Rocky Marciano-I didn't know!

[TheGreatA]

Yep the second fight was pretty controversial. I still cant tell whether it was frustration, or Duran really had stomach cramps. i guess no one will ever know. Duran always says it was the stake dinner with orange juice.....leonard did what ali used to do, when he got really confident he dared his opponents to tag him. roberto looked pissed

btw have you read duran's "hands of stone" bio?

Fair play to Leonard because Duran was not exactly a class act. I'm definitely a fan of Duran's work but he deserved the humiliation that night.
The way he came back from his losses showed how great Duran was.


Duran's win over Leonard and his antics afterwards.

[Boogie Nights]

Fair play to Leonard because Duran was not exactly a class act. I'm definitely a fan of Duran's work but he deserved the humiliation that night.
The way he came back from his losses showed how great Duran was.


Duran's win over Leonard and his antics afterwards.

yes it's a good point, i never really held it against Ray for doing what he did. In the first fight Roberto didnt exactly hug ray afterwards, he also talked a good game during the promotion of the fight.

duran was always that way though. One time before a fight, his opponent went up to him to shake hands, but Duran looked at him with those eyes, and said "I dont want to shake hands with you, i dont like you"

outside of the ring, duran has always been given credit for being civil though. Leonard and Duran were both doing a commercial with their kids, and Duran was really nice.

In ways he was a lot like Tyson. Buying a lot of stuff for his friends, and basically giving money away in slums of Panama

[TheGreatA]

yes it's a good point, i never really held it against Ray for doing what he did. In the first fight Roberto didnt exactly hug ray afterwards, he also talked a good game during the promotion of the fight.

duran was always that way though. One time before a fight, his opponent went up to him to shake hands, but Duran looked at him with those eyes, and said "I dont want to shake hands with you, i dont like you"

outside of the ring, duran has always been given credit for being civil though. Leonard and Duran were both doing a commercial with their kids, and Duran was really nice.

In ways he was a lot like Tyson. Buying a lot of stuff for his friends, and basically giving money away in slums of Panama

He was vicious in the ring. As they used to say, Duran was like a madman when he fought.

It's a part of what made him the fighter he was, not giving anyone any respect in the ring.
He should've given some respect to Hearns though... Duran basically said that he thought Hearns was nothing but a glass-jawed quitter whom he would blow out in a matter of few rounds. The exact opposite happened.


Tyson was a big fan of Duran, not surprisingly.

[Boogie Nights]

He was vicious in the ring. As they used to say, Duran was like a madman when he fought.

It's a part of what made him the fighter he was, not giving anyone any respect in the ring.
He should've given some respect to Hearns though... Duran basically said that he thought Hearns was nothing but a glass-jawed quitter whom he would blow out in a matter of few rounds. The exact opposite happened.


Tyson was a big fan of Duran, not surprisingly.

Tyson also wanted to step in and take care of the bills when duran had financial problems. He gave him a ticket for the Spinks fight as well. I love duran, i love how viscious he was, a true warrior. i was surprised at ease with which Hearns handled Duran, he just destroyed him. Steward years later said that Roberto was in fear of tommy and was nervous around him. i thought Roberto was afraid of no man. Year later he said that he was partying before that fight, and underestimated Tommy.

[TheGreatA]

Tyson also wanted to step in and take care of the bills when duran had financial problems. He gave him a ticket for the Spinks fight as well. I love duran, i love how viscious he was, a true warrior. i was surprised at ease with which Hearns handled Duran, he just destroyed him. Steward years later said that Roberto was in fear of tommy and was nervous around him. i thought Roberto was afraid of no man. Year later he said that he was partying before that fight, and underestimated Tommy.

I don't think Duran was afraid of Hearns, he certainly wasn't afraid of Barkley who was bigger, stronger and tougher and coming off a KO win over Hearns.
Or Hagler.

Perhaps he was nervous around Hearns after the fight though, it was a two-round destruction. Crushing knockout. They say boxers don't come back from losses like that, well Duran did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5H0yTkdFU

Duran did not look particularly intimidated, although Hearns was really staring him down.

