BoxRec

At lightweight, who wins.(in their prime) Roberto Duran or Sweet-Pea?

Good match... sweet pea was a beautiful boxer but Duran had too much fire power and speed... he was also a very underrated boxer himself... he'd persue Sweet pea and just have too much strength for Pernall... Duran wins on points...

silkov wrote:Good match... sweet pea was a beautiful boxer but Duran had too much fire power and speed... he was also a very underrated boxer himself... he'd persue Sweet pea and just have too much strength for Pernall... Duran wins on points...

Insert "Chavez" in place of Duran - and Sweet Pea was blatantly robbed in that fight.

Eric the Viking wrote:

silkov wrote:Good match... sweet pea was a beautiful boxer but Duran had too much fire power and speed... he was also a very underrated boxer himself... he'd persue Sweet pea and just have too much strength for Pernall... Duran wins on points...

Insert "Chavez" in place of Duran - and Sweet Pea was blatantly robbed in that fight.

Yes, but it was a welterweight fight, and we're talking about a prime Duran at 135.

Duran at 135 is the best thing I've ever seen in boxing, but this is the only fight I can't see him winning clearly: anyway, I think that in a very close fight, a knockdown would be the difference: Duran by decision.

Durans defensive skills were far superior to Julio's.Duran would have beaten Chavez fairly easily at lightweight.i don't know who i would pick to win Whitaker/Duran but it would be a close fight whatever!.

buchanan vs Dejesus is another fight worth discussing

Whitaker easily.

Whitaker is slick for the first 5 rounds....but Duran cuts off the ring and smothers Whitakers jabs and counters to take his feet away with body shots, getting the better of any inside exchanges


will Whitaker be low blowing and constantly holding like he did against Chavez??? either way, Duran overpowers him and pounds him in clinches....and uses some rough tactics of his own

I guess we all agree on one thing - it would be a really intriguing matchup!

Duran was unbeatable at lightweight. Opponents didn't even try and win. They were happy to survive. Pernell was class, but I saw the way Freddie Pendleton and Poli Diaz tagged him in his prime, and knew he wouldn't have beaten Duran.

Duran would have blown Whitaker right out of the ring.

delisa wrote:Duran would have blown Whitaker right out of the ring.

Even in his lightweight prime, Duran had a fair number of UD wins to slick defensive boxer types, none of whom were slicker than Whitaker. Sure, it's possible that Duran KOs Sweet Pea, but nothing in Whitaker's re'sume' suggests that that was easy to do.

Duran by decision.

Eric the Viking wrote:

delisa wrote:Duran would have blown Whitaker right out of the ring.

Even in his lightweight prime, Duran had a fair number of UD wins to slick defensive boxer types, none of whom were slicker than Whitaker. Sure, it's possible that Duran KOs Sweet Pea, but nothing in Whitaker's re'sume' suggests that that was easy to do.

Actually the only one who lasted the distance (Im not talking about nontitle fights which wasnt the best version of Duran) was Edwin Viruet by sole virtue of his tough chin. Duran as a lightweight blew out everyone else: punchers, technicians, slicksters. I think Sweet Pea would not have been the exception, although is very possible that he could have lasted the distance.

With 130 knockouts between them, Roberto Duran and Ike Williams would have been an interesting match. They both faced the best competition in their day and usually won.

Simonpure wrote:With 130 knockouts between them, Roberto Duran and Ike Williams would have been an interesting match. They both faced the best competition in their day and usually won.

Now, that is a match-up. I know guys who say Ike Williams was a lightweight Tommy Hearns and would have been too tall, long-armed and hard-punching for Duran, as Tommy was himself.
Ike Williams was BAD!

Duran at lightweight was a beast. He didnt fight for the money, he boxed because he enjoyed punching people in the head as simple as that. 8)

Whitaker would have probably beat him at any division above lightweight but at 135 Duran would have been to savage.

WITHOUT QUESTION DURAN WAS SUPERIOR IN DEFENSIVE AND
OFFENSIVE SKILLS. DURAN WAS A GREAT COUNTER PUNCHER THAT
MANY OVERLOOK. WHITAKER WOULD HAVE HAD SOME TROUBLE WITH
THAT AS WELL AS DURANS DEFENSIVE ABILITIES.

Duran certainly ranks over Whitaker at 135, but I think the American had the style to beat him, even over 15 rounds.
No-one knocked out Whitaker, and he faced some great fighters in his time: outclassing Azumah Nelson for instance. I don't think Duran would have managed to stop him either.
I think he'd probably just keep moving and frustrate Duran to a points loss, just like Benitez did.
Saying that I was never a fan of Whitaker fights, you always knew the result beforehand: Pernell W12.

Duran late stoppage