Best I Faced with Roberto Duran

[The_budweiser]

Sitting down with a former world champion of Roberto Duran.

 

BEST SKILLS

 

Ken Buchanan: Buchanan was one of the great lightweights when it came to tactics and skill. His intelligence made him very difficult to beat even though he wasn’t a very strong opponent. Sugar Ray Leonard was faster and stronger but Buchanan had tremendous skills.

BEST JAB

 

Buchanan: He was tall, boxed well and his lateral movement was extremely good. Buchanan’s jab was difficult to deal with because he threw it on the move.

BEST DEFENSE

 

Buchanan: He was hard to hit cleanly. I was very young, lacked experience, and Buchanan had been world champion for a long time. A lot of people will expect me to say Wilfred Benitez or Leonard when it comes to defense but I wasn’t prepared properly for Benitez or the Leonard rematch. Davey Moore, who I beat easily, knocked Benitez out so there’s no comparison there. I was coming into my prime against Buchanan and he made me miss often.

BEST CHIN

Marvelous Marvin Hagler: I hit Hagler with a lot of punches and he just kept coming. I didn’t find him as skillful as some of the opponents I faced but he was the toughest.

 

BEST PUNCHER

 

Esteban De Jesus: De Jesus was the first opponent to knock me down and he had me down again in the second fight. When I lost to Thomas Hearns I was drained from losing weight too quickly, and that had a bad effect on me. Hearns got me with a great punch but I could have performed far better in a rematch. Marvin Hagler, who is a good friend of mine, told Hearns the only reason he knocked me out is because I wasn’t at my best.

FASTEST HANDS

Sugar Ray Leonard: He was the fastest fighter I ever fought but in the first fight I saw everything that was coming at me.

 

FASTEST FEET

 

Buchanan: At lightweight the opponents were much swifter on their feet and, back then, we were boxing in 15-round fights. Buchanan always kept on the move but I caught up with him eventually. That victory means a lot to me.

SMARTEST

 

Leonard: It’s hard to give you one name but Leonard stands out because he made adjustments during fights.

STRONGEST

 

Hagler: It was an extremely close fight but he got me tired late. Even though I built myself up to middleweight, Hagler was much bigger and used his strength on the inside. After making weight, a fighter rehydrates and there was a big difference there. Still, even when I was tired, Hagler couldn’t get me down. There was no way I was going to get the decision but some fans and reporters thought I’d done enough. Hagler had big American fights pending with Leonard and Hearns so there was a lot of money at stake.

BEST OVERALL

 

Leonard: I have to say Sugar Ray Leonard because look at what he did in his career after he lost to me. It takes a lot to come back from defeat and Leonard did it.

 

Special thanks to Jovanna Duran Orts (translator), Carl Holness and James Ward for their participation in arranging this interview.

 

Best I Faced: Roberto Duran - Ring TV

[robprosser]

Re: Best I Faced with Roberto Duran

 

Quite an endorsement for Buchanan from, for me, the best lightweight of all time.

[LondonRingRules]

Re: Best I Faced with Roberto Duran

 

---The original series started by anson wainwright was brilliantly conceived and received, but now fighters are less spontaneous and more into payback for perceived injustice or expanding their dinner tours and such.

 

Still, Buchanan underrated and gets unexpected accolades during hard times for him, so good job Roberto.

[EditinKing]

Re: Best I Faced with Roberto Duran

 

Legend, cant wait for Hands Of Stone movie.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSHlCYw5L_4