[Flawless.]

Fabio Matos, who was a ringside guest of Duran's at the fight, said, "Maybe I shouldn't say this because Roberto is my friend, but after the fight, Duran told me in his hotel room that the story about the cramps was false. He said he had to tell that story because he knows people want an explanation." When asked why Duran quit, Matos said, "Roberto couldn't do anything with Leonard. Duran was being humiliated. Aware that he was being humiliated, he quit." Carlos Eleta, Duran's longtime manager, agreed with Matos' assessment. "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed," Eleta said. <-------------------- Is this true???

[Boogie Nights]

I don't think Duran was afraid of Hearns, he certainly wasn't afraid of Barkley who was bigger, stronger and tougher and coming off a KO win over Hearns.
Or Hagler.

Perhaps he was nervous around Hearns after the fight though, it was a two-round destruction. Crushing knockout. They say boxers don't come back from losses like that, well Duran did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG5H0yTkdFU

Duran did not look particularly intimidated, although Hearns was really staring him down.

Good point, one of the most devastating ko's ive ever seen, landing on his face after that right hand didnt not help duran at all. In a way roberto bounced back twice. After the leonard rematch a lot of his fans lost faith in him, and the popularity decreased, but he came back.

and of course he came back after the tommy loss to beat the guy that beat his conqueror twice.

[El Dominicano]

Fabio Matos, who was a ringside guest of Duran's at the fight, said, "Maybe I shouldn't say this because Roberto is my friend, but after the fight, Duran told me in his hotel room that the story about the cramps was false. He said he had to tell that story because he knows people want an explanation." When asked why Duran quit, Matos said, "Roberto couldn't do anything with Leonard. Duran was being humiliated. Aware that he was being humiliated, he quit." Carlos Eleta, Duran's longtime manager, agreed with Matos' assessment. "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed," Eleta said. <-------------------- Is this true???

He had nothing to be embarrassed about, SRL was acting like an ass. I never and I repeat never seen a fighter clown that much. You can clown every once and a while but THAT? No way... Btw I knew it was SRL's clowning I never once believed Duran's story.

[Boogie Nights]

Fabio Matos, who was a ringside guest of Duran's at the fight, said, "Maybe I shouldn't say this because Roberto is my friend, but after the fight, Duran told me in his hotel room that the story about the cramps was false. He said he had to tell that story because he knows people want an explanation." When asked why Duran quit, Matos said, "Roberto couldn't do anything with Leonard. Duran was being humiliated. Aware that he was being humiliated, he quit." Carlos Eleta, Duran's longtime manager, agreed with Matos' assessment. "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed," Eleta said. <-------------------- Is this true???

this is interesting, but i dont know. why would duran reveal this though, when he couldnt reveal it to other people. He must have known that the information would leak at some point.

could be bs

[TheGreatA]

Fabio Matos, who was a ringside guest of Duran's at the fight, said, "Maybe I shouldn't say this because Roberto is my friend, but after the fight, Duran told me in his hotel room that the story about the cramps was false. He said he had to tell that story because he knows people want an explanation." When asked why Duran quit, Matos said, "Roberto couldn't do anything with Leonard. Duran was being humiliated. Aware that he was being humiliated, he quit." Carlos Eleta, Duran's longtime manager, agreed with Matos' assessment. "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed," Eleta said. <-------------------- Is this true???

I would say it was a combination of many things.
He may have had stomach cramps, he was complaining about them earlier in the fight but it's doubtful that a fighter like Duran who has fought with injuries and blood all over his face would quit due to something like that.

One of the major reasons may have been that Duran thought there would be an immediate rematch, like the one that was given to Leonard, and he just did not think of the consequences at the time.

Things weren't going his way, although it was not the one-sided fight that it is often made out to be, perhaps Duran did not train as hard as he should have and felt he would train harder for a third fight.

It turned out that very few were calling for another Duran - Leonard fight and Duran had to fight many more times to remove the doubts of boxing fans and prove that he was indeed not a 'quitter'.