BoxRec

Thirty-five years ago, in Montreal, Canada, on a Friday night, the world stop to watch one of the most anticipated fights in history. Never before, outside the history of the heavyweight division, a fight was more anticipated by two great welterweights in their prime. Roberto Duran, the former world lightweight king from Panama, was challenging for the WBC World Welterweight Title held by dazzling champion superstar Sugar Ray Leonard.
In a fight of the ages, Duran surprised me with his underrated speed and defense. He ouboxed and out fought Leonard. He almost stopped him in two occasions, in the 2nd and 4th rounds, ripping him with shots to the ribs. But Leonard fought great and proved that he was game, even though he clutched and grabbed too much in my view. They went fifteen full rounds. Duran won clearly. It was Manos de Piedra's finest hour.

I'm not a Duran fan, but he fought a hell of a fight. he managed Leonard perfectly in the build up and also in the ring. If Leonard fought the wrong tactical fight, he only has himself to blame.

I do not think that the great Sugar Ray Leonard fought a wrong tactical fight like the American media implied at the time. He simply got whipped by the better fighter. The great Roberto Duran was remarkable in his boxing skills and underrated speed. He even surprised me how he made Leonard miss lots of times. It was Duran'surprised finest hour. He was in great shape.
When the two were at the top of their game, Duran won. Plain and simple.

Duran vs Barkley was a pretty good hour as well, especially with Roberto being 37 at the time.

He had several fine hours, the first Leonard one being the finest.
Unfortunately for him, Leonard was at his best for the rematch and showed he was better. Duran showed no guts facing a superior opponent for the first time. He redeemed somewhat himself with gutty performances against Hagler and Barkley.

Ambling Alp II wrote:He had several fine hours, the first Leonard one being the finest.
Unfortunately for him, Leonard was at his best for the rematch and showed he was better. Duran showed no guts facing a superior opponent for the first time. He redeemed somewhat himself with gutty performances against Hagler and Barkley.

Say what? Sugar Ray was the "superior" opponent?
That Leonard "was not at his best" the first time around?
I will ask the people here if Leonard was the "superior" opponent.
Anyone that believes that Duran was the same fighter of the first fight got to be DELUSIONAL.
Duran dominated the first fight. Nullified Sugar Ray's hand speed AND CLEARLY WAS THE BETTER FIGHTER.
That hogwash about Leonard do not fight his fight and fought the wrong fight is PURE BALONEY BY THE AMERICAN MEDIA

It was a great performance from Duran. But it was an extremely close fight and no one dominated it. Also, I think the Leonard who stopped the Hitman in the 14th was better than the Leonard of Montreal.

Seamus wrote:It was a great performance from Duran. But it was an extremely close fight and no one dominated it. Also, I think the Leonard who stopped the Hitman in the 14th was better than the Leonard of Montreal.

The hitman made a big mistake by fighting Leonard at 147 instead of 154 lbs. IMO. Hearns came into the fight at 144 lbs. and looked like a skeleton. He was better and stronger at 154.

Of course, Hearns may not have gotten his big money fight with Leonard if he held out for a fight at 154.

They were both welterweights at the time. It made perfect sense for them to fight at 147 at the time. Hearns looked every bit as good at 147 as he did at 154. Not to mention that he had fought his last several fights at 147 and had never weighed more than 152. They probably (but who knows) would have fought at 154 around 1984 if Leonard did not have the eye problems.

Hearns was better at 154.

Yes, it was Duran's finest hour.... but less than a year later.... he committed the worst sin a boxer could commit... and that was tarnished forever... fortunately for all of us, Duran spent the next ten-fifteen years trying his damndest to make up for his mistake... He shocked the world with his 15 round performance against Hagler, won the Super Middleweight championship from Iran Barkley in one of the greatest fights of all time... and even when he was passed it, he was in some damn good contests with the likes of Vinny Paz... What he lost in the Leonard rematch, he won back through many years of blood, sweat, tears and courage... Of all the men in the 1980s, in my opinion, he was the best all-around fighter of the bunch.

I agree that he committed a horrible; quitting when you knew you were going to lose but physically able to continue.
Disagree with some of the hyperbole.
The Hagler-Duran fight was surprisingly close, but it hardly "shocked the world".
The Duran-Barkley fight was a middleweight title fight, not super middle. There was some good action, but it was not one of the greatest fights of all time.(Later in the year, Leonard completely dominated Duran in a fight that is not to be spoken about.)
No way that Duran was a better fighter than Leonard or close being the best fighter of the 1980s.

Ambling Alp II wrote:I agree that he committed a horrible; quitting when you knew you were going to lose but physically able to continue.
Disagree with some of the hyperbole.
The Hagler-Duran fight was surprisingly close, but it hardly "shocked the world".
The Duran-Barkley fight was a middleweight title fight, not super middle. There was some good action, but it was not one of the greatest fights of all time.(Later in the year, Leonard completely dominated Duran in a fight that is not to be spoken about.)
No way that Duran was a better fighter than Leonard or close being the best fighter of the 1980s.

Duran was better than Leonard. The night of June 20, 1980 proved it.
Duran was the best of the 70s
Leonard was the best of the 80s
Everybody got their time.

