Welcome to the second of a four-part series in which we pit Floyd Mayweather Jr. against four of boxing’s biggest names from the Four Kings era. After being knocked out by Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd needs to pick himself up to beat Roberto Duran.
CHECK OUT PART I OF TAKING ON THE KINGS: FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS SUGAR RAY LEONARD
Floyd Mayweather vs Roberto Duran
Roberto Duran or Manos De Piedra as he was known, was one of the greatest fighters of all time. He had a superb résumé with wins over Sugar Ray Leonard, Wilfred Benitez and a very competitive loss to Marvin Hagler. His six-year reign at lightweight was legendary and surely earns him the “all time” great title in that division.
The man exuded doggedness and possessed the raw power of a neanderthal pugilist. Stories of the lightweight Duran smashing opponents teeth in were very prevalent throughout his time as king of that division.
The great Sugar Ray Leonard even stated that Duran’s punches felt like stone crashing against his skull. But despite his belligerent offence the Panamanian slugger possessed one of the most underrated defences of all time. The subtle things he did to elude punches such as slipping and ducking went unnoticed to all but the most adept observers of the sweet science.
The greatest lightweight seen in the sport since Duran may well be Floyd Mayweather Junior. Mayweather’s destruction of Diego Corrales at the 135-pound limit was one of his finest displays and is evidence to suggest his best may have been at the weight. However, this version of Floyd, or any version surely would not have been able to hold off Duran’s insurmountable offence.
If you look closely at Marcos Maidana’s recent fight with Mayweather, it’s easy to see a lot of similarities between Maidana’s tenacious style and that of Duran’s. Duran in many ways is like an all-time great version of Maidana and surely the Panamanian’s other-worldly power and relentless pressure fighting would do much more than just trouble Floyd.
Duran would be on Mayweather from the very first round, swarming the stylish American with pressure, punching him anywhere possible. Mayweather simply would not have the pop to deter the ever advancing slugger.
Mayweather would begin to tire by the middle rounds due to the constant pressure, his defence would get sloppy and Duran would eventually land a crunching shot to drop the Michigan native for the count of ten.
Prediction: Durant beats Mayweather by K.O.
Donal O’Doherty, Pundit Arena.
Stay tuned to Pundit Arena’s Facebook page for the release of Part III, where Floyd Mayweather takes on Thomas Hearns.
CHECK OUT PART I OF TAKING ON THE KINGS: FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS SUGAR RAY LEONARD
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