Roberto Duran is overrated

[TheGreatA]

Good post but once again we are debating the very best fighter of all time. You can not be a top P4P fighter of all time only dominating one division IMO. You must strive to be better and fight outside of your natural weight and Duran wasn't able to continue that greatness. Like you said he was the smaller and weaker man in the rings versus those guys the same holds true against most of Durans opponents in the lightweight division.

Duran wasn't really a big lightweight. He was 5'6-5'7, with a short 68 inch reach and he started out as a bantamweight.

He cut a lot of weight because of his eating habits, not because he was a huge lightweight. Duran already looked a bit out of shape at 147, except for the first Leonard fight, and a slob at 160 pounds.



At 147:



At 160:

[Kevin Jesus]

this quote started a revolution

That's wasup Mak. When you think nonsense...think Paz my ******.

Jajajajajajajajja!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!

Vinny Paz Haha That's one of the funniest quotes on NSB and it stemmed from this thread.

Notice how almost every posters's quotes/sigs come from a controversial thread?

It's true what Spray Resistant says, NSB posters are where the dumb threads are at.

[Larry the boss]

lol..........

[nacho daddy]

Duran was the bravest boxer ever live NEVER DID PED's. was a little guy with a short reach fought big monster ww's, jm's and mw's. fought haggler who did not even mess up durans hair when no one would not go near hagler who feasted on small guys. fought a LH in iran barkley. no body will ever do what he did. what makes it more amazing is to look at boxers now

[DeadLikeMe]

WTF happened to spray resistant?

[Larry the boss]

WTF happened to spray resistant?

So many posters in here disappeared

[!! Shawn]

He sucks. Made a name for himself for beating Leonard once and saying No Mas in the rematch. This bum lost all of his big fights except the first Sugar Ray one and a split decision to Iran Barkley. Lost to Hagler, Benitez, Hearns, Leonard twice. He's praised for what? his losses? 103-16 in a resume that's more padded with bums than Margarito's gloves were padded with plaster. I rather praise Arturo Gatti and his ability to get people paychecks by being their punching bag on TV, than praising Roberto "Manos de Mierda" Duran. Duran is loved because he was a God at losing big fights. I sound mad? yes I am because there is a lot hypocrisy going on, on this forum. I'm just gonna leave it at that.

He made a name for himself as one of the greatest 135lber of all time before he even set foot at the higher weights.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

I would definitely recommend you go back and watch Duran fight on youtube. Plenty of his fights are on there. Check him out at lightweight and then watch his welterweight fight with Palomino. That was one of the best performances of his career. His defensive skills were well on display that night. He was a true artist there. And then of course, the first Leonard fight. There was also Pipino Cuevas and Davey Moore- fights he dominated. And watch the Hagler fight closely. I had it a draw and could have went either way. Was not an easy fight for Hagler who was a natural middleweight. Duran was a natural lightweight. To this day, I think only Duran and DeLa Hoya have won titles at lightweight and middleweight. It's very hard to do. And well, DeLa Hoya's win over Sturm was pretty questionable. Duran floored a much bigger Barkley and beat him over twelve at 37 years old. Barkely had knocked out Hearns- the man who knocked out Duran years earlier. "The Blade" was on fire at the time. So, just go back and look at his fights and pay attention. You listed some facts to support a surface argument, but when looking deeper into things, you will find a world of information that supports Duran being one of the best of all time. And since you're 20, you've got plenty of time to learn. There's a reason you won't get anywhere bashing Duran on this forum or any other. He was the real deal all the way.

[Larry the boss]

He made a name for himself as one of the greatest 135lber of all time before he even set foot at the higher weights.

Vinny Pazienza

[!! Shawn]

I think I made a thread about this a year ago and its a popular topic, that in itself, more than any great boxer shows that there is a lot to be questioned about Duran and his career. IMO, Duran is overrated. No, he isn't a bum and he should still be classified as a top 25 fighter of all time due to his run in the lightweights but if you look at a lot of the all time greats outside of heavies they were able to move up weight and still be dominant. Yes, I know that was a golden era of the sport and Leonard, Hearns, and Hagler right now would possibly be the best fighters of this era but we aren't here to judge eras, that's another debate.

Although, like I said his lightweight resume is amazing and possibly the greatest on paper but if you look deeper into it, it isn't as great as its made out to be. Duran was a big lightweight, thick bodied and IMO it helped him a lot. I read a few books including one by Dundee who really zoned in on Duran and what he was doing in the lightweight division before moving up to face Leonard. Duran made a living in the lightweights beating on smaller men and men that really wern't world class.

I know we can nit pick to death any fighter but Duran wasn't as great as he was made out to be and I would never consider putting him in the top 10. Great fighter but he is overrated.

Building an alltime great resume at 135, moving up when everyone considered you old and washed up, and beating and ABSOLUTE PEAK 147lber, in SRL who many consider to be the best 147lber of all time, decisively, is ATG stuff.

There is no over rating that.

Then... Going up to fight Hagler at 160, and being competitive despite being dramatically smaller, old and pudgy.... Then Barkley at 168....