Considering that Panama Lewis was in Duran's corner? I was unaware of Lewis prior to the HBO doc about the Collins/Resto fight, however I did see the Duran/Moore fight and remember cringing at the beating that Moore took. Putting two and two together, it smells funny.
What I always found funny what Bernstein's allegation that Duran thumbed Moore, I have yet to see any proof that this actually occurred. Bernstein make this comment about two rounds after it was suppose to have occurred.
Moore's face and eyes were a mess when it was stopped, but it was Duran's punches that caused it. I noticed Moore starting to wear in the 2 round.
The main thing to be questioned in this struggle are the actions of the doctor, the referee and Moorer's corner. One of them should have stopped the fight after the seventh round. Instead , they were sadistically and shamefully watching Moorer be beaten in the eighth round....:-(
Who pushed Moore into taking Duran as a defense ...since Moore only had 12 previous pro fights? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGTlQsjzmWU
Obviously someone who didn't like him very much...lol But the real answer is many people, including Moore's management team, vastly underestimate Duran's ability to take a punch. Personally, I think this is the most under rated trait he possess.
I think the world was too overjoyed to see Roberto's comeback to question it. Sports Illustrated ran a cover story called "Roberto's Redemption".
I personally believe Duran had a more impressive chin than Hagler. Duran was a natural lightweight taking heavy punches from huge punching middleweights. Hagler never left his natural weight. Could he have taken shots from Mike Spinks? The only guy to ever beat the **** out of Duran was Hearns but he was a freak of nature.
If Roberto didn't thumb Davey, he had hell on his hands, and Duran knew it. Unfortunately, Moore was never the same afterwards. He could have kayoed Curry, and given McCallum fits.
What was underestimated was what Duran did or didn't have left. He had been vastly unimpressive for ages and Cuevas hadn't been much chop since Hearns so that win was discounted a lot. Moore was about a 9-5 favourite over Duran and the vast majority were picking him.
I agree they said 9/10 experts picked Moore but when you watch the fight even though Duran avoided a lot of shots he still got hit cleanly with numerous punches that hurt/stopped others he had fought up to that point. It was part of the reason so many picked Moore was due to his power.
It looked like his eye swelled up. That can happen for a number of reasons. You need to consider that Moore struggled to make weight. When you have to cut hard to make weight, your body overcompensates in terms of fluid retention when you rehydrate, making you much more susceptible to swelling. IMO you are innocent until proven guilty so there is no reason for me to question Duran's victory over moore given his track record through 5 decades of professional prizefighting
THIS ^ :deal People forget that Duran was supposed to be a high profile victim for Moore's resume. I myself rated Moore highly after he disintegrated SA's Charlie Weir. Weir had a tremendous reputation here at the time and to be honest folks locally were rubbing their hands in the anticipation of another Silver Assassin execution job. So much for that. Moore actually did pretty well in the first few rounds. He landed some great shots on Duran, but Roberto's steel chin and razor sharp reactions allowed him to ride the punches and weather the storm. Moore unfortunately had no such defense for Duran's blows and the effect of Duran's onslaught became apparent quickly. Frankly the thumb in the eye (if it happened which it may have) would have been only one of many infractions from both fighters in what was a very dirty fight. The ref was obviously out of his depth.