Duran's place amongst the 4... Over ranked?

[BOXEO _]

Duran started out as a Bantamweight and went on to win the Middleweight title 21 years after turning pro, way beyond his prime.

The man is a legend, top 10 greatest fighters of all time on many lists.

[Dean_Razorback]

Hes ranked so highly because most people take into account their whole resumes rather than just the H2H's.

This is him fighting at 37yrsold, 4 divisions above his natural class, against a guy who had just ko'd Hearns in 3.

yet, if you ask TBE to do the same you'll be labeled as a hater

[mneronava2k]

Why is it that he seems to get so much love and is even ranked higher by most when compared to the rest of the 4 horesmen? He did tremendous things at the lower weight classes and was smaller than all three of the other guy's but he lost to every single one of them... with the exception of the one win over Leonard in the first fight (you could argue Leonard won that one too)... Hearn's nearly decapitated him, Hagler beat him, No Mas' and he lost to "Radar" Benitez...

Why is he ranked so high ... not in the lower classes but the work he did in those superfights...
He was exciting, ruthless, a wild man both in and out of the ring but he lost damn near every single one of the fights that mattered most...

I'm admitting my ignorance on the subject as I'm pretty weak with my boxing history pre 1990. So take it easy on me... but It's always been something that bothered me and I've never really gotten a good answer.
When I speak to old timer's guys my father or uncles age it's alway Leonard and then Duran that come up and maybe in close 3rd it's Hagler.

He completely dominated as a lightweight. And he was 70-1 when he fought Leonard, and fought him at welterweight. And beat him soundly (I don't think that fight is debatable). The fact that he was competing with some of the greatest Middleweights ever when he was in his 30's is pretty astonishing.

[brickcityboxing]

He completely dominated as a lightweight. And he was 70-1 when he fought Leonard, and fought him at welterweight. And beat him soundly (I don't think that fight is debatable). The fact that he was competing with some of the greatest Middleweights ever when he was in his 30's is pretty astonishing.

again i'm not speaking of his resume in the lower weights ... he was an ATG. I'm saying when ranked amongst the 4 he is held in a higher regard than all except Leonard...

[Larry the boss]

yet, if you ask TBE to do the same you'll be labeled as a hater

???? Floyd is 38 and fighting 4 divisions over where he began...i dont get your point

[brickcityboxing]

Duran was the least athletic of the four but the best boxer. He had the combined wisdom of Arcel and Freddie Brown in his head when he stepped into the ring, but it didn't dull his killer's temperament. He was a strange mix of craft and savagery.

He was indeed very skilled but was beaten by 3 very different fighters style wise and those were the biggest names of his time. he's 1-4 against them.

[Ray Corso]

I appreciate Hearns heart and power, Leonards overall abilities and Haglers toughness and will!
Duran was the fighter who had boxing skills both offensively & defensely that
were slightly better.
The defeats head up had alot to do with Duran out of his best weight, he may haveb equaled his opponents weights but at his best was far from 160+
I liked his Methods & Techniques and he was one of the most exciting fighters of all time. The fights he fought with DeJesus were great nights in boxing. The Montreal event with Leonard reminded us of an Ali event.
We had a live 4 bout show in the Hartford Civic Center that I worked and the live Closed Circuit from Montreal. The Civic Center was going crazy the entire
night and the place was split between Leonard & Duran.

I worked a few shows with Hagler as the main go.
Saw Hearns in the amateurs 4 or 5 times, never as a pro live.
Leonard trained at my gym in New Haven for his 6th or 8th bout held in New Haven and I knew Ray from the amateur traveling teams.
I never saw a live Duran fight but saw him in training at Gleasons in the City.
He put on a show on the spd. bag the rope and doing exercises. I never saw anyone put on a show with "exercises"! He was amazingly fast probably weighing 144 about 3 weeks out from a fight (can't remember who)

Duran was the most exciting and its not close!
Ray.

[dorruel2.0]

???? Floyd is 38 and fighting 4 divisions over where he began...i dont get your point

Floyd never fought anyone on the same level as the big three. Duran, Leonard, Hagler in their respective primes are all capable of beating him

[bojangles1987]

again i'm not speaking of his resume in the lower weights ... he was an ATG. I'm saying when ranked amongst the 4 he is held in a higher regard than all except Leonard...

That's because those people are taking his lower weight record into account. Obviously Duran didn't do as much in the higher weights as those fighters, but he was already heading out of his prime when he moved up. That he was capable of competing with those 3, besides Hearns of course, is incredible. His win over Leonard is one of the best wins in boxing history.

He probably had the greatest career of the 4. Leonard is his only competition.

[dorruel2.0]

Leonard-(he beat all of them)
Hagler(beat both Duran and Hearns)
Hearns(almost killed Duran)
Duran(lost to all the other 3)

Duran was a fu*cking lightweight dummy.Hagler and Barkley almost killed hearns and you don't find it incredible how Duran fared against them?
Men much bigger than him....no CATCHWEIGHT