Duran vs. Whitaker

[K-DOGG]

k-dogg:
you are right this is an extremely intriguing matchup. on one hand you have a media legend - the panamanian devil. on the other hand, you have a guy the media absolutely despised.

assuming this matchup is at 135, for all its worth, i change my prediction and i think pernell beats him in a 12 rounder, duran beats him in 15. i hate to say it because duran is my all-time favorite fighter, but i think pernell may be too 'cute' for him.

to a large extent, pernell's greatness lied in his ability to see things in the present, as they were happening, and shaping and directing the direction of the action. he always knows where he was and where his opponent was and where they are going. i love the way he leads his opponent into positions where he was free to let his hands go. he knew when they are unable to counter or knew exactly what that counter would be and was ready for it. his jab - he threw it straight so that his entire body is behind it.

something many people forget about this matchup is that they are both equal in strength (IMO). duran, for all his primeval savagery was pernell's equal in terms of strength (IMO). they are both 5'6'' so we would most likely see a see-saw battle on the inside.

duran would be forced to turn pernell and fight him on the outside. pernell wins a close decision (12 rounds), and duran wins a close decision (15 rounds).

You make a great argument; and I will say that Pete was one of the few lightweights that I can see beating Duran. The other two are Joe Gans and Benny Leonard. That's not bad company.

Great post.

[ferocity]

duran by late tko in 15 round fight, 12 round fight, ud. once whitiker starts playing ruff duran will play even ruffer

[cple]

On paper, it's an intriguing matchup. In this bout, we have Pernell Whitaker, the best defensive fighter of his era--and possibly all-time--facing Roberto Duran, one of the most well-rounded fighters to ever live. Obviously, it would be advantageous for Duran to have the fight in a phone booth, but i'm more than confident that he'd be able to hold his own on the outside as well. Whitaker has never faced a fighter with Duran's arsenal. While it can be said that Duran has never seen a boxer with Whitaker's capabilities, Duran has little to fear when it comes to incoming punches.

The same cannot be said about Whitaker, who must face one of the most complete and fiercest punchers ever, while dealing with Duran's vastly underrated defense--a combination that could prove to be overwhelming. And that is what i think will happen. Whitaker would have to focus so much on avoiding Duran's attack, he wouldn't be able to mount his own offensive. Even if Whitaker successfully dodges the majority of Duran's punches (not a gaurantee), he won't be scoring points.

Duran by dec.

[oldgringo]

On paper, it's an intriguing matchup. In this bout, we have Pernell Whitaker, the best defensive fighter of his era--and possibly all-time--facing Roberto Duran, one of the most well-rounded fighters to ever live. Obviously, it would be advantageous for Duran to have the fight in a phone booth, but i'm more than confident that he'd be able to hold his own on the outside as well. Whitaker has never faced a fighter with Duran's arsenal. While it can be said that Duran has never seen a boxer with Whitaker's capabilities, Duran has little to fear when it comes to incoming punches.

The same cannot be said about Whitaker, who must face one of the most complete and fiercest punchers ever, while dealing with Duran's vastly underrated defense--a combination that could prove to be overwhelming. And that is what i think will happen. Whitaker would have to focus so much on avoiding Duran's attack, he wouldn't be able to mount his own offensive. Even if Whitaker successfully dodges the majority of Duran's punches (not a gaurantee), he won't be scoring points.

Duran by dec.

its good to see you post my friend, but i must disagree that whitaker would not score on duran. his jab was effective and his reflexes were top of the line when he'd drop the left hand in on his opponents. whitaker never really lost until he moved up to 147....and it was when he was past his best weight for sure. i believe his underrated jab, movement, and defense would allow him to score more than any other opponent duran faced at lightweight. whitaker was better at 135 than was dejesus (who was also a monster at 135). just look at how much he frustrated a great azumah nelson (who was the smaller man, but was still great at the time).

[wmute]

it would be close and it would be great. If I had to bet, with fair judges, I would bet on whitaker thinking of his performance against chavez (note I am not drawing a perfect parallel, but there are some similarities between the two, and pea won pretty muche every round with chavez, so he might pull out seven with duran)

[shortright]

over 15 rds i take duran, ringsize could play a factor, a prepared prime duran may be the toughest fighter for someone to ever face