Duran - Cervantes (A sad shame that this bout was never made)

[AngryGoon38]

This hypothetical along with an obviously nice size list of other's that "Easily could've been made, but somehow someway just never Managed to Materialize".
This one in particular though, just always strikes me as Mysteriously Odd that while it should've been seen as "The Bout that Must be Made", just apparently, for some specific reason or Reasons never materialized as such.
Cervantes fought and tko'd Chang KiL Lee in the 6th round, on march 2nd, 1974, while Duran won the rematch versus Esteban DeJesus, on March 16th of that same year. This is exactly specifically the time when the promoters and managers really should've been starting in the works of making this Would've been Amazing Bout come to Fruition.

They idealistically could've first worked it out for them to have a 10 round non-title defense bout. At 140 obviously.
It would've been a nice challenging non title bout for Cervantes. Duran could get a Real Feel of fighting against an Elite 140 title-holder, and hopefully do well enough, and then basically go from there.
It's poignant to point out that Duran was already having obvious issues making 135, as early as a few months after dethroning Buchanan" in June of 1972, for the 135 Strap. Remember, "Duran-Dejesus 1" took place in November of 1972, and it was a 10 round non-title bout, with both boxers weighing over 135.

Duran fought many non title tune-up bouts throughout his Lightweight Reign. His weight for these bouts generally hovered between 137-144, and he even weighed in at 151 in one particular tune-up non-title bout, and it was in 1973 !!
That tells you right then and there, that Roberto Duran was Completely suitable to move up to being exclusively a 140 guy, and challenging for the 140 JrWW title, as early as 1973, and Definitely by 1974, and most ideally, right after that march of 1974 rematch win over Dejesus.

Like I stated, they could've just had a 10 round non-title bout, in the 140 jrWW division, And Duran would've been able to decide, based on the outcome of they're 10 rounder, barring an egg-laying performance, if he wanted to then leave LW(135)/vacate his belt in that 135 division, which he had obviously already basically outgrew as early as 1973, and proceed to challenge Cervantes for the 140 Belt in what would've obviously had been a 15 rounder.

A 10 rounder between these two Great Boxers would've been one of those very possible stage setting monumental rivalry trilogy events. I tend to think that Duran would've won a very close decision, and it would've likely had a definitive aura of controversy to it, meaning, probably a fair share of fans would've been saying stuff like, "Well Really it could've went either way", or, "Hey, a draw would've been a more fair decision".

Therefore, they would've definitely then had the proper 15 round title bout, with Duran then obviously having to vacate his 135 LW champion belt. The first bout(The non title 10 rounder) likely would've taken place in June of 1974(Being that things got done So Much Quicker back in them days), and then the 15 round jrWW title bout would've likely taken place in September of 1974.
Myself being A Big-time fan of Roberto Duran can obviously see Duran winning the 140 belt from Cervantes.
But realistically though, could I be 100% certain that Duran would've won the 140 title versus Cervantes..!?
Or even the initial 10 rounder initial concept bout...?!

I prefer to refer to it as a Concept bout, because that would've been My personal take on that bouts approach, had I been Duran's manager for instance. That would've been the specific way that I would've wanted to bring Duran along in his boxing carear, so to speak. First have him just have A 10 rounder versus Cervantes, and then see what happens, and then go from there.
If Duran's style just didn't correlate for whatever reason, going by the first bout(The 10 rounder), then I as a manager of Duran would've just said to Duran, "Well, you're still The King, at Lightweight, so let's just get back to work, and business as usual".

[goose 5]

Carlos Eleta admitted in a November, 1983 interview with the New York Times that he did not let this fight happen in the 1970's because he thought Duran would lose. ELeta went on to say that in light of Duran's win over Sugar Ray Leonard, he was wrong to have nixed the bout as Duran proved he could beat a bigger man.

[scartissue]

This hypothetical along with an obviously nice size list of other's that "Easily could've been made, but somehow someway just never Managed to Materialize".
This one in particular though, just always strikes me as Mysteriously Odd that while it should've been seen as "The Bout that Must be Made", just apparently, for some specific reason or Reasons never materialized as such.
Cervantes fought and tko'd Chang KiL Lee in the 6th round, on march 2nd, 1974, while Duran won the rematch versus Esteban DeJesus, on March 16th of that same year. This is exactly specifically the time when the promoters and managers really should've been starting in the works of making this Would've been Amazing Bout come to Fruition.

