Would have been the greatest pound for pound of all time?

[TigerMoth]

If Roberto Duran had retired after Duran:Leonard 1, his record would have been 72 wins, 1 loss which he avenged.

I once saw a boxing special that described the impossible conditions for Duran:Leonard II. These conditions were smartly established by Leonards management. It was well known that after a major fight, Duran would go off and party for a couple of months putting on 20 - 30 lbs. So, schedule the fight as soon as possible. Large ring size in Leonards favor. Gloves chosen by Leonards management, and so on. It is not in dispute, Leonard clearly dominated the 2nd fight and Duran disgraced himself (although I for one feel he later redeemed himself with many excellent performances). And, Duran continued on in higher weight classes where a guy 5'7" tall and 66" reach was at a decided disadvantage. So, in his later years he has a good but not great record.

But, what if he retired after Duran:Leonard 1? Would he have been the greatest pound for pound of all time?

[Ezzard]

If Duran had retired he would not have had the shame of no mas BUT there are other great fights he won like Moore, Barkley as well as the great losing effort against Hagler.

He was not the same fighter and he lost some ifghts he should have won but still... I believe he's a greater fighter for those accomplishments.

[barry]

No fighter will out do what Henry Armstrong accomplished.

[dr_devious]

Dunno about greatest lb for lb, its hard to compare across generations. My vote would be for Sugar Ray Robinson, but had Duran retired after the first Leonard fight he would have gone out as a superman. I still think Duran is one of the best lb for lb of all time, and I'd have him as the best lightweight ever.

[wolverine1]

I'd always found it interesting that Leonard clamored for a quick rematch against Duran, and a chance to redeem his loss, while denying Hagler the same chance to avenge his robbery loss.

[The Great John L]

I'd always found it interesting that Leonard clamored for a quick rematch against Duran, and a chance to redeem his loss, while denying Hagler the same chance to avenge his robbery loss.

Interesting, but certainly not surprising. SRL was a pretty bright guy.

[walshb]

I love Duran and what he achieved in Montreal in 1980 V Leonard was one of the great accomplishments thru history, but I still feel that Ray Leoanrd at his peak at Welter was a better fighter p4p, as was Robinson. The only fighter at Welter I would favor to beat Leonard is Robinson and it would be darn close...Duran's career was better than Leonards, but Ray was the more complete fighter.....

[Grimm]

I'd always found it interesting that Leonard clamored for a quick rematch against Duran, and a chance to redeem his loss, while denying Hagler the same chance to avenge his robbery loss.

Didn't Ray Leonard say that he doesn't give rematches?

[barry]

>>>If the titles hadn't been frozen because of the War, Robinson would have, and he had a longer prime.<<

If's and would have's is nothing but opinion...Armstrong did do it...Robinson did not and the war did not effect Robinson in the ring, he continued to fight and had many fights between 1941 and 1945...the war had no bearing on Robinson not fighting for a title at all! Plus, due to new restrictions, Robinson would never have been allowed to hold three titles at one time!

[Seamus]

Forget Duran ! If Julio Cesar Chavez had hung up his gloves after his successful May 8 1993 title defense against Terrence Alli, he would have retired with a record of 88-0 (74 KO's) and 25-0 (18 KO's) record in world title bouts, and would have been unbeated and untied for a period of over 13 years. Cholo was good, but NOT that good. Had Chavez retired in 93 you could definitely make a case for him being the greatest ever.

[theone]

Duran is an all-time great, but I believe he is a bit overrated. His losses and bad showings are excused and downplayed more than any other fighter. No one really comments about the vicious low blow that won him the lightweight title, or the fact that Davey Moore should not have been cleared medically to fight that night against Duran, and that even some of Moore's own people who knew he was in no condition to fight, bet against him.
Like I said Duran is no doubt an all time great, but i dont think he comes close to comparing to the likes of Robinson,Ali,Armstong,Greb, and a few others.

[Greg Nicholas]

I can make a strong case for Joe Gans or Sam Langford as best ever.