Who is more skilled. Floyd Mayweather or Roberto Duran

[MJ223]

Hard question to answer.

In terms of solely skill, they are up there with the very best.

I'd lean on Duran because he applied it aganinst much better fighters.

Nothing to add.....

[WolfGirl]

Him beating better fighters doesn't mean he's got better boxing skill, he could beat Mayweather and still have less boxing skill. It's only one part of what makes a good fighter, mental and physical attributes are just as important.

This is a very good point. I agree with a lot of that,But Floyd looking more skilled against LESSER fighters don't mean he's actually more skilled.

Roy Jones Jr won't have looked the same against Michael Spinks as he did against Richall Hall...

[WolfGirl]

Mayweather is more skilled but Duran was no slouch either
You can't just say Duran and point to his fight with Leonard without looking at his rematch and the Hearns and Hagler fight
Leonard ****ed up the first fight by fighting Durans fight
Duran had ****ing balls of steel and deserves credit for that but he was not as skilled as Mayweather

This is one of the biggest myths in boxing. Leonard did not fight Duran's fight. Leonard fought Leonard's fight. Roberto Duran, for one night was just the better man. He never was again, but that night he fought LEONARD'S fight and beat him at it.

Leonard's perceived image as a dancer/mover is pure bull****. He started off his career as a explosive slugger who takes you out. He loves to trade and dominated guys with his bursts of power/athleticism. His shockingly fast hand speed enabled him to be a very deadly slugger/brawler and that's the way he fought. He threw in his mixture of grace and outside fighting with the trademark shuffles and fleet footwork to impress the crowd, but Young Leonard's true power was in his explosive bursts and his love for combat.


In fact, this is pretty much proven in the Hearns-Leonard fight when Leonard actually tried to outbox Hearns and attempt his dancer/mover tactics which had him losing the fight. He readjusted his tactics and went into the slugging version which enabled him to take Hearns out later on.


The myth that Leonard was nothing more than a dancer/mover and 'fought Duran's fight' is just as preposterous as the myths that 'Marvin Hagler is a come forward slugger and loves to walk you down' along with the famous
'Mike Tyson had no boxing skills" and 'Ali's rope a dope was concocted to take Foreman out'

[MJ223]

This is one of the biggest myths in boxing. Leonard did not fight Duran's fight. Leonard fought Leonard's fight. Roberto Duran, for one night was just the better man. He never was again, but that night he fought LEONARD'S fight and beat him at it.

Leonard's perceived image as a dancer/mover is pure bull****. He started off his career as a explosive slugger who takes you out. He loves to trade and dominated guys with his bursts of power/athleticism. His shockingly fast hand speed enabled him to be a very deadly slugger/brawler and that's the way he fought. He threw in his mixture of grace and outside fighting with the trademark shuffles and fleet footwork to impress the crowd, but Young Leonard's true power was in his explosive bursts and his love for combat.


In fact, this is pretty much proven in the Hearns-Leonard fight when Leonard actually tried to outbox Hearns and attempt his dancer/mover tactics which had him losing the fight. He readjusted his tactics and went into the slugging version which enabled him to take Hearns out later on.


The myth that Leonard was nothing more than a dancer/mover and 'fought Duran's fight' is just as preposterous as the myths that 'Marvin Hagler is a come forward slugger and loves to walk you down' along with the famous
'Mike Tyson had no boxing skills" and 'Ali's rope a dope was concocted to take Foreman out'

If your really a girl..... I'm in Love

[kiDynamite92]

Do you hold Tyson to this standard?

Castillo and Corrales are better wins than anything Tyson has.

Better than Larry Holmes and Razor Ruddock? I don't think so.

[WolfGirl]

Better than Larry Holmes and Razor Ruddock? I don't think so.

Two very very underrated wins. Ruddock was the 2nd most feared puncher in the division at the time behind Tyson. Nobody wanted a piece of Ruddock, he was like the HW Version of Gennady Golevkin during that era.

The 'Ruddock Smash' was one of the most deadly punches that I seen in boxing and Ruddock would have went on to perfect that move if Tyson and Lennox didn't ruin him.

Wladimir is actually tailor made for a move like 'the smash', along with the likes of Price and Haye.


You can not say a fighter's wins is 'nothing special' when you look back upon it. The truth is hard punching ATG'S like Tyson and Lewis ruined a lot of fighters who didn't go on to do much after their beatings, but heading into the fights they were perceived to have been serious legitimate threats.

[Capaedia]

Better than Larry Holmes and Razor Ruddock? I don't think so.

The best lightweight since Whitaker in his prime, is a better win than an old, inactive Larry Holmes.

Corrales was a P4P fighter. Ruddock never sniffed that.

[Pr23]

close but id say hands of stone and i dont mean margacheato

[DARKSEID]

Easily Floyd and I don't see how it's debatable

[junior gong]

This is one of the biggest myths in boxing. Leonard did not fight Duran's fight. Leonard fought Leonard's fight. Roberto Duran, for one night was just the better man. He never was again, but that night he fought LEONARD'S fight and beat him at it.

Leonard's perceived image as a dancer/mover is pure bull****. He started off his career as a explosive slugger who takes you out. He loves to trade and dominated guys with his bursts of power/athleticism. His shockingly fast hand speed enabled him to be a very deadly slugger/brawler and that's the way he fought. He threw in his mixture of grace and outside fighting with the trademark shuffles and fleet footwork to impress the crowd, but Young Leonard's true power was in his explosive bursts and his love for combat.


In fact, this is pretty much proven in the Hearns-Leonard fight when Leonard actually tried to outbox Hearns and attempt his dancer/mover tactics which had him losing the fight. He readjusted his tactics and went into the slugging version which enabled him to take Hearns out later on.


The myth that Leonard was nothing more than a dancer/mover and 'fought Duran's fight' is just as preposterous as the myths that 'Marvin Hagler is a come forward slugger and loves to walk you down' along with the famous
'Mike Tyson had no boxing skills" and 'Ali's rope a dope was concocted to take Foreman out'

This is an absolutely great post.