Who was the better Boxer ..........Duran or Pryor

[Dynamite Kid]

Pryor's best boxing performances were against Arguello, when he switched into a boxer at times, but Arguello could be confused by such tactics.

I believe it's Pryor who is heavily overrated. I'm not claiming that Duran is among the classiest boxers but he got by mostly with his skills while Pryor got by with talent. Duran could get hit but Pryor at times could get hit at will, only surviving due to a granite-like chin.

I'm not sure if Pryor would do all that well against Laing and Sims at 154/160 either, and at 30+ years of age. He was finished when he was 29 years old.

Gaetan Hart is his best Boxing performance imo.

Pryor is only overrated by the legendary night fans.

Pryor had speed of foot and hand, power, stamina, chin, heart, he could Box & fight, he had a lot going for him imo. He is more gifted than Duran physically imo, but Duran was stronger physically.

[oldgringo]

With all due respect you probably just picked out Pryor's worst performance against Dujuan Johnson. You could just as easily post videos of Duran being KTFO or getting outboxed by Laing, Benitez, dropping a decision to Robbie Sims.

Duran is the better boxer by quite a margin in my opinion.
I swear Duran's Boxing skills are so overrated its untrue.

I don't think it's unfair to post the video of Johnson or to talk about Pryor's tendency to get a little loose early in his fights. Pryor struggled with lesser, although capable, fighters in the thick of his career.

Duran had the better skills to me. His boxing ability made it possible for him to move up several weight classes and undress a guy like Davey Moore. His skills helped him survive against a rugged, somewhat underrated guy like Barkley. Watching that fight was a thing of beauty and his ability was on full blast in that one.

[Dynamite Kid]

I don't think it's unfair to post the video of Johnson or to talk about Pryor's tendency to get a little loose early in his fights. Pryor struggled with lesser, although capable, fighters in the thick of his career.

Duran had the better skills to me. His boxing ability made it possible for him to move up several weight classes and undress a guy like Davey Moore. His skills helped him survive against a rugged, somewhat underrated guy like Barkley. Watching that fight was a thing of beauty and his ability was on full blast in that one.

I think it was more so his strength being the biggest factor in why he was able to hang with them. I just dont see the sublime skills from Duran, he was a good inside fighter who became more adept at slipping punches, but does he slip and counter better than Whitaker, Toney ? not imo. Did he used to get nailed quite a lot ? yes.


He had good Boxing skills and had tremendous strength for a LW but i dont think he was that superior to Pryor in terms of Boxing skills.

[Dynamite Kid]

Many might suggest that Meldrick Taylor was a better Boxer than Duran but Taylor clearly could not handle it against bigger guys, i know people hold the view that he was past it after the Chavez fight but he was still a very good fighter. I think the real problem for Taylor was he was too short to Box from range and he did not have enough power to command the respect of bigger guys, he could not use defence to create is offense like Maywseather because besides being inferior to Mayweather on nearly every level his defence was his offence. The reason i use him as an example is because i think its illustrates that Boxing skills does not equate to success at higher weights, so the analogy that Duran was that good of a Boxer because he went up successfully in weight does not stack up, with me at least.

[TheGreatA]

Gaetan Hart is his best Boxing performance imo.

Pryor is only overrated by the legendary night fans.

Pryor had speed of foot and hand, power, stamina, chin, heart, he could Box & fight, he had a lot going for him imo. He is more gifted than Duran physically imo, but Duran was stronger physically.

If you ask me, Gaetan Hart shouldn't have come close to getting a title shot but it was an impressive performance indeed. Duran himself did fight some suspect opposition at LW but then again few bring up those fights as proof of his greatness.

I don't doubt that Pryor was more gifted than Duran, he was more gifted than most fighters I've seen. But I don't think he was necessarily more skilled than Duran.

The older Duran got, the worse he matched up against slick boxers in my opinion. He simply didn't have it in him to chase them, but against more crude brawlers he could display his skills and abilities. I really don't think that Duran could match strength with Moore or Barkley, he simply outboxed them.





