Comments Thread For: Remembering Roberto Duran: The Best Wins Authored by 'Hands of Stone'

[CubanGuyNYC]

Greatest fighter of all time.

Best pound for pound fighter of the ‘70’s, and greatest lightweight in history, most complete fighting machine from ‘75-‘80, beat the biggest fighter of the incredible ‘80’s in probably the single best win ever, the only former lightweight champ who could last 15 with peak Hagler, the only 37 year old former lightweight champ who could beat peak Barkley. Unmatched technical ferocity, challenged himself like no other fighter of the past 60 years, avoided no-one.

Hope you do live to 100 Roberto.

You sound like one of the guys on the Facebook Duran fan page I belong to. lol I’ve been a fan of his since the late 70s. I’d rank Roberto somewhere in the top 5-10. Greatest Latino boxer of all time, but greatest overall? Nah No way. There’s no doubt Duran’s accomplishments are highly impressive, however, otherwise I wouldn’t rank him so high.

[Feroz]

Larry Holmes thought so. It was close but damn. A middleweight champion should have ran over a natural lightweight and Hagler did anything but that. Duran landed well and timed him and made him look like crap. Hagler even started just moving away in the eleventh and had no clue. It's not a hard argument to make.

Hagler Duran

Round 1 Hagler Feel out round

Round 2 Duran Quite competitive

Round 3 Duran, it was quite competitive, Duran had landed more in spurts, Hagler finished strong but not enough to win the round.

Round 4 Hagler had a big lead in this round having thrown a lot of combinations from start to end, Duran had his moments hurting Hagler to the body 2-3 times, but nothing to turn the tides.

Round 5 Hagler, Marvin was dominating switching stances in the round out landing Duran 2-1 (18-9/10 punches landed). Duran stunned him with a big shot to the head, but clearly isn't enough to turn the tides. Though he managed to make Marvin's left cheek swell.

Round 6 Hagler, absolute dominant round by the Marvelous Hagler, he starts as a southpaw and starts strong stunning Duran with a left hook, while Roberto had very few moments, he was overwhelmed getting stunned 3-4 times after Hagler capitalized on hurting his opponent.

Round 7 Duran, dominant round by "Hands of Stone" Duran, he was very active from start to finish while parrying or making Hagler's long combinations miss, he had adapted to his stance switching and countering with stunning shots, Hagler had a short spurt at the end of round but wasn't enough, it was quite possibly due how he was quite explosive in Round 6 and had damage accumulating from the start of Round 7, Duran finishes with a low uppercut.

Round 8 Duran, it was close both started strong with Roberto throwing a body hook and Marvin pushing him back with 1 of 2 pumping jabs. In the pocket, Roberto made Marvin miss often stunned with a head shot and body work, Hagler had strong landed combinations in the clinch with a big shot in the end, however for a minute and half (1:30), Roberto already had quite a bigger lead.

Round 9 Duran, very competitive round, Initially Duran was mostly slipping and countering Hagler until in the middle of the round, Marvin overwhelmingly took over for a short spurt, Roberto turned the tides again after a period of time however Hagler finished the fight strong with another combination that landed two-three punches. For the Judges it could go either way though.

Round 10 Hagler, Hagler with a switched stance where Duran lands a strong left hook and uppercut. In the clinch Hagler lands a 6 punch combination to the body while getting worked himself by two punches. Hagler is dominating in the clinch until he stunned in the body making him wince, it became a slugfest where both fighters return fire whenever one lands, however Hagler already had a big lead. Despite that Hagler was still outworking Duran in the later half, Duran started hurting him to the body in multiple occasions making Hagler get worn down and throw less. However, despite that he was managing turning the tides having his moments, Hagler had finished strong and had a big lead for the most part. Hagler starts walking away with Duran staring with a glare.

Round 11 Duran, Hagler switches strategy trying to box by fighting in the backfoot and throws a punch to lure in Duran, but he gets countered with a right hook while throwing a jab. Hagler tries to throw jabs to the body but gets peppered instead with Duran's. Hagler tries to close in but get's hurt to the body and caught with a right hook. At the end of the round Hagler go to the clinch and throw combinations out landing's Duran work in the pocket, but Duran out landed with single throwing shots throughout the whole round.

