Why does nobody ever seem to mention duran's loss at lightweight?

That's because ATGs like Duran can get away with murder around here and people will make excuses all day long for them. The fact he did lose at LW and is 1-4 against SRL, Hagler and Hearns not to mention he quit against SRL should be held against him but it isn't.:-(

 

I say they were equally skilled at 135. Pea is right, Duran's defense is somewhat underrated. He had a mean streak and had more power than PBF.

 

:yep One of the best shots in history. I truly felt sorry or Duran in that fight, a stylistic nightmare.

 

If Duran had been beaten by De Jesus yet never rematched him then it would be worth having a 'go' at him for the loss. But with the loss being a non-title affair when Duran wasn't in his prime combined with the fact that he did stop De Jesus twice in return matches, then you have your awnser why it hardly gets a mention. Duran's wins over De Jesus, perhaps the third one the most, gets mentioned more often than the loss.

Your correct, Duran wasn't invincible. And trust me he wasn't quite the puncher people make him out to be at lightweight either. Against less than stellar opposition, usually the non-title fights, he quickly dispatched his opponents during the early rounds. And thats one thing that for sure goes unnoticed. The amount of non-title fights Duran had throughout his 7 year title reign, 22 in total to be precise. You'll find that many of title defenses went deep into the late rounds when he faced sterner opposition. Credible lightweight challengers to his title. His power wasn't quite as alarming to those opponents as they were to the 'taxi cab driver' warms ups in between his defenses.

 

Duran´skills are harder to decipher than Floyd´s. Duran perfected a skill set that was one of the most rare in boxing-- the ability to come forward with a slick defensive set. This, truth be told, is more difficult IMO than what Floyd does in the ring. Note how few fighters can do it.

 

Definitely more skilled. Like I said, you need to watch more of Duran at LW. He was the slickest, most defensively skilled boxer-puncher/pressure fighter ever. He used excellent feints, slips and counters, body-punching from any angle, and variety in his attack. Watch some of Duran at his LW best here against Rojas, and then some of 3rd fight with Dejesus. You have to watch closely, watch how he intigrates offense with defense.

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Unquestionably more versatile than Mayweather. He showed more fundamental boxing skills than Leonard in their bout, and more versatility despite Leonard's flashy combinations. Leonard did not fight the fight to the best of his interest, but why not? Leonard was the bigger, stronger, more powerful fighter, so why would he have to fight him from the outside? Duran proved his worth in that first fight, even though if both at their bests I'd choose Leonard by about a 9-6 UD.

 

duran avenged it 2x by knockout, settling the dispute on who was the better man. it's talked about here as well, particularly in 'what if' fights. in regards to durans susceptibility to slicksters, people often site that fight, along with SRL 2 and the benitez fights as examples of his kriptonyte.

 

True. To be honest, it's taken me quite a while to truly appreciate Duran's style, but I do now, and in a while new light. I would've never thought of comparing him to an offensive Benitez before, but honestly I see similarities with not only their stance, but their feints and movements. Duran was just much more offensive minded and aggressive, with more ferocity.

 

And to be clear, Duran at 154 that night against Hearns was NOTHING like Duran at 147 against Leonard. Still, Duran never would've beaten Hearns, and I doubt he'd have ever gone the distance with him. Just as bad a matchup as it gets.

 

mayweather would have gone 1-4, if not 0-4, against SRL, Hearns and Hagler as well.

 

I think Duran would've beaten him decisively, but that's just me. Over 15 a stoppage is very possible, that is how highly I think of Duran's skills.

 

Duran's defense isn't 'eye catching' like Whitaker's or Mayweather's. Simply because he wasn't flashy in a technical sense. Duran looks almost crude to the average boxing fan based on his style. But if you watch him very closely he does suttle little things in there. He does take punches parcially from time to time, but nothing clean usually lands. Duran's defense wasn't just great beacause he was flexible from the waist, but the head as well. His anticipation and the ability to avoid incoming punches from his opponent was instinctive to say the least. While Duran attacked his opponents he was intelligent enough never to come in straight-up and down, like a telegraph pole.

Duran's best defensive move? Without doubt his little half a foot duck inside and mid-range to take the sting out of his opponents punches or make them miss altogether.

 

Floyd would've lost to Benitez, I shudder to think what Leonard, Hearns and Hagler would do to him.

 

Duran was one of the guys when I first started watching boxing that I thought was overated. Now when I watch him I like him more and more. Every boxing fan should sit down with a few beers and just take the time to watch a few full fights of his to see the subtle things he did.

I honestly think the reason people don´t like Duran (myself included at first) is that his form of craft is so different from everything else out there. Without a reference point to compare him to, its hard to see just how subtle his ability to mix both offensive and defensive facets was. Its like a new form of art... its hard to appreciate the artist without first knowing the artform and with him there just isnt one really. The Benitez example is a good one. Another good one is Ismael Laguna. If you watch Laguna vs. Ramos (just saw this a week ago) you see some Duran.

 

:happy