They idealistically could've first worked it out for them to have a 10 round non-title defense bout. At 140 obviously.
It would've been a nice challenging non title bout for Cervantes. Duran could get a Real Feel of fighting against an Elite 140 title-holder, and hopefully do well enough, and then basically go from there.
It's poignant to point out that Duran was already having obvious issues making 135, as early as a few months after dethroning Buchanan" in June of 1972, for the 135 Strap. Remember, "Duran-Dejesus 1" took place in November of 1972, and it was a 10 round non-title bout, with both boxers weighing over 135.

Duran fought many non title tune-up bouts throughout his Lightweight Reign. His weight for these bouts generally hovered between 137-144, and he even weighed in at 151 in one particular tune-up non-title bout, and it was in 1973 !!
That tells you right then and there, that Roberto Duran was Completely suitable to move up to being exclusively a 140 guy, and challenging for the 140 JrWW title, as early as 1973, and Definitely by 1974, and most ideally, right after that march of 1974 rematch win over Dejesus.

Like I stated, they could've just had a 10 round non-title bout, in the 140 jrWW division, And Duran would've been able to decide, based on the outcome of they're 10 rounder, barring an egg-laying performance, if he wanted to then leave LW(135)/vacate his belt in that 135 division, which he had obviously already basically outgrew as early as 1973, and proceed to challenge Cervantes for the 140 Belt in what would've obviously had been a 15 rounder.

A 10 rounder between these two Great Boxers would've been one of those very possible stage setting monumental rivalry trilogy events. I tend to think that Duran would've won a very close decision, and it would've likely had a definitive aura of controversy to it, meaning, probably a fair share of fans would've been saying stuff like, "Well Really it could've went either way", or, "Hey, a draw would've been a more fair decision".

Therefore, they would've definitely then had the proper 15 round title bout, with Duran then obviously having to vacate his 135 LW champion belt. The first bout(The non title 10 rounder) likely would've taken place in June of 1974(Being that things got done So Much Quicker back in them days), and then the 15 round jrWW title bout would've likely taken place in September of 1974.
Myself being A Big-time fan of Roberto Duran can obviously see Duran winning the 140 belt from Cervantes.
But realistically though, could I be 100% certain that Duran would've won the 140 title versus Cervantes..!?
Or even the initial 10 rounder initial concept bout...?!

I prefer to refer to it as a Concept bout, because that would've been My personal take on that bouts approach, had I been Duran's manager for instance. That would've been the specific way that I would've wanted to bring Duran along in his boxing carear, so to speak. First have him just have A 10 rounder versus Cervantes, and then see what happens, and then go from there.
If Duran's style just didn't correlate for whatever reason, going by the first bout(The 10 rounder), then I as a manager of Duran would've just said to Duran, "Well, you're still The King, at Lightweight, so let's just get back to work, and business as usual".

Dude, you might be off a little bit in your timeline. It was in '78 he weighed in at 151 for a non-title and that was after he relinquished his lightweight title and was campaigning as a welterweight. In '73 he was still making lightweight comfortably, although still coming in at 137-138 for non-titles. Duran was one of the few who took advantage of non-titles, which kept a champion sharp, in shape and gave the champ a no-risk payday. But man, I wanted to see this bout with Cervantes as well as a unification match with Rodolfo Gonzalez. But it was not meant to be. Our loss.

[dagosd2000]

Dude, you might be off a little bit in your timeline. It was in '78 he weighed in at 151 for a non-title and that was after he relinquished his lightweight title and was campaigning as a welterweight. In '73 he was still making lightweight comfortably, although still coming in at 137-138 for non-titles. Duran was one of the few who took advantage of non-titles, which kept a champion sharp, in shape and gave the champ a no-risk payday. But man, I wanted to see this bout with Cervantes as well as a unification match with Rodolfo Gonzalez. But it was not meant to be. Our loss.
[/quote]

Dan ,Rodolfo told me a few takes on why he didn't fight Duran.He said once that Duran was satisfied with keeping his his WBA version and that Rodolfo said that he was fine with his WBC belt. They were content not to fight each other

Then he told me once that he was offered more money to fight Ishimatsu and turned down Duran's offer. He said something like he got 50 grand to fight Ishimatsu when Duran was offering 30 g's.

