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I got home from class today to discover a nice fedex package sitting on my table. I open it up and theres a VHS tape inside and a note tht reads, "here you go bud." I instantly knew what it was and went directly to my tv to pop it in. It's a broadcast of Roberto Duran vs. Iran Barkley, for the WBC Middleweight Championship of the world.
I pop it in and it's just pure greatness. Now I'm not gonna lie, all of this Duran belittling lately has gotten on my nerves...so I console myself with one of the 5 greatest ring performances I've ever witnessed.
Both guys come out in the first few rounds, Barkley working the body well, Duran landing good right hands and short punches inside. I had Duran winning 2 of the first 3 rounds on effective inside fighting and clean punching. You can tell immediately why he was so unbelievable at lower weights. Great first 3 rounds, tactical and spotted with good action. Duran landed two solid punches at the end of 3 that capped it.
Round four is where the brawl broke out. Both guys landing bombs, Barkley landed the low blow that set off Duran. Barkley worked the double left hook, Durans right hands were crisp and hard. I had it 2 rounds to 2 through 4 rounds, Barkley winning the 4th.
The middle rounds came around and this is where Duran seemed to run out of a little gas. Barkleys heavy body punching was obviously having an effect. Barkley was the more busy fighter and was landing the better shots for the majority of these rounds. Round 7 was probably the best round of the fight. I thought someone was going down in that round for sure the first time I saw it. Bernstein was convinced that Duran was badly hurt, but I had Duran winning the round, due to the amount of clean hard right hands and short punches he landed. Then in the 8th, Barkley landed that hollywood left hook that almost spun Duran completely around. A lesser man would have fallen down. I had Barkley up 5-3 through 8 rounds.
9-12 showed exactly why I have Duran ranked in the top 5 p4p. He swept those rounds on my card...dropping Barkley in the 11th with a ridiculous 4 punch right/left combo. Hell it might have been 5 punches. He fought like a man possessed in the championship rounds, and dissected BArkley with his in-fighting ability. At the end of the day, I had Roberto Duran beating Iran Barkley 7-5, 115-112 due to the 11th round KD.
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It's crazy to think that Duran fought for this 160 pound title, 17 years after winning the lightweight title from Ken Buchanan. He was 37 when he beat Barkley, and that was the best I've ever seen Iran fight (although I haven't seen many of his fights).
Yeah, just some nostalgia...feel free to add some comments/insult me/kick me in the internet-nuts whathaveyou.
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