BoxRec

Duran is better p4p but at this weight Toney is naturally bigger, who would win this super slick match.

Have to agree Grimm. Duran never looked like a middleweight and you'd expect Toney's harder shots to wear him down. I do think Duran had a superb boxing brain and he used it brilliantly in the Hagler fight. He was too small to win that one against a peak Marvin but he did better than could be expected.

Duran would not make it easy for Toney but he would lose a close but clear decision.

Toney is an excellent figther and it would take an excellent fighter naturally closer in size to beat him.

Immediate thought would be Toney by knockout, but then I remember how well Duran did against Hagler, so I certainly don't feel Toney would just overpower Duran. Duran was up in age a bit at middleweight, so Toney would have the better speed and if he fought the way he did against McCallum in their first bout then I would say Toney by points!

>>>Duran didn't do shit against Hagler.<<<

He didn't? Funny, seems he did a lot more than most of the fighters that faced Hagler throughout his career, but I guess Marvin had a soft sport for Duran and just coasted to let Duran last out the fight! Have you even seen the fight?

It's just possible that Duran could have out-hustled Toney. Toney is a counter-puncher, letting his opponent come to him. Duran came at his opponents, but not in a conventional sense, he was herky-jerky, gave angles, and could counter-punch in his own right. It would depend on what kind of Toney showed up to fight, as we all know what to expect from Duran.
And yes, even considering the "No Mas" fight, so no need to bring that up.

Duran would have been there and might have worked every opportunistic moment to his advantage. Hard to imagine him overcoming the basic frame difference with a guy as big and sharp as Toney. Probably would go about the same way as the Hagler fight.

And Duran was right in there with Hagler. Duran had a style that was tough for Hagler, and they both did all they could in that fight. Hagler always came with whatever he had. To say anything else would be rumpswabbing for Hagler, something he hardly needs.

Decagon wrote:Duran didn't do shit against Hagler. Hagler simply didn't open up, and the judges were very lenient with Duran, giving him every possible close round. This is an interesting fight, because Toney is about as consistent as he is anorexic. If Dave Tiberi could whoop Toney, so could Duran, but Duran was past his prime at 160.

That's not fair. If you want to use the Tiberi fight as a reason why Duran could win, then how about mentioning Roberto Duran's loss to Robbie Sims? You can't have it both ways and mention Toney at his worst and forget about Duran at his worst.

Overall, I see Toney using his angles and pressure to frustrate Duran and eventually stop him late. Middleweight was just too heavy for Duran IMO despite the Barkley fight. He fought with more excess weight than muscle at 160. Hagler showed Duran a lot of respect and almost gave away the fight.

Maybe he was referring to Duran being a "prime" middleweight to Toney when he WAS a prime middleweight.