The myth of Roberto Duran being an exciting fighter

[prinzemanspopa]

There's also this great myth that Hopkins was this clinching/spoiler type of fighter throughout his entire career.Anybody who belives that Hopkins has always been a clincher with low workrate simply hasn't seen much of the man in his prime.



From 1996-2001,Bernard Hopkins was argubaly the most complete fighter in the sport.You'd struggle to name as many well-rounded boxers as Hopkins within that time.The man was capable in any area,mixed his offense well with his defense,and could bust you up on the outside,or working at close quarters.

[Toney616]

I mean... I like watching Pryor throw 1000 punches per round. Or Roy Jones moving at the speed of light while throwing triple hooks. But I can definitely sit and appreciate Hopkins' perfect roughhousing. Even though the rules say otherwise, it is quite clear that it's a skill a complete fighter needs to master, so I try to watch what he is doing and understand, and in that way I don't get bored/disappointed.

I think we are going to have to agree, to disagree on this

[Toney616]

There's also this great myth that Hopkins was this clinching/spoiler type of fighter throughout his entire career.Anybody who belives that Hopkins has always been a clincher with low workrate simply hasn't seen much of the man in his prime.



From 1996-2001,Bernard Hopkins was argubaly the most complete fighter in the sport.You'd struggle to name as many well-rounded boxers as Hopkins within that time.The man was capable in any area,mixed his offense well with his defense,and could bust you up on the outside,or working at close quarters.

Hopkins has always been dirty. I remember that headbutt he hit Mercado with, not to mention that clinic in low blows he put on Holmes, disgusting he should of got dqed.

[wmute]

I think we are going to have to agree, to disagree on this

As I mentioned in my post, most boxing fans do not like that stuff, and I have no problem with your tastes. I personally like every aspect of boxing.

[THE REED]

Triple left hooks at the speed of light.

[wmute]

Triple left hooks at the speed of light.

Something was telling me you would have liked that one :-)

How you been?

[Dynamite Kid]

Never understood this one myself.I could count perhaps ten of his fights that I'd deem watchable - the vast majority of those would come after his prime too.


So many of his fights,as a lightweight in particular are such a wild mess that it's difficult to actually follow.Duran's supporters will tell you how underrated technically he is - and while it's true that he was able to mix his defense well with offense - it certainly wasn't pleasing to watch.So much smothered work and holding involved in these fights - devoid of consistent clean punching.


I'm perhaps in a minority,but I never enjoyed his first fight with Sugar Ray Leonard,either - for reason's stated above.He's generally regarded as this great in-fighter when in actual truth his inside work is inferior to a far more technically sound Julio Cesar Chavez - who's work was entirely clean and didn't require holding and what not.


That's not say he was like this his entire career,however.As he got older,and a little slower,his work was alot cleaner and his technique stood out a little more.The Davey Moore fight,for example,was a pretty thrilling one-sided fight.It's true that Duran poked him in the eye,thus impairing Moore's vision early on in the fight.But one cannot deny that he looked brilliant in this fight - showing excellent technique and great composure in breaking down the bigger man.

There is a bit of that about the way Duran fought early in his career, although i did not find him boring to watch because of it, I mean, it was hardly Ricky Hatton type holding, that is what i consider boring to watch.

Duran's most entertaining fights imo were against Viruet 2, Leoncio Ortiz fight was okay, as Duran gave him a thorough beating and never stopped punching, Vilomar Fernandez fight was pretty good to, however I did not enjoy the Palomino fight for the reasons you stated, but i enjoyed his fight with Nino Gonzalez which was an excellent fight, the Sims fight was not bad, the Barkley fight was great, the Castro fight was a high contact fight with both fighters going at it inside, infact Castro for my money, seemed to get the better of Duran inside at times.


I personally dont find Roy Jones or Larry Holmes particularly exciting to watch, although Holmes was in a few good fights, Weaver 2, Norton, Shavers 2, Williams etc.