATG, but no doubt, it was a disgraceful act. It's his fault that he ballooned up in weight with an $8 mil payday on the horizon. One strange thing is that Leonard wasn't even beating him that bad. He was ahead, but it was still a competitive fight.
duran was pissed off, lost his temper and was couldn't be f#cked chasing srl for 12 rounds - i don't blame him, srl didn't come to fight he came to taunt that night