[AngryGoon38]

This hypothetical along with an obviously nice size list of other's that "Easily could've been made, but somehow someway just never Managed to Materialize".
This one in particular though, just always strikes me as Mysteriously Odd that while it should've been seen as "The Bout that Must be Made", just apparently, for some specific reason or Reasons never materialized as such.
Cervantes fought and tko'd Chang KiL Lee in the 6th round, on march 2nd, 1974, while Duran won the rematch versus Esteban DeJesus, on March 16th of that same year. This is exactly specifically the time when the promoters and managers really should've been starting in the works of making this Would've been Amazing Bout come to Fruition.

They idealistically could've first worked it out for them to have a 10 round non-title defense bout. At 140 obviously.
It would've been a nice challenging non title bout for Cervantes. Duran could get a Real Feel of fighting against an Elite 140 title-holder, and hopefully do well enough, and then basically go from there.
It's poignant to point out that Duran was already having obvious issues making 135, as early as a few months after dethroning Buchanan" in June of 1972, for the 135 Strap. Remember, "Duran-Dejesus 1" took place in November of 1972, and it was a 10 round non-title bout, with both boxers weighing over 135.

Duran fought many non title tune-up bouts throughout his Lightweight Reign. His weight for these bouts generally hovered between 137-144, and he even weighed in at 151 in one particular tune-up non-title bout, and it was in 1973 !!
That tells you right then and there, that Roberto Duran was Completely suitable to move up to being exclusively a 140 guy, and challenging for the 140 JrWW title, as early as 1973, and Definitely by 1974, and most ideally, right after that march of 1974 rematch win over Dejesus.

Like I stated, they could've just had a 10 round non-title bout, in the 140 jrWW division, And Duran would've been able to decide, based on the outcome of they're 10 rounder, barring an egg-laying performance, if he wanted to then leave LW(135)/vacate his belt in that 135 division, which he had obviously already basically outgrew as early as 1973, and proceed to challenge Cervantes for the 140 Belt in what would've obviously had been a 15 rounder.

A 10 rounder between these two Great Boxers would've been one of those very possible stage setting monumental rivalry trilogy events. I tend to think that Duran would've won a very close decision, and it would've likely had a definitive aura of controversy to it, meaning, probably a fair share of fans would've been saying stuff like, "Well Really it could've went either way", or, "Hey, a draw would've been a more fair decision".

Therefore, they would've definitely then had the proper 15 round title bout, with Duran then obviously having to vacate his 135 LW champion belt. The first bout(The non title 10 rounder) likely would've taken place in June of 1974(Being that things got done So Much Quicker back in them days), and then the 15 round jrWW title bout would've likely taken place in September of 1974.
Myself being A Big-time fan of Roberto Duran can obviously see Duran winning the 140 belt from Cervantes.
But realistically though, could I be 100% certain that Duran would've won the 140 title versus Cervantes..!?
Or even the initial 10 rounder initial concept bout...?!

I prefer to refer to it as a Concept bout, because that would've been My personal take on that bouts approach, had I been Duran's manager for instance. That would've been the specific way that I would've wanted to bring Duran along in his boxing carear, so to speak. First have him just have A 10 rounder versus Cervantes, and then see what happens, and then go from there.
If Duran's style just didn't correlate for whatever reason, going by the first bout(The 10 rounder), then I as a manager of Duran would've just said to Duran, "Well, you're still The King, at Lightweight, so let's just get back to work, and business as usual".

Dude, you might be off a little bit in your timeline. It was in '78 he weighed in at 151 for a non-title and that was after he relinquished his lightweight title and was campaigning as a welterweight. In '73 he was still making lightweight comfortably, although still coming in at 137-138 for non-titles. Duran was one of the few who took advantage of non-titles, which kept a champion sharp, in shape and gave the champ a no-risk payday. But man, I wanted to see this bout with Cervantes as well as a unification match with Rodolfo Gonzalez. But it was not meant to be. Our loss.

Boxrec Used to list the weights of the boxers, in each of they're bouts, throughout they're carear.
I distinctively remember seeing Duran listed as weighing 151 Much Earlier than 1978.
It was definitely no later than 1975, but I seem to recall it being A particular tune-up bout in 1973, that Duran weighed in at 151.