Round 12 Hagler, they come out banging but Marvin is outworking Roberto, Hagler is making Duran miss for the most part and countering at close range. Roberto had his moments but nothing he could had done to turn the tides. He however had hurt Hagler's left eye which swelled up at the end of the round and Duran began matched his work rate way too late.

Round 13 Hagler, Hagler starts with a body jab and peppered him three pumping jabs. Hagler lands a strong overhand. Hagler began to box but was quite more active. Duran lands a strong right hand which stuns Hagler making him wobble back. Hagler starts outworking him while boxing but gets hit with two strong right hands. Duran starts hurting Hagler at the end of the round out damaging Marvin but wasn't enough to win the fight.

Round 14 Hagler, Hagler dominated a championship round, he started strong with a right uppercut and starts going to the body landing a combination of 13 punches from the body to the head making Roberto walk backwards, Duran put in effort but was out landed 3-1.

Round 15 Hagler, started out active but looked like he was gassed as he was barely connecting anything to the body while Duran was parrying, Roberto was not throwing much either due to getting gassed as well. However, Hagler was willing to put in the work even though neither were throwing anything of substance. They had short spurts landing body work and head shots. Roberto started matching his work rate in the later half of the fight but already was quite behind in comparison, it becomes a slug fest galore with both landing strong shots, with Hagler landing a few more.

9-6 (144-141) or 10-5 (145-140) with some close rounds. Especially round 7 and round 9. I could be wrong, but I think it was a very entertaining fight where Hagler won quite competitively but convincingly, he won most of the latter rounds, although of the two, he seemed to be out damaged which pushed him to fight harder.

Interesting note, this was Hagler first time going the distance since defending his middleweight titles in an 8 KO streak.

[Feroz]

Duran beating Iran Barkley by majority decision doesn't mean Duran would ever beat Thomas Hearns, just because Iran Barkley beat Thomas Hearns twice. That's why they fight the fights. Hearns always had too much fire power & skill for Duran to deal with. Thomas Hearns was a better boxer than Sugar Ray Leonard. In 15 rounds, Ray only won 4 rounds and the 14th where Ray won in his first fight with Thomas Hearns, but everybody know Tommy Hearns beat the dog do do otta Leonard. Leonard eye was NEVER the same. Tommy mess Ray up for life.

I agree, it doesn't imply that Duran would beat Hearns and he likely wouldn't stylistically speaking. Hearns was a athletic skilled very rangy power puncher with absurd power. It's just impressive that Duran managed to pull off fighting a tested champion in his prime at that stage of his career that had Hearn's number. It's like Junior Jones had Barrera's number.

(Barrera was really hurt in the first fight where he got disqualified after his corner entered the ring and the rematch was much closer, Morales had stopped Jones after.)

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Hagler Duran

Round 1 Hagler Feel out round

Round 2 Duran Quite competitive

Round 3 Duran, it was quite competitive, Duran had landed more in spurts, Hagler finished strong but not enough to win the round.

Round 4 Hagler had a big lead in this round having thrown a lot of combinations from start to end, Duran had his moments hurting Hagler to the body 2-3 times, but nothing to turn the tides.

Round 5 Hagler, Marvin was dominating switching stances in the round out landing Duran 2-1 (18-9/10 punches landed). Duran stunned him with a big shot to the head, but clearly isn't enough to turn the tides. Though he managed to make Marvin's left cheek swell.

Round 6 Hagler, absolute dominant round by the Marvelous Hagler, he starts as a southpaw and starts strong stunning Duran with a left hook, while Roberto had very few moments, he was overwhelmed getting stunned 3-4 times after Hagler capitalized on hurting his opponent.

Round 7 Duran, dominant round by "Hands of Stone" Duran, he was very active from start to finish while parrying or making Hagler's long combinations miss, he had adapted to his stance switching and countering with stunning shots, Hagler had a short spurt at the end of round but wasn't enough, it was quite possibly due how he was quite explosive in Round 6 and had damage accumulating from the start of Round 7, Duran finishes with a low uppercut.

Round 8 Duran, it was close both started strong with Roberto throwing a body hook and Marvin pushing him back with 1 of 2 pumping jabs. In the pocket, Roberto made Marvin miss often stunned with a head shot and body work, Hagler had strong landed combinations in the clinch with a big shot in the end, however for a minute and half (1:30), Roberto already had quite a bigger lead.

