Who would win between Julio Cesar Chavez vs Roberto Duran

[McGoorty]

Now watch the Chavez huggers and Duran haters flock to this thread :rolleyes9:

Poet

In all the years I have been here Poet, this has been a Duran forum, he was one of my favourites too and I can't see Chavez beating him BUT I DO SEE this as a great fight, great but probably over by round 9, I see it as a better performance by Chavez than he went against Tszyu but similar to that with the same result and it will be Duran's aggression. BUT yeah Duran is treated as god here and it has sometimes been over the top. I think Benny Leonard was a better lightweight and that many of the great ones give Duran a close call and some can beat him, Chavez is not one of them but still he will BRING IT and we would love this fight.

[rightsideup]

In all the years I have been here Poet, this has been a Duran forum, he was one of my favourites too and I can't see Chavez beating him BUT I DO SEE this as a great fight, great but probably over by round 9, I see it as a better performance by Chavez than he went against Tszyu but similar to that with the same result and it will be Duran's aggression. BUT yeah Duran is treated as god here and it has sometimes been over the top. I think Benny Leonard was a better lightweight and that many of the great ones give Duran a close call and some can beat him, Chavez is not one of them but still he will BRING IT and we would love this fight.

Duran had many fights at 130/140 fought all types of styles and yes I agree a bout with Chavez would be entertaining and competitive.

[McGoorty]

DId you even read my post? When did I call Taylor 2, Duplessis etc great wins? I said those were his second tier wins and they are much better then Leonards 2nd tier wins. Chavez 6 great wins Martinez Rosario Randall Martinez Taylor Camacho Ramirez are equally as impressive and Leonards 4. That is why Chavez has the better resume. 1st tier wins are equal and 2nd tier is big edge for Chavez

Why not look at all the 4th tier wins then ?... point being if you have no first tier wins and the other one has a few then we need not even go any further. If you want to make a case for Chavez then do it in the styles makes fights vein, try to come up with a plan Chavez can use... like hell I dunno...... didn't old time bare knucklers like to use the ropes to tie around an opponents neck then batter them senseless when they could not move. I read that Tom Cribb did that to Molyneaux. Of course that is a joke but as for a fight like this where there is a will there is a way and Chavez had a great will, Duran is not unbeatable so come up with a gameplan you think will work.

[Tails]

I see it being a highly entertaining match that likely goes the distance. I see it being similar in competitiveness (not style-wise) to Pacquiao-Cotto where the first 3 rounds are tit-for-tat. Now I don't see Duran just steamrolling him like Pacquiao did to Cotto after the knockdowns. Instead I see Chavez going with everything he has except that he always seems to be a step or two behind Duran. Both fighters are all time greats, I just don't see a way where Chavez can beat Duran if they were both in their prime at 135-140.

[them_apples]

At 135 Duran knocks him out. Chavez was defensively sound with an Iron chin but the only way to survive duran was to run from him because he is too good in a street fight.

[them_apples]

Thats because duran at his peak was pretty much the god of boxing

[ShoulderRoll]

At 135 Duran knocks him out. Chavez was defensively sound with an Iron chin but the only way to survive duran was to run from him because he is too good in a street fight.

Who would you say had a better chin, Duran or Chavez?

[The Old LefHook]

Who would you say had a better chin, Duran or Chavez?

There is no way to tell. Both chins were that good.

It is a shame to even have to pick a loser between such nobles of the sport.

Duran could always punch while being punched. Chavez could triple up on the lefhook like butter.

[Kiwi Nick]

The hands of stone

[The Old LefHook]

In all the years I have been here Poet, this has been a Duran forum, he was one of my favourites too and I can't see Chavez beating him BUT I DO SEE this as a great fight, great but probably over by round 9, I see it as a better performance by Chavez than he went against Tszyu but similar to that with the same result and it will be Duran's aggression. BUT yeah Duran is treated as god here and it has sometimes been over the top. I think Benny Leonard was a better lightweight and that many of the great ones give Duran a close call and some can beat him, Chavez is not one of them but still he will BRING IT and we would love this fight.

The problem with picking Benny Leonard to beat Duran is that Duran can be watched in more than a dozen fights in color, Leonard in a few black and white messes when he was past prime. The remainder of any basis for choosing him essentially comes down to "reputation" in whatever form whether journalism or the lips of old timers. Are their more views of Leonard out there than I believe?

We all should know by now that people around the boxing business, especially journalists, speak hyperbolically. They are practically in the business of inventing hyperboles. Their job is to create lasting impressions. Jimmy Cannon or A.J. Leibling could be courtroom lawyers. They should be and more people would go free. Boxing is an exciting sport to write about. Some of the greatest writers tried their hand, even the mousey Joyce Oates got in on the act for another perspective.

Similarly, I am unable to authoritatively say I think Duran would beat Leonard. He did beat a pair of talented brothers quite similar in style to Benny Leonard. They were runners, too--the feather-fisted Viruet boys, Edwin and Adolpho. Both boring fights, as I remember them, came down to Duran chasing them all over the place to land enough punches to win.

He has to chase Leonard all over the place when I envision this fight. If my vision is faulty, let me know.

I see Leonard fighting Duran after the pattern of Tunney handling Dempsey. Your presumption must be that he will be able to out step Duran the way Tunney did. Ray Leonard did it in II, now can Benny do it? He has to land enough light punches to make Roberto look silly, practically without being hit himself. His tappers will not mean much if he is being hit with some of Duran's impactive, head-turning blows while he is tapping.

It took a 5'10" all time talent, poetry itself in motion, to out step Duran and make him look silly. What is Benny, maybe 5'8"? Ray at the very least matches Benny for speed & mobility. In punching power he blows him away.