[AngryGoon38]

I find these post replies interesting and they Do make sense. I watched a video recently from "Rich the Fight Historian". A video about "Antonio Cervantes".
I notice that he had that very quick short left-hook, which would just Bolt-Out, out of nowhere, unexpectedly, and the opposing opponents seemed to not see it coming in the least bit. Kind of reminiscent to "Terrance Crawford" actually.
"Noccohlino Locche" seemed to be able to profoundly avoid getting tagged with that particular punch.
Locche Was a very Rare type of ability speciman defensive Boxer though.

Would Duran be able to avoid getting caught with that very quick short and powerful left hook..?
DeJesus had a nice left hook as well, and he decked Duran, with that specific punch, in each of they're first two bouts.
Cervantes had a harder left hook though. And it was just as quick as the one DeJesus had.
DeJesus is listed at 5'4-1/2 with a 67" reach. Cervantes is listed at 5'8-1/2 with a 72" reach.
I think that he was actually closer to 5'10 though. Cervantes had a tendency to Slump.
Plenty of Boxers Do Not stand straight up while they're height is being measured.

I can totally believe that Duran's managers strongly preferred to avoid Cervantes.
They obviously saw something in his style that they didn't want Duran to face off against.
Maybe they felt that Duran would fight too Recklessly against a Very Dangerous Champion Opponent in Cervantes, and thus wind up getting caught, and perhaps multiple times caught with that specific punch that he apparently had a definitive vulnerability with.

I tend to think that Duran would've properly readjusted his style and acclimated his approach to a very defensive based safety first stick and move style, and this bout would've most likely went the 15 round distance.
I could definitely see Duran getting caught early on and likely put on the deck, but I think that Duran would've had the punch resilience to recover very rapidly and fight on harder than ever, but while also sticking to A specific stick and move based gameplan/strategy.

A very close decision for one or the other would've been the likely outcome.
Maybe Duran's managers saw it this way as well, and simply decided that this wasn't going to be a particularly worthwhile endeavor for Duran to go through. Simply put, They preferred to Protect Duran from what they apparently concluded as being the Wrong Opponent for they're Guy. A business based decision that Duran was content with..?

[Seamus]

I wonder also, if part of the reason for possibly avoiding Cervantes would have been his weight. I've read incredible stories about Duran years ago where it was claimed he was known to put on 50 lbs between fights at Lightweight, and that's when he was very active. Supposedly he'd lay around all day stuffing his face and drinking beer, and got so fat he was unrecognizable. And then even more incredibly he'd get back in shape to fight. Still, there comes a point when a man can't get back down to a certain weight, or if he does, he's weak as a pup.

[elmersalsa]

This is a very interesting fight. The great Roberto Duran is seen at the time as the favorite to win against Antonio Cervantes of Colombia, who was a terrific fighter just like Duran.

I don't know why Duran didn't fight Rodolfo "Gato" Gonzalez, the other WBC World Lightweight Champion from Mexico. That would have been a great event at the Inglewood Forum of Inglewood, CA for a world title unification or a ten rounder a la Battle of the Z Boys.

Another fight that didn't materialized was a super fight with the great Alexis Arguello of Nicaragua for Duran's World Lightweight Crown in 1978, at MSG in New York City. Duran was supposed to receive $300,000 dollars, which at the time would have been his biggest payday in the 70s decade.

Another fight that didn't materialized was a ten-rounder against the great Wilfred Benitez of Puerto Rico, circa 1977-78 also at Madison Square Garden in New York. Duran was supposed to receive $150,000 by Don King Promotions.

Being a Duran's fan, I could see beating all four if he comes in the greatest shape possible. But these four guys could beat him too at any given day. But, at least it would have been interesting to see the outcome.

For me, the most dangerous of the four, it would have been Cervantes Kid Pambele.

Cervantes and Duran had common opponents:
Esteban De Jesus
Hector Thompson
Soul Mamby
Benny Huertas
Josue Marquez
Gerardo Ferrari
Javier Ayala
Lupe Ramirez

So, a clash with these two was as natural as it could be.

[Ambling Alp II]

I wonder also, if part of the reason for possibly avoiding Cervantes would have been his weight. I've read incredible stories about Duran years ago where it was claimed he was known to put on 50 lbs between fights at Lightweight, and that's when he was very active. Supposedly he'd lay around all day stuffing his face and drinking beer, and got so fat he was unrecognizable. And then even more incredibly he'd get back in shape to fight. Still, there comes a point when a man can't get back down to a certain weight, or if he does, he's weak as a pup.

If he could down to 135, wouldn't getting down to 140 have been easier?

