Boxing's biggest championship theft?

Mr Exile,

Mr Plaid Shorts in the performance of his life -- he was never in the fight. A good champ vs a transcendant coming up to the summit of his stuff. Forget the rest, Duran 135 was truly unbelievable. Lampkin, last DeJesus fight, mind blowing.

YHS, etc

 

Duran was the best lightweight ever. He was a ferocious puncher - both to the head and body - but he was a terrific boxer and very sound defensively. As he went up in weight and his power dissipated, he was able to beat guys like Iran Barkley and - as Mr. Friend O' pointed out earlier - almost upset Hagler with brains more than brawn.

 

Somehow, I think Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby had met each other before.

 

Mr Boots,

At the weigh-in.

YHS, etc

 

I saw the Duran-Buchanan fight on ESPN Classic a few months back and really enjoyed it. The final low blow was so obvious.

I was a big boxing fan from about 1982-1987. Those were the days when lots of fights were televised on weekend afternoons and I tried to see as many as I could. Those were the days!

I wish I watched boxing when Duran was at the height of his badassery (I was only 4 in 1972). My favorite quote of his was "I am not God, but I am something similar." Genius!

 

Agreed.

Sugar Ray fought a good fight, but I was a bigtime Marvelous fan and thought he got robbed. But I can accept the decision.

Can't forget Roy Jones Jr.'s loss in the Olympics. That was the biggest theft I've ever seen.

 

Duran fought on TV all the time in those days and his fights were always big occasions at our house. He was my old man's fave fighter and the place was always packed with his buddies.

I remember after he'd starched one guy that Tim Ryan was interviewing him and Duran said something along the lines of "If I was in shape they'd be taking him to the morgue, not the hospital."

 

Mr Huggy,

That was Lampkin, who barely lived and landed in a wheelchair.

YHS, etc

 

When Duran turned his back on Leonard in their second fight my old man quit watching boxing. Even after Duran began his comeback beating Pipino Cuevas, destroying Davey Moore (a pretty promising fighter who's career was never the same after Duran mangled him for the 154-pound title at MSG), narrowly losing to Hagler and eventually beating Iran Barkley in an unbelievable fight. He always figured he'd quit again. When Hearns stretched Duran in two (with an unreal right-hand bomb) I came home from watching the fight and told the old man and all he said was "Serves the fucking bastard right. He sent plenty of guys out that way."

I interviewed Duran for a men's mag back in 1997 when he came through Toronto promoting some salsa album he'd recorded. He was a pretty intimidating guy even at that age and as we were setting up I kept thinking back to all those afternoons in front of the TV watching him hammer guys. He'd stared down some of the best fighters of all time. The interview went well as Duran answered questions through an interpreter until I asked him if he was ever close to fighting Alexis Arguello (a fight between them would have probably been the biggest Latin American matchup ever). Those black eyes (like Manson's, Joe Frazier once said) flashed and he leaned over the table and said "Go ask Don King why I didn't get that fucking fight!"

 

I remember that Duran-Hearns fight. Hearns' power was so underestimated. No one put Duran to sleep like that.

 

Sirs, Madames,

If the punchdidn't knock him out, the fall would have. Couldn't get his hands him, kiss the canvas.

YHS, etc

 

Politics may have prevented Arguello and Duran from happening, but Arguello didn't want any parts of Duran in his prime. Duran would've kicked his ass the way Aaron Pryor did.