Round 9 Duran, very competitive round, Initially Duran was mostly slipping and countering Hagler until in the middle of the round, Marvin overwhelmingly took over for a short spurt, Roberto turned the tides again after a period of time however Hagler finished the fight strong with another combination that landed two-three punches. For the Judges it could go either way though.

Round 10 Hagler, Hagler with a switched stance where Duran lands a strong left hook and uppercut. In the clinch Hagler lands a 6 punch combination to the body while getting worked himself by two punches. Hagler is dominating in the clinch until he stunned in the body making him wince, it became a slugfest where both fighters return fire whenever one lands, however Hagler already had a big lead. Despite that Hagler was still outworking Duran in the later half, Duran started hurting him to the body in multiple occasions making Hagler get worn down and throw less. However, despite that he was managing turning the tides having his moments, Hagler had finished strong and had a big lead for the most part. Hagler starts walking away with Duran staring with a glare.

Round 11 Duran, Hagler switches strategy trying to box by fighting in the backfoot and throws a punch to lure in Duran, but he gets countered with a right hook while throwing a jab. Hagler tries to throw jabs to the body but gets peppered instead with Duran's. Hagler tries to close in but get's hurt to the body and caught with a right hook. At the end of the round Hagler go to the clinch and throw combinations out landing's Duran work in the pocket, but Duran out landed with single throwing shots throughout the whole round.

Round 12 Hagler, they come out banging but Marvin is outworking Roberto, Hagler is making Duran miss for the most part and countering at close range. Roberto had his moments but nothing he could had done to turn the tides. He however had hurt Hagler's left eye which swelled up at the end of the round and Duran began matched his work rate way too late.

Round 13 Hagler, Hagler starts with a body jab and peppered him three pumping jabs. Hagler lands a strong overhand. Hagler began to box but was quite more active. Duran lands a strong right hand which stuns Hagler making him wobble back. Hagler starts outworking him while boxing but gets hit with two strong right hands. Duran starts hurting Hagler at the end of the round out damaging Marvin but wasn't enough to win the fight.

Round 14 Hagler, Hagler dominated a championship round, he started strong with a right uppercut and starts going to the body landing a combination of 13 punches from the body to the head making Roberto walk backwards, Duran put in effort but was out landed 3-1.

Round 15 Hagler, started out active but looked like he was gassed as he was barely connecting anything to the body while Duran was parrying, Roberto was not throwing much either due to getting gassed as well. However, Hagler was willing to put in the work even though neither were throwing anything of substance. They had short spurts landing body work and head shots. Roberto started matching his work rate in the later half of the fight but already was quite behind in comparison, it becomes a slug fest galore with both landing strong shots, with Hagler landing a few more.

9-6 (144-141) or 10-5 (145-140) with some close rounds. Especially round 7 and round 9. I could be wrong, but I think it was a very entertaining fight where Hagler won quite competitively but convincingly, he won most of the latter rounds, although of the two, he seemed to be out damaged which pushed him to fight harder.

Interesting note, this was Hagler first time going the distance since defending his middleweight titles in an 8 KO streak.

Yes, it was a good fight for sure. I felt Duran edged it but to each their own. I think for a lightweight to put on such a display against a solid middleweight champion who had very much established himself, was very impressive. De La Hoya went started at lightweight and went for the middleweight title but got stopped against Hopkins and I didn't really think he beat Felix Sturm either. From lightweight to middleweight is very hard to do and Duran did it here in my opinion and then he did it against Barkley. Hagler had a great career but I always have to knock him down a bit in the fabulous four since he was the naturally bigger man against all three and I felt like Duran made him look bad in ways that even Leonard and Hearns failed to do. It's a fun fight to watch, though. And I always advise to cut out Al Bernstein's commentary. He hardly ever gave Duran credit for anything. I don't know what he had against Duran but he did nothing to down him most of the time. Maybe Duran banged his wife. I don't know. Haha. Good post, though, man.