[AngryGoon38]

I wonder also, if part of the reason for possibly avoiding Cervantes would have been his weight. I've read incredible stories about Duran years ago where it was claimed he was known to put on 50 lbs between fights at Lightweight, and that's when he was very active. Supposedly he'd lay around all day stuffing his face and drinking beer, and got so fat he was unrecognizable. And then even more incredibly he'd get back in shape to fight. Still, there comes a point when a man can't get back down to a certain weight, or if he does, he's weak as a pup.

If he could down to 135, wouldn't getting down to 140 have been easier?

Had I been Duran's manager, i definitely would've had Roberto vacating the 135 belt to move up to pursuing the 140 belt, right after the rematch win versus DeJesus in 1974.
Staying at 135, for those ALL those Many Title-Defense bouts was definitely mainly a business based decision by Duran's management.
I'm Sure that Roberto would've been All in favor of not having to make the 135 weight anymore, once he had avenged the 1972 loss with the 1974 rematch victory.

It should've served as Closure, at least certainly for Roberto Duran, but apparently, his managers must've encouraged him to remain at 135 for as long as humanly possible.
I tend to believe that making 135 must've Really Became a Daunting Struggle.
Obviously we all know that Duran fought quite a few non title bouts, while technically at JrWW, and even a good several in the lower WW(147) range, while as reigning LW King.

Boxing against Cervantes and Benitez in the Junior Welter Division will always remain as Should've would've could've bouts that surely and Certainly would've been Epic, regardless of the specific results.
I'm very certain that Duran would've done Much Better versus Benitez, had they fought at 140.
At 147 would've been a Great Bout as well.

The bout they had at 154 in the early part of 1982 was basically pretty lame.
I still Highly commend That Version of Benitez though.
He(Benitez) should've went for Hagler Right after The win versus Duran.
Benitez had perfect momentum during that Specific Time-Period.

Had he fought and decisioned Hagler, it would've been a Classic bout of Slick Boxer versus Iron Jawed Brawler Mauler.
Yes, Hagler had Good Boxing skills himself, but I always see where Benitez could've pulled off a Great Slickster Boxing Performance and decisioned Hagler, especially specifically during the absolute Peak of Benitez's carear, which was definitely 1981 and 1982. If Vito was able to hold his own That Well, then that in itself tells me that it would've been a very winnable bout for Slickster Wilfred, versus The Mighty Marvin.

[Seamus]

Wasn't Duran coming in at the WW range at the time a fight with Cervantes was being talked about at 140 ? That's what I meant by it possibly being something he wouldn't want to do as he was more comfortable at 147.

[scartissue]

This hypothetical along with an obviously nice size list of other's that "Easily could've been made, but somehow someway just never Managed to Materialize".
This one in particular though, just always strikes me as Mysteriously Odd that while it should've been seen as "The Bout that Must be Made", just apparently, for some specific reason or Reasons never materialized as such.
Cervantes fought and tko'd Chang KiL Lee in the 6th round, on march 2nd, 1974, while Duran won the rematch versus Esteban DeJesus, on March 16th of that same year. This is exactly specifically the time when the promoters and managers really should've been starting in the works of making this Would've been Amazing Bout come to Fruition.

They idealistically could've first worked it out for them to have a 10 round non-title defense bout. At 140 obviously.
It would've been a nice challenging non title bout for Cervantes. Duran could get a Real Feel of fighting against an Elite 140 title-holder, and hopefully do well enough, and then basically go from there.
It's poignant to point out that Duran was already having obvious issues making 135, as early as a few months after dethroning Buchanan" in June of 1972, for the 135 Strap. Remember, "Duran-Dejesus 1" took place in November of 1972, and it was a 10 round non-title bout, with both boxers weighing over 135.

Duran fought many non title tune-up bouts throughout his Lightweight Reign. His weight for these bouts generally hovered between 137-144, and he even weighed in at 151 in one particular tune-up non-title bout, and it was in 1973 !!
That tells you right then and there, that Roberto Duran was Completely suitable to move up to being exclusively a 140 guy, and challenging for the 140 JrWW title, as early as 1973, and Definitely by 1974, and most ideally, right after that march of 1974 rematch win over Dejesus.

