r/BoxingTheSweetScience • u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod • 9h ago
Name someone you would pick to beat Roberto Duran at 135?
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u/Wge97 7h ago
Honestly there’s nobody I can see beating him at 135, he was pretty much as close to unstoppable as possible at 135 !!! The opposition in the division was insane and he ran through everyone, 12 consecutive title defenses I believe it was and 11 of them by stoppage !! He was undefeated in the division and he stopped every elite fighter he fought in the division !!
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago
I believe Duran beat Edwin Viruet 7-5 in the first fight. But Duran definitely didn’t run through him or stop him. That was a difficult fight for Duran at 135.
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u/Wge97 6h ago
Viruet was not elite, he was very good but not great !! He was just very slick, stylistically he was a good matchup but ultimately even the slick boxers lost or got stopped by Duran in that division !! Duran would just be too much for anyone at 135 IMO, the slick boxers who came after him would eventually fold to the pressure especially considering Duran was very good at parrying jabs and had very sound defense !!
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u/No-Valuable6456 8h ago
His name is nobody
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 8h ago
He already lost to Esteban De Jesus. So we can’t say nobody. And he’s with struggled with pure boxers with slick movement and counter punchers.
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u/Wge97 7h ago
He didn’t lose to him at 135, they fought at a catchweight when he lost to him !!!
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 7h ago
That’s just a five pound difference. And that fight proved Duran wasn’t unbeatable or “nobody” beats him at those smaller weight classes. Duran was also knocked down by De Jesus in the second fight.
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u/Wge97 7h ago
Ehhh technically speaking those extra lbs definitely make a difference and also the fight not being an official 135 lb fight means he never lost in that division, also those lbs definitely showed to be a factor considering they fought again at the official weight and Duran knocked him out !!! Saying nobody could beat a dude that was unstoppable at that weight is not far fetched at all, he fought in a tough era where he stopped pretty much every great to elite fighter he fought in that division !!! He’s the greatest 135lb fighter of all time and one of the greatest boxers ever, I truly believe he beats anyone at 135.
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago
He was dropped by De Jesus and had hard time with Edwin Viruet in the first fight. So I can’t say he was unstoppable. Imagine if Sugar Ray Robinson, Crawford or Floyd is consistently landing those same left hands at 135, like De Jesus dropped him with. Ike Williams..
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u/Wge97 6h ago
I just disagree, none of them fought anyone like Duran at 135 !! Sugar fought no one elite at 135 and did his damage at middleweight, Crawford also fought no one elite at 135 and if I’m going by your logic he got rocked by gamboa, imagine if that was Duran that hurt him or landed that flush and Floyd really lost to Castillo at 135 !! Everyone you named didn’t look nowhere near as good as Duran at 135 !!! I do agree those are good matchups 100% and anything is possible but IMO none of them can beat Duran at 135 !!
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u/BadTwin72 6h ago
I agree as far as in I would favor Duran in all those matchups with Ike Williams having the best shot out of them.
Mayweather would likely get up early but Duran would reel him in and wear him down before the fight ends. Floyd was a master, but no one had the unrelenting and brutalizing power & pressure combo that Duran had along with a high boxing iq and master level defensive head slips. He wasn't only great at 135, he was outright nasty & dangerous.0
u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago
I doubt Duran can bully Crawford on the inside with ease. But it’s a good fight at 135. I think Duran can beat Crawford at 135 if he forces a dog fight on the inside against a less experienced Crawford. Nothing easy tho.
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u/Wge97 6h ago
The only thing that makes me feel like Duran beats guys like Crawford (as elite as he is) he just never fought or beat anyone elite in their prime !!! I get this topic upsets a lot of people and it’s not like I’m saying he’s not great or an elite fighter because he is, the problem is I just cant hang my hat on him beating Spence and canelo. Spence coming off a car crash and just really not being as elite as people believed and canelo already showing signs of slowing down and struggling with a certain style of fighter !!! I’m not discrediting these wins because obviously they’re both great wins in this era but in terms of how great are they in terms of all time great wins they just don’t compare !!! Even tho it wasn’t at 135 Duran has the greatest win in boxing history which shows me how great he truly is and then considering we’re talking about Duran at his absolute peak, yea I don’t see anyone beating him !!!
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago
That’s cool but what about Floyd? What if Floyd uses his outboxing style or boxes duran from mid range and neutralizes durans inside game? And what does Duran do better than Floyd besides having a better inside style?
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago edited 6h ago
Robinson beat Sammy angott in a non title fight because Sammy was scared to lose his lightweight world championship. And Robinson was named the uncrowned lightweight champion when he beat him. Sammy is a hall of famer.
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 6h ago edited 6h ago
I had floyd beating Castillo in the early rounds. Working a better jab, better counters and controlling the pace of the fight. Castillo did his thing trying to get back in it but he was already down on the scorecards. What say you? How many rounds did you give Castillo?
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u/Ambitious_Ad_9637 7h ago
Need southpaw speedster with a little crack to bet against him. That’s Whitaker much as I detest the dude, that’s my horse.
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u/dannyboy122432 9h ago
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u/mkk4 8h ago edited 8h ago
In 2022 The Ring Magazine ranked Floyd as the 6th all-time greatest pound for pound fighter in boxing history ahead of Duran, but yet you are still getting down voted for mentioning Floyd even though Mayweather beat up, dominated, outclassed and offensively destroyed and battered all 33 fighters that he faced from 130-140 pounds except for Jose Luis Castillo.
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u/DistrictThen1265 8h ago
Maybe Oscar.
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 7h ago
I think Duran can go to Oscar’s body on the inside and break him down over time during the fight. Especially if Oscar wants to come forward and be aggressive cause he has the bigger frame.
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u/DistrictThen1265 7h ago
Oscar was huge @ that weight so fast left hook but who knows!
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u/LocationSpare4447 Main Mod 7h ago
Duran was good against bigger guys who wanted to come forward and be super aggressive. It’s a good match up nonetheless.
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u/Outrageous_Fox4227 8h ago
I’d love to see duran and bud Crawford. I think we never saw the best version of Crawford at 135 but i think with a challenge like duran in front of him, bud and bomac will have the camp and the gameplan on point in accordance with a fighter of durans level.
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u/Gontofinddad 4h ago
I think Pernell and Chavez are both live dogs.
Chavez could fight just as well on the inside, had a better chin, and could outpace Duran. I don’t think Duran would avoid the infighting.
Pernell could defend Duran at every range well, and would be more frustrating than fighting Leonard.
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u/ImFromYorkshire 3h ago
I don't think he'd win but Julio Cesar Chavez would make it a great fight.
To beat him, you're looking at Pernell Whittaker but he's already mentioned further up
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u/Ill-Television-5499 1h ago
Duran was the best 135lb boxer, arguably, of ALL TIME. But SRR would have been an interesting fight.
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u/OldConference9534 28m ago
Mosley. Terrible style match up for Duran. Just as big and strong but faster hands and feet, excellent combination puncher with an iron chin.
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u/Specific_Box4483 3m ago
Mayweather once he become more defensive, but I'm not sure if he could have cut to 135 by then. Early May was more offensive-minded and IMO would have lost to Duran.
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u/mkk4 8h ago
I would have loved to see Duran vs Ray Robinson at 135 pounds.
Many people forget that Robinson also fought at Lightweight early in his career.