[Feroz]

Yes, it was a good fight for sure. I felt Duran edged it but to each their own. I think for a lightweight to put on such a display against a solid middleweight champion who had very much established himself, was very impressive. De La Hoya went started at lightweight and went for the middleweight title but got stopped against Hopkins and I didn't really think he beat Felix Sturm either. From lightweight to middleweight is very hard to do and Duran did it here in my opinion and then he did it against Barkley. Hagler had a great career but I always have to knock him down a bit in the fabulous four since he was the naturally bigger man against all three and I felt like Duran made him look bad in ways that even Leonard and Hearns failed to do. It's a fun fight to watch, though. And I always advise to cut out Al Bernstein's commentary. He hardly ever gave Duran credit for anything. I don't know what he had against Duran but he did nothing to down him most of the time. Maybe Duran banged his wife. I don't know. Haha. Good post, though, man.

Thanks, was quite a treat to watch, honestly even if Roberto lost, what a superb performance. The fact that a natural lightweight managed to give one of the greatest middleweight of all time a close fight is just insane.



Also about De La Hoya, technically he debuted at 130, but his frame belonged at 147 (his physical peak), might odd that he couldn't acclimate to higher divisions like Duran did, but then again he wasn't completely focused and partied too much affecting his gas tank, punching power and reflexes. He still was a good fighter at 154 though not unbeatable. Thought he won against Trinidad at 147 despite coasting the last rounds and did pretty good in the rematch with Mosley.

(Not that Duran didn't like to party himself.)

Duran's win over Moore at 154 is also impressive, as he went to immediately knock out Wilfred Benitez in two rounds.

[zipped]

A natural 135 pounder at 5'6", did pretty good against all, but the 6'2" Hearns.

Tommy was a great fighter who could actually box. Tommy didn't need height to win a fight. I think Tommy would have been a more solid and durable a fighter had he been shorter. But anyhow Tommy was tall enough without you adding an inch to defend Duran.Thomas Hearns was 6'1"

[zipped]

I like SRL a heck of a lot. But duran was the greatest of the four. Losing h2h don't mean much, we all know that

Duran fought Sugar Ray Leonard 3 times, beating him once. Duran fought Hagler once and lost. Duran fought Tommy once and lost. Tommy knocked Duran out in the 2nd round.

Duran had the greatest win/lost record. 103 wins, 70 KO's & 16 LOSSES the most of the four. Duran was knocked out 4 times. This means Duran was NOT the greatest of the four.

[DeeMoney]

Duran fought Sugar Ray Leonard 3 times, beating him once. Duran fought Hagler once and lost. Duran fought Tommy once and lost. Tommy knocked Duran out in the 2nd round.

Duran had the greatest win/lost record. 103 wins, 70 KO's & 16 LOSSES the most of the four. Duran was knocked out 4 times. This means Duran was NOT the greatest of the four.

The third Duran Leonard fight came in 1989, when Duran was 38. Same age that Tyson was when he lost head to head to Kevin McBride. Using your posted logic (not trying to play straw man here, but so far its the logic you've posted) then you could argue that McBride was better than Tyson.....has a better record head to head.

Now, if we take a more logical stance on this, we can see that Duran and Leonard split when in or near their primes. What gives Duran the edge, in my mind, is that he moved up from his best class to SRLs best class, and split with him there. A less than best class Duran was able to beat SRL at his best class.

Hagler is my favorite fighter of all time, but him beating an older Duran at MW does nothing to diminish Duran, I look at Duran in his Lt Weight prime as being better than any of the other four at their best. Him sticking around too long and piling up losses while moving through higher weight classes does nothing to change that, in the same way as old Tyson losing to McBride does nothing to change how we should rate Tyson

[just the facts]

He beat Leonard H2H at Leonards top weight. But thats not the point, it’s a P4P comparison. There have been plenty of fighters who lost to P4P lesser fighters because they moved up into the lesser fighters natural weight.

No argument but saying “h2h wins don’t mean much” is just phuckin stupid.

[just the facts]

Larry Holmes thought so. It was close but damn. A middleweight champion should have ran over a natural lightweight and Hagler did anything but that. Duran landed well and timed him and made him look like crap. Hagler even started just moving away in the eleventh and had no clue. It's not a hard argument to make.

Impressive showing by Duran. He did much better than anyone thought he would. But get real, he didn’t win. Almost impossible to make an unbiased opinion he did.