Like I stated, they could've just had a 10 round non-title bout, in the 140 jrWW division, And Duran would've been able to decide, based on the outcome of they're 10 rounder, barring an egg-laying performance, if he wanted to then leave LW(135)/vacate his belt in that 135 division, which he had obviously already basically outgrew as early as 1973, and proceed to challenge Cervantes for the 140 Belt in what would've obviously had been a 15 rounder.

A 10 rounder between these two Great Boxers would've been one of those very possible stage setting monumental rivalry trilogy events. I tend to think that Duran would've won a very close decision, and it would've likely had a definitive aura of controversy to it, meaning, probably a fair share of fans would've been saying stuff like, "Well Really it could've went either way", or, "Hey, a draw would've been a more fair decision".

Therefore, they would've definitely then had the proper 15 round title bout, with Duran then obviously having to vacate his 135 LW champion belt. The first bout(The non title 10 rounder) likely would've taken place in June of 1974(Being that things got done So Much Quicker back in them days), and then the 15 round jrWW title bout would've likely taken place in September of 1974.
Myself being A Big-time fan of Roberto Duran can obviously see Duran winning the 140 belt from Cervantes.
But realistically though, could I be 100% certain that Duran would've won the 140 title versus Cervantes..!?
Or even the initial 10 rounder initial concept bout...?!

I prefer to refer to it as a Concept bout, because that would've been My personal take on that bouts approach, had I been Duran's manager for instance. That would've been the specific way that I would've wanted to bring Duran along in his boxing carear, so to speak. First have him just have A 10 rounder versus Cervantes, and then see what happens, and then go from there.
If Duran's style just didn't correlate for whatever reason, going by the first bout(The 10 rounder), then I as a manager of Duran would've just said to Duran, "Well, you're still The King, at Lightweight, so let's just get back to work, and business as usual".

Dude, you might be off a little bit in your timeline. It was in '78 he weighed in at 151 for a non-title and that was after he relinquished his lightweight title and was campaigning as a welterweight. In '73 he was still making lightweight comfortably, although still coming in at 137-138 for non-titles. Duran was one of the few who took advantage of non-titles, which kept a champion sharp, in shape and gave the champ a no-risk payday. But man, I wanted to see this bout with Cervantes as well as a unification match with Rodolfo Gonzalez. But it was not meant to be. Our loss.

Boxrec Used to list the weights of the boxers, in each of they're bouts, throughout they're carear.
I distinctively remember seeing Duran listed as weighing 151 Much Earlier than 1978.
It was definitely no later than 1975, but I seem to recall it being A particular tune-up bout in 1973, that Duran weighed in at 151.

Actually, they still do. Which is where I got my info on him not weighing 151 until '78. All his fights in '73 he was still weighing in the 130s

[AngryGoon38]

Wasn't Duran coming in at the WW range at the time a fight with Cervantes was being talked about at 140 ? That's what I meant by it possibly being something he wouldn't want to do as he was more comfortable at 147.

Yeah, that's when they Finally wanted to make That bout Happen. After Duran had already fully grown into A full-fledged Welterweight.
When Duran had already vacated his 135 belt, right after the trilogy bout(3rd bout)victory versus DeJesus, he was already Much More Comfortable at 147 by that point in time. Roberto Had already had Many non-title bouts between 72-77, fighting in the weight range of 137-144, and all this while as a LW champ.
They were 4 years Too Late. 1974, right after Duran won the rematch(2nd bout), versus DeJesus Would've been the Ideal time-frame to set the stage for Duran-Cervantes.
Contractual and Promotional difficulties go aways back apparently. Nothing new under the Sun.

[Ezzard]

Watching a lot of his lightweight bouts after winning the title... It's clear to see Duran is not up for all of them. In some he just seems to decide to physically overwhelm his opponent rather than use his skills.

He possibly was already not always fully applying himself and thought he could do the same at 147 and beyond. At 135 this was possible. But at the higher weights it was not.

[goose 5]

Duran and Benitez were signed to fight in November , 1977 at MSG but Duran pulled out claiming influenza. The bout was rescheduled for April, 1978 at MSG but Benitez pulled out with hepatitis.

[goose 5]

I have to correct what I posted earlier in this thread: It was Luis Spada who was interviewed by the N.Y.Times in November, 1983 and spoke about Carlos Eleta not wanting Duran to fight the bigger Cervantes in 1974. The article can be found by googling "A Title That Duran Missed".

[Ezzard]

Duran would have won both in the 70s.

[goose 5]

No argument here-I can't see either guy beating a prime Duran.