What is it about Roberto Duran...

[El Jesus]

because he is the greatest 135lber that ever lived, even my 2 of my alltime fav fighters pernell and floyd would have the time of their life, likely losing against duran, his middleweight **** was aiight, but at 135, nobody could touch him, NOBODY.

[Nostromo]

(man that chick in your avatar is fine, who is she)

Nice avatar Nostromo

Pardon the distraction.

[THe TRiNiTY]

He also beat Ray Leonard in the first fight, a fight that was BETTER than the second, and was merely losing the sercond because Ray refused to go toe to toe.. Regardless of it it was smart, that's what he did. He also had NORMALLY, the best chin you could find in his era and STRONG hands to go with it. COuld box or slug and at lightweight, could kill you.

[El Termible]

So just because he lost he shouldn't be top 10? You're ******.

[monkeyboy]

There was NO-ONE Duran would not fight. He fought the BEST. He chose fights that everybody said were crazy and sometimes he won.
Regardless of his record, his abilities and his monolithic achievements it is his will to fight and win despite the odds of size, age and quality being heavily against him that make him a top five fighter of all time.
I think it unlikely that we will see his like again.
I can't think of any recent fighter who moved up through weight classes to face the undisputed best. Everyone lines up to face a Maskaev, a Ruiz, an aging Hopkins or a virtually retired De La Hoya.
I lie. Toney tried it unsuccessfully and Holyfield and Byrd moved up from their weightclass to face all comers. Yet to compare their achievements to Duran is to belittle their careers and yet both (especially Holyfield) are great fighters in anyone's book.
That is what makes Duran great.

[shortright]

i gaurentee if you watch his fights when he was in his prime you will be a beleiver, agaisnt dejessu palimino, and leanord, or even agaisnt moore and barkely when he was past his prime, he pulled an unexcaptable stunt in the no mas fight, but he was also one of the only fighters in history that could beat leanord in his prime, plus he did trow the no mas fight, he was all ****ed up off ******* at the time

[Panamaniac]

I guarantee if you watch his fights when he was in his prime you will be a believer, against DeJesus Palomino, and Leonard, or even against Moore and Barkley when he was past his prime, he pulled an unacceptable stunt in the no mas fight, but he was also one of the only fighters in history that could beat Leonard in his prime, plus he did throw the no mas fight, he was all ****ed-up off ******* at the time.

The one thing Durán never did was take illegal drugs. He did just about everything else to great excesses, eating in particular. Not to make excuses for Durán's only black-eye on his record, but the truth of the matter is, for 10 million bucks, his manager (Carlos Eleta) took the rematch with only three months notice.

The following are excerps from the book pictured below: For Leonard, the rematch was inevitable. "It's all about bragging rights," he said. "To prove that you're the best, you fight the best. Even if you have to fight him again to prove it wasn't a fluke. I knew the history of Durán and that's why I asked for the rematch so soon because I knew he was in a celebratory mode. I caught him in the middle of that. This all goes back to tactics."

... Durán had no intention of staying in shape, or fighting again any time soon. "I got back to Panama and felt like the king of the world," he said "I start drinking and get fat, I am with women up and down. I go to New York and it's the same thing there. I get up to 225 pounds. Eleta should not have taken the fight that soon. He should have given me time to prepare myself..."

[QuCongee]

Losing has nothing to do with anything. Ali lost 6. Robinson lost a bunch.

In my view, it's all about accomplishments. Duran's achievements in the ring are amazing and will probably never be surpassed. The guy went from lightweight all the way up to SUPERMIDDLWEIGHT and knocked out Barkley. He was way past his prime and WAY above his natural weight.

Guys today like PBF talk about how they are 3, 4 and 5 weight world champions, but it's a hell of a lot easier to be a 5 weight world champion when there are 500 damn weightclasses that did'nt exist in Duran's day.

If you look at Duran's career from start to finish, it's just plain unbelievable.

I rank him #1 of all time p4p, and that's no joke.

Now...

Will someone please explain how they never made Duran vs Chavez? And tell me that would'nt have been the fight of the century.

[onetwopunch]

Duran fighting SRL,Hagler & Hearns was like Manny P fighting Hopkins,Mosley,& Lacy, that's why you have to look at the overall carrer instead of the losses.

Duran was someone who might not have been "great" at anyone thing but he was very very good at everything which is something that very few are able to be and that is what makes him such a all time great.

Its kinda like that and then some..becuase Hearns, SRL and Hagler..were all time greats..

[TonyJ]

greatest LW of all time in my book. Beat one of the very best WW of all time in his prime. Gave Prime-Marvin Hagler (best MW of all time) his hardest fight during Haglers prime, while being over the hill.
I have Duran p4p Top3 of all time.