Ambling Alp II wrote:I agree that he committed a horrible; quitting when you knew you were going to lose but physically able to continue.
Disagree with some of the hyperbole.
The Hagler-Duran fight was surprisingly close, but it hardly "shocked the world".
The Duran-Barkley fight was a middleweight title fight, not super middle. There was some good action, but it was not one of the greatest fights of all time.(Later in the year, Leonard completely dominated Duran in a fight that is not to be spoken about.)
No way that Duran was a better fighter than Leonard or close being the best fighter of the 1980s.

Great post.

elmersalsa wrote:I do not think that the great Sugar Ray Leonard fought a wrong tactical fight like the American media implied at the time. He simply got whipped by the better fighter. The great Roberto Duran was remarkable in his boxing skills and underrated speed. He even surprised me how he made Leonard miss lots of times. It was Duran'surprised finest hour. He was in great shape.
When the two were at the top of their game, Duran won. Plain and simple.

I think Yancy likes this argument for another duet of fighters. And in this case, it's exactly correct.

BoxBuzz wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:I do not think that the great Sugar Ray Leonard fought a wrong tactical fight like the American media implied at the time. He simply got whipped by the better fighter. The great Roberto Duran was remarkable in his boxing skills and underrated speed. He even surprised me how he made Leonard miss lots of times. It was Duran'surprised finest hour. He was in great shape.
When the two were at the top of their game, Duran won. Plain and simple.

I think Yancy likes this argument for another duet of fighters. And in this case, it's exactly correct.

Only Leonard knows 100% is he fought the wrong fight. I've watched the fight over and over and I think it's clear from the start of the first round that Leonard doesn't use as much leg movement as he usually does. That's my opinion.

Running around in circles is not a guarantee in beating someone like the great Roberto Duran in his A game

elmersalsa wrote:Running around in circles is not a guarantee in beating someone like the great Roberto Duran in his A game

But yet it worked perfectly in the second fight.

Every time Duran loses, his fans say it's because he hadn't trained properly, wasn't focused and was out of shape.

keithmoonhangover wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:Running around in circles is not a guarantee in beating someone like the great Roberto Duran in his A game

But yet it worked perfectly in the second fight.

Every time Duran loses, his fans say it's because he hadn't trained properly, wasn't focused and was out of shape.

So you believe that Duran on the second fight brought his A game?

The EVIDENCE is clear that he went into a party binge. He had all the gusto that he could get after the win in Montreal.
I do not have excuses for Roberto. He lost to Esteban DeJesus outright in the first fight.
I like Sugar Ray. He is top 20 ATG pound per pound. But in the biggest fight of his career, he lost to a lightweight.
I never believed that he was a superior fighter than Duran. In what he was superior? In boxing skills? A better career? In what he was superior superior?

Almost dead even fight. Very close. No one dominated. Both are ATGs.

There is no question that Duran was not the same in the second fight. There is at least some doubt over whether Leonard chose to engage, or whether Duran's pressure forced him to. I can see reason to believe that Leonard could have used lateral movement and fought on the back foot, and that the fight might have been different that way. Would he have made a fool of Duran like in No Mas? Definitely not. Might it have tipped 's close fight the other way? It might. The way history actually went, this was Duran' s finest hour, and the best win on the 80's arguably.

SamWise72 wrote:There is no question that Duran was not the same in the second fight. There is at least some doubt over whether Leonard chose to engage, or whether Duran's pressure forced him to. I can see reason to believe that Leonard could have used lateral movement and fought on the back foot, and that the fight might have been different that way. Would he have made a fool of Duran like in No Mas? Definitely not. Might it have tipped 's close fight the other way? It might. The way history actually went, this was Duran' s finest hour, and the best win on the 80's arguably.

This the right post so far.
The best post!

elmersalsa wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:

elmersalsa wrote:Running around in circles is not a guarantee in beating someone like the great Roberto Duran in his A game

But yet it worked perfectly in the second fight.

Every time Duran loses, his fans say it's because he hadn't trained properly, wasn't focused and was out of shape.

So you believe that Duran on the second fight brought his A game?

The EVIDENCE is clear that he went into a party binge. He had all the gusto that he could get after the win in Montreal.
I do not have excuses for Roberto. He lost to Esteban DeJesus outright in the first fight.
I like Sugar Ray. He is top 20 ATG pound per pound. But in the biggest fight of his career, he lost to a lightweight.
I never believed that he was a superior fighter than Duran. In what he was superior? In boxing skills? A better career? In what he was superior superior?

Show me this evidence.

It is well documented that Duran went into a party celebration in NYC. He stayed about two months there. By that time, he ballooned up to more than 200lbs. That's a fact. See it at the No Mas documentary in 30 for 30 films by ESPN.

I want to know in what Leonard was superior to Manos de Piedra?

elmersalsa wrote:It is well documented that Duran went into a party celebration in NYC. He stayed about two months there. By that time, he ballooned up to more than 200lbs. That's a fact. See it at the No Mas documentary in 30 for 30 films by ESPN.

I want to know in what Leonard was superior to Manos de Piedra?

And you believe all these stories? Here are the facts. Leonard made Duran quit like a little spoilt brat. Leonard was the better boxer in two of their three matches.