By Miguel Rivera
Boxing legend, Roberto 'Hands of Stone' Duran, says the only way to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr. is to break down his body and then go for the head.
During his Hall of Fame career, Duran captured four divisional titles and severely punished the bodies of his opponents. Duran was a master at breaking fighters down with his aggressive pace and digging hooks. Many historians regard Duran as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in history.
Mayweather, who won five titles in five weight divisions, retired last year with his undefeated 49-0 record intact. Duran had his last fight in 2001 and walked away with a record of 103 win, 16 defeats and 70 wins by knockout.
"If Mayweather would have fought with me, I would have busted all of his ribs - because I wouldn't have anything to [hit by throwing to the head]. A man who [covers defensively with his shoulder] as well as he does, you have to throw to the liver and that is going to [give you openings]. You always throw to the ribs and then you do the same thing to the other side [of his body," Duran told ESPN Deportes.
Duran has said it before and he said it again, that Mayweather copied a lot of his in-ring tactics to beat and frustrate opponents. Duran is still not impressed wit his level of opposition, but he says it's not necessarily Mayweather's fault.
"Almost all of his tricks, he learned them from Roberto Duran. All of those tricks he learned from me," Duran said. "He says that he is the best ever, but of course we known that has not fought with anybody."
"He was born at a time where boxing had been declining. I won't say that boxing will fall completely, because you have to remember that the world keeps turning...you fall a little bit and you come back up. [Boxing] always has it's ups and downs."