It's a bit of a circus fight but Duran at nearly 50 years of age was still able to outbox fighters like Jorge Castro whenever he could:



Here are some thing Hagler and his camp had to say about Duran:

If Hagler learned anything in the Duran fight, it was not to lie back and let the rounds pass by. Pat and Goody Petronelli, Hagler's handlers, learned a lot that night, too. "Who would have thought that Duran could outbox a Marvin Hagler?" Pat Petronelli asks. "We told Marvin, 'Lay back and counter-punch.' He's going to come at you. Duran took us to school."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...7003/index.htm

Quotes after the fight:

"People think I'm going to go crazy in there, like against Leonard," Duran said before the fight. "But, no."

"I knew that Hagler was waiting for me to get inside to fight with him," Duran said afterward, "so he could get his punches in with force."

"I fought him at half-distance," Duran said. "I was waiting for him to unload so I could score on him. Whichever hand he unloaded, I was ready to counter. He didn't confuse me with anything. I was beating him without mixing it up too much."

Petronelli's foreboding deepened. "Duran waited and waited and waited for Marvin to lead," he said. "We had to change our tactics and go on the offensive, which isn't really Marvin's style." So at the end of the third, Petronelli told Hagler, "This ain't going too well. Put the pressure on him."

"He'd slip and counter, slide back and wait for me," Hagler said. "When you're trying for a knockout, it's the hardest thing to get. That's what I was after, but you have to let them come. He wasn't there. Duran is too crafty to go after for a knockout. You leave yourself open, and he takes advantage of it."

"I turned my head to be careful of his right because it's his most dangerous hand. His left is dead. The hand he most relied on was his right," Duran said.

"I wasn't getting my jab off the way I generally do," said Hagler, who was more effective when he switched from a lefty to a righty stance, which brought him two feet closer to Duran. "It seemed everybody was disappointed that I didn't knock him out. I felt that way myself. But he wasn't that vulnerable to a knockout. It was hard to hit him with a solid punch. I didn't catch him with a solid shot."

"I was a little scared because he was coming in straight up," Duran said. "I could reach him with any right, but actually I was scared to throw the right hand."

"He came to tear my head off," says Duran, "but when he saw that I could hit him hard, with strength, he got scared and became a coward. That's why he didn't take too many chances and mix it up with me. Everyone was saying he was a destroyer, but when he hit me, he didn't do anything to me. His punches absolutely did me no damage. He got scared every time he threw a jab because I could get my right in under it. That's why he held off so much."

"I'm not a fool either," Hagler would say, "going in to get hit. You don't barrel in there on a guy like Roberto Duran. Why take unnecessary punishment unless you have to? I'd been effective and was winning the fight, so it isn't like I had to go in there and take the punishment to bomb him out."

"The better man won," Duran said, after two judges had given Hagler the victory by one point, the other by two.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vau...76/1/index.htm

As for Duran at his very best, this fight is it if you were to ask me:









He just took a very, very good lightweight apart and he did not do it with sheer strength but with brilliant boxing.

[Dynamite Kid]

Pryor Boxing Gaetan Hart

[TheGreatA]

Many might suggest that Meldrick Taylor was a better Boxer than Duran but Taylor clearly could not handle it against bigger guys, i know people hold the view that he was past it after the Chavez fight but he was still a very good fighter. I think the real problem for Taylor was he was too short to Box from range and he did not have enough power to command the respect of bigger guys, he could not use defence to create is offense like Maywseather because besides being inferior to Mayweather on nearly every level his defence was his offence. The reason i use him as an example is because i think its illustrates that Boxing skills does not equate to success at higher weights, so the analogy that Duran was that good of a Boxer because he went up successfully in weight does not stack up, with me at least.

I don't think Taylor was a better boxer than Duran though. Actually I don't think he was that good of a boxer at all, he relied on handspeed and the ability to take one to give three, four or five punches of his own.

At 5'7 and a 68" reach, Duran was not a big guy. He was actually thrown around by a rather skinny welterweight Zeferino "Speedy" Gonzalez in a tune-up welterweight bout which made most viewers think he did not stand much of a chance as a welter.

Most good boxers are able to move up and have success. Duran, if he only relied on his physical ability, could not have been able to match strength with welterweights and middleweights who were bigger than him. I'm sure that Carlos Palomino, Davey Moore and Iran Barkley were just as strong as he was if not stronger but Duran was simply a better boxer.

