could roberto duran won the welter title earlier?

[rightsideup]

I know the money fight was with leonard but could have he dethroned napoles, stracy , carlos, cuevas or benitez ?

[DBSLM]

I think Benitez beats him everytime IMO. I think he beats the rest although I'm not to sure Napoles. He might stop him on cuts, But Mantequilla can possibly outbox him

[wmute]

Duran-Napoles is a match up made in heaven. I think no one was at their best at the same time though. If they fought in 72, Duran would be quite crude. But as Duran improves, Napoles age and drinking start catching up...

Stracey is not worth mentioning.

Palomino he actually beat shortly after the Benitez fight.

Cuevas never held *the* ww title.

Benitez-Duran in 1979... another great fight... I would not bet on this one.

[Ray Corso]

I like him over all of them except Napoles, at that time he's beat up Benetez once he caught him. The Duran then was not the money grapper that fought Wilfred years later! Pepino was not much of a champion he was very limited and unless you ran into his hook he didn't have alot to offer! Napolis had expereince and enough power to make Duran respect him, this would have been a very good match up. Ray.

[Dynamite76]

I know the money fight was with leonard but could have he dethroned napoles, stracy , carlos, cuevas or benitez ?

I could see Roberto possibly beating Benitez, or Stracy.Napoles, or Cuevas, I don't see happening.

[TBear]

I personally think on that night in Montreal(Leonard I), if Benitez was across the ring, Duran could have won.

[Boxing Bob]

I could see Roberto possibly beating Benitez, or Stracy.Napoles, or Cuevas, I don't see happening.

You wouldn't favor Duran over Cuevas? Ya gotta be kidding! Better do some homework and figure out who these men were. Cuevas had power but was very limited and Duran below 147 was possibly the best fighter EVER!

[Scott9945]

You wouldn't favor Duran over Cuevas? Ya gotta be kidding! Better do some homework and figure out who these men were. Cuevas had power but was very limited and Duran below 147 was possibly the best fighter EVER!

Not to mention when they eventually did fight, Duran won very convincingly.

[Boxing Bob]

Not to mention when they eventually did fight, Duran won very convincingly.

Same story with Palomino (though not as convincingly), so the answer to the thread is a resoundly YES

[BennyST]

If we're talking at his best and pumped up for each fight as much as he was for Leonard, then he could absolutely win all of them without question. I think Benitez and Napoles would be close fights, but the Duran that fought Benitez was a shell, while Benitez was fighting better than he'd ever fought before in his greatest fight.

I think if you take both from their best fights at 147, Duran wins. Completely different fighter to the one Benitez did meet later at 154.

I'd love to see the Naploes fight, but again, I think Duran was a bit more durable and it would be a brutal fight.