Should Roberto "No Mas" Duran Be Remembered As A Coward?

[The Noose]

A lot of current fighters get called cowards for far less than quitting in the middle of a fight. Some casual boxing fans who know nothing about the sport even have the nerve to call Mayweather one despite him fighting top level competition throughout his entire career. So if fighters like Floyd who consistantly fight the best and would never even consider quitting in the middle of a fight get called "cowards", then what does that say about Roberto Duran? I understand he was getting clowned on and dominated in his 2nd fight with Leonard, but instead of sticking in there and finishing strong like real fighters do (ie: Ali, Frazier, Mayweather, etc.), he let his whole country and the sport of boxing down by quitting out of nowhere. Does that sound like the act of a coward to you?

It could SOUND like he was a coward if u didnt know what else he had a achieved and didnt understand the possible reasons why he quit that night.

I personally think he quit because he was getting humiliated and starting to get hurt by Leonard who was clowning around. I dont think it was just because he didnt train right or he had stomach cramps.

I also think he came back to prove what a great fighter he was and cowards dont go 15 rounds with Hagler, take on Leonard again, and face Hearns if they are cowards.


People call Floyd a coward because he is a current fighter and everyone criticises everyone. If Ali was fighting today he would receive a lot of criticism by some people.

[BennyST]

I bet you look like Alex Ariza.

[SBleeder]

No, one moment of one night does not render one of the most courageous fighters in history a "coward". There is a quote from the book Four Kings that I'll post later that goes into possible reasons for Duran's actions; one person close to Duran stated that in quitting, Duran believed he was committing "The ultimate macho act". I'll find the quote and post it later.



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On a side note, the fact that anyone would consider Duran a coward, even if he had in fact been a coward on that one particular night, speaks volumes about the sport of boxing. These rough, tough, mixed martial arts competitors are constantly quitting ("tapping out")... make of that whatever you will.

[blaze778]

Duran shouldn't have quit. He quit due to frustration and losing his temper. It was a ridiculous move. But a real coward is someone who quits due to fear or because they fold under the pressure.

Duran went on to accomplish a lot. He fought over 20 years after the incident and won numerous world titles. I think he did more than enough to redeem himself.

A natural Lightweight who went the distance with Hagler, won titles at 154 and 160, and fought in 5 different decades should not be remembered as a coward.

[klipsch speaker]

I posted this a month or 2 ago.

I was watching his career set just a while ago and noticed a stretch in his career when he went against Pipino Cuevas, Davey Moore, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in succession!!!!
...and it ****ing happened when he was already way past his prime!
...and was the significantly smaller man!!!
.....whew... Its like JMM going up against Cotto, Kirkland, Abraham and Paul Williams!!!
Damn!!!

Whats being coward about that?

[r.burgundy]

duran wasnt a coward.coward implies that your scared.he was far from scared of leonard

[Scott9945]

Duran was not a coward. He fought way out of his weight class and that was the only time he ever gave up.

What? That makes no sense. Duran was an excellent fighter at 147, and good enough to win titles at 154 and 160.

[TBear]

20-0 in the votes say anything I might humbly add to this thread.

[Anthony342]

No, one moment of one night does not render one of the most courageous fighters in history a "coward". There is a quote from the book Four Kings that I'll post later that goes into possible reasons for Duran's actions; one person close to Duran stated that in quitting, Duran believed he was committing "The ultimate macho act". I'll find the quote and post it later.



--

On a side note, the fact that anyone would consider Duran a coward, even if he had in fact been a coward on that one particular night, speaks volumes about the sport of boxing. These rough, tough, mixed martial arts competitors are constantly quitting ("tapping out")... make of that whatever you will.

I make of that as part of the sport. And if you knew anything about mixed martial arts, you'd know that there have been plenty of fighters in the sport that would rather let their limbs break than tap out and have even done so. Case in point, Renzo Gracie in Pride or Royce's arm almost breaking from a kimura against Matt Hughes in the UFC. And, just like in boxing, fighters even tap out due to taking too many shots.

And to answer the question, hell no, Duran wasn't a coward.

[Mr. President]

hes a living breathing human being, not some sort of robot built in a lab. People have bad days, where they are just off. It happens to the best of us. Considering that Duran was already a proven ATG before he even met SRL the dent in his career is like a dent a squirrel would make hitting a hummer.

The mark of a true fighter is overcoming adversity in the worst situations. Duran might've been "off" that day, but instead of sticking in there and weathering the storm, he decided to bail when the going got rough.

Spin it how you want, but that's some straight cowardly shyt in the sport of boxing especially for a supposed ATG. You say it hasnt left a dent in his legacy but run a google search on Duran and count how many times that incident comes up.