[Dynamite Kid]

I don't think Taylor was a better boxer than Duran though. Actually I don't think he was that good of a boxer at all, he relied on handspeed and the ability to take one to give three, four or five punches of his own.

At 5'7 and a 68" reach, Duran was not a big guy. He was actually thrown around by a rather skinny welterweight Zeferino "Speedy" Gonzalez in a tune-up welterweight bout which made most viewers think he did not stand much of a chance as a welter.

Most good boxers are able to move up and have success. Duran, if he only relied on his physical ability, could not have been able to match strength with welterweights and middleweights who were bigger than him. I'm sure that Carlos Palomino, Davey Moore and Iran Barkley were just as strong as he was if not stronger but Duran was simply a better boxer.

Taylor's long range game was better than Duran's, he had better legs to imo, he was aslo more fluid than Duran, he was a better counter puncher from long range, where as id say Duran was a better counter puncher from mid range. Difference being that Taylor had no punch at the higher weight to command respect, Duran still had some pop at the higher weight because he was a better puncher than Taylor. Duran also had a better chin than Taylor imo.

Duran's robustness is what helped him most of all up at higher weight imo, chin, strength and the ability to fight in the pocket. There are two ways to fight a puncher, lateral movement or you stay inside their power, Duran was was at his best fighting from mid range where he would not be outside on the end of Barkley's punches. Its not like Duran was that! successful at the higher weights either.

[TheGreatA]

Taylor's long range game was better than Duran's, he had better legs to imo, he was aslo more fluid than Duran, he was a better counter puncher from long range, where as id say Duran was a better counter puncher from mid range. Difference being that Taylor had no punch at the higher weight to command respect, Duran still had some pop at the higher weight because he was a better puncher than Taylor. Duran also had a better chin than Taylor imo.

Duran's robustness is what helped him most of all up at higher weight imo, chin, strength and the ability to fight in the pocket. There are two ways to fight a puncher, lateral movement or you stay inside their power, Duran was was at his best fighting from mid range where he would not be outside on the end of Barkley's punches. Its not like Duran was that! successful at the higher weights either.

I just can't help but to look at Pryor and Taylor (or Roy Jones for that matter) and see the things they can get away with due to sheer talent.

Meldrick was unbelievably fast but he never seemed like a very good technical boxer to me. I think he had a very solid chin at 140 but the Chavez beating may have affected him and he was fighting bigger men at 147. He also relied on being able to take a punch far too much and never had much in the way of defense.

Against Buddy McGirt, he was just able to overwhelm him, but against Howard Davis at a relatively early part in his career he had trouble with Davis's speed which matched his and boxing at long range.

Duran was not always successful at higher weights but he was more successful than I can imagine Meldrick or Pryor being. Both of them were also shot by their 30's while Duran still showed signs of true greatness at times. I do think it has a lot to do with Duran being a more skilled boxer.

[Dynamite Kid]

I just can't help but to look at Pryor and Taylor (or Roy Jones for that matter) and see the things they can get away with due to sheer talent.

Meldrick was unbelievably fast but he never seemed like a very good technical boxer to me. I think he had a very solid chin at 140 but the Chavez beating may have affected him and he was fighting bigger men at 147. He also relied on being able to take a punch far too much and never had much in the way of defense.

Against Buddy McGirt, he was just able to overwhelm him, but against Howard Davis at a relatively early part in his career he had trouble with Davis's speed which matched his and boxing at long range.

Duran was not always successful at higher weights but he was more successful than I can imagine Meldrick or Pryor being. Both of them were also shot by their 30's while Duran still showed signs of true greatness at times. I do think it has a lot to do with Duran being a more skilled boxer.

I have a different criteria for technical Boxer than most, some people will look at Kessler as a technical fighter but i dont, what i view him as is conventional but not exactly technical. I can name a few things that i think Kessler does wrong that make him a predictable fighter, albeit effective.

Taylor has is a much better Boxer than Kessler from my perspective, he has more variety offensively, uses angles better and he is more fluid.

Now i bet you would say Kessler is a technical fighter? im not going to call you wrong because its just a criteria we differ on and either can be argued but that might be why we are on a different page regarding Duran & Pryor's skills.

I respect your opinion though TheGreatA