BoxRec

Prime Ketchel vs the Duran of the Barkley fight. 20 rounds, outdoors in the hot sun.

I assume Ketchel is gonna get the old "Primitive skills" line from you know who.

Having never seen Ketchel fight in any video that I would consider quality it's hard for me to gauge what he was capable of in terms of technique, but in terms of power if he could flatten almost all of the top 160 pounders of his day you'd have to think he could knock out Duran if he were able to find him.

Finding him would be the problem of course.

A guy with primitive skills cannot beat the great Roberto Duran. End of story.

Do i know this guy or what? ^

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 18:09 Do i know this guy or what? ^

And what you think? That Roberto Duran would have lost to a guy like that?

i saw some old low quality footage of ketchel and he looked awful. i get the footage from back then wasn't the most flattering, but it cant explain away all the holes i saw. the boxing at that time was just not up to snuff technically, even accounting for the longer distances they had to fight. of course he had power though.

its prob a bit of a crap shoot when it comes down to these huge generational difference fights, where you had guys 1920ish and earlier. but id feel more confident going with duran, who has much fewer unknowns and visible flaws to me

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 20:03

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 18:09 Do i know this guy or what? ^

And what you think? That Roberto Duran would have lost to a guy like that?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 21:17

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 20:03

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 18:09 Do i know this guy or what? ^

And what you think? That Roberto Duran would have lost to a guy like that?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

Have you seen his fight with the great Jack Johnson? And Roberto Duran ain't beating a guy like that? Do you truly believe that that boxing style beats a technician like Duran?

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 22:33

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 21:17

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 20:03

And what you think? That Roberto Duran would have lost to a guy like that?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

Have you seen his fight with the great Jack Johnson? And Roberto Duran ain't beating a guy like that? Do you truly believe that that boxing style beats a technician like Duran?

I don't know, and you don't either. As I've said the limited footage there is of Ketchel gives us not a lot to go on.

And the Jack Johnson fight was essentially fake except for the last 10 seconds or so of action. At least according to Legend, so how either Ketchel or Johnson look there doesn't count for much.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 23:03

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 22:33

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 21:17

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

Have you seen his fight with the great Jack Johnson? And Roberto Duran ain't beating a guy like that? Do you truly believe that that boxing style beats a technician like Duran?

I don't know, and you don't either. As I've said the limited footage there is of Ketchel gives us not a lot to go on.

And the Jack Johnson fight was essentially fake except for the last 10 seconds or so of action. At least according to Legend, so how either Ketchel or Johnson look there doesn't count for much.

Like I said before. Any guy with primitive skills cannot beat the great Roberto Duran. End of story.

You don't know how skilled Ketchel was or wasn't. End of story.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 22:33

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 21:17

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 20:03

And what you think? That Roberto Duran would have lost to a guy like that?

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

Have you seen his fight with the great Jack Johnson? And Roberto Duran ain't beating a guy like that? Do you truly believe that that boxing style beats a technician like Duran?

Are you comparing Duran to Jack Johnson?

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 01:37 You don't know how skilled Ketchel was or wasn't. End of story.

I betcha he wasn't skilled. End of story. Roberto Duran whupps him every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

keithmoonhangover wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 05:26

elmersalsa wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 22:33

gilgamesh wrote: ↑12 Feb 2026, 21:17

I don't have an opinion one way or the other. There's not enough footage for me or any other living person to know what Ketchel was or wasn't truly capable of.

Have you seen his fight with the great Jack Johnson? And Roberto Duran ain't beating a guy like that? Do you truly believe that that boxing style beats a technician like Duran?

Are you comparing Duran to Jack Johnson?

Nope.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 10:14

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 01:37 You don't know how skilled Ketchel was or wasn't. End of story.

I betcha he wasn't skilled. End of story. Roberto Duran whupps him every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why don't you go see if your unskilled ass can win a Middleweight Championship.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:29

elmersalsa wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 10:14

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 01:37 You don't know how skilled Ketchel was or wasn't. End of story.

I betcha he wasn't skilled. End of story. Roberto Duran whupps him every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why don't you go see if your unskilled ass can win a Middleweight Championship.

My unskilled ass kick yours. I bet you that. Stanley Ketchel beat Roberto Duran? Don't make a fool of yourself, bruh. Please!

Duran was in another level.

Ketchel beat Duran.

elmersalsa wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:45

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:29

elmersalsa wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 10:14

I betcha he wasn't skilled. End of story. Roberto Duran whupps him every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Why don't you go see if your unskilled ass can win a Middleweight Championship.

My unskilled ass kick yours. I bet you that. Stanley Ketchel beat Roberto Duran? Don't make a fool of yourself, bruh. Please!

Duran was in another level.

Ketchel beat Duran.

My point wasn't that I can beat you up. I couldn't care less if I could or couldn't. My point was nobody that ever became a World Champion in Boxing is unskilled. Especially one that many still called "The Greatest Middleweight of All Time" long after his death.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:48

elmersalsa wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:45

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 13:29

Why don't you go see if your unskilled ass can win a Middleweight Championship.

My unskilled ass kick yours. I bet you that. Stanley Ketchel beat Roberto Duran? Don't make a fool of yourself, bruh. Please!

Duran was in another level.

Ketchel beat Duran.

My point wasn't that I can beat you up. I couldn't care less if I could or couldn't. My point was nobody that ever became a World Champion in Boxing is unskilled. Especially one that many still called "The Greatest Middleweight of All Time" long after his death.

Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga was unskilled. He became world champion in 2 weight classes. Stanley Ketchel was a killer pig puncher. No class. No technique. Just like Mayorga. And he's beating one of the greatest boxers that ever lived? Gimme a break.

Look at this folks!



Stanley Ketchel vs Billy Papke (IV)

And with that style he supposed to beat the great Roberto Duran?

Look at this folks!



Stanley Ketchel vs Billy Papke (IV)

And with that style he supposed to beat the great Roberto Duran?

Wow a whole minute and a half of chopped up footage. I feel like I know everything about Ketchel's style now.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 14:59 Wow a whole minute and a half of chopped up footage. I feel like I know everything about Ketchel's style now.

what do you think of the boxing you see there though?

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 18:50

gilgamesh wrote: ↑13 Feb 2026, 14:59 Wow a whole minute and a half of chopped up footage. I feel like I know everything about Ketchel's style now.

what do you think of the boxing you see there though?

Way more clinching and in fighting than would've been allowed in Duran's era. A very hard puncher. A bigger man than Duran. He's going to at bare minimum be able to take whatever Duran is coming at him with, and keep swinging away trying for the KO.

Could he adjust to a modern man like Duran and figure his timing out to get the KO punch? I don't know. I will say this. I don't see Stanley Ketchel winning a decision over Duran. It's KO or nothing.

There's over 25 minutes of Ketchel-Papke on youtube.