Trindad was a welterweight who dominated B/C level fighters and has not a single fluke win over anybody better than a decent fighter. His closest win over a good to great fighter was over DLH a win that is almost univerisally said to be a horrible decision. Honestly, there is no reason to think a guy of Trindad's questionable talent beating anyone as skilled as Duran. He never proved this in the ring.
The skill level of Duran would have served him well in a fight with Trinidad. At 154, Tito didn't have the bomb Hearns had. I like Duran over Tito
I agree with that. I'm not saying it would be a Hearns/Duran like beating, but Tito was awesome at 154. Beyond the Davey Moore fight (he also looked pretty good against Cuevas if memory serves) Duran, from what I've seen (Hearns, Benitez, Laing) looked pretty ordinary at 154. That's just me.
Sorry, I should have said other than Ray Leonard. Either way, I don't have to tell anyone that the Duran who showed up for fights at 154 was nothing like the one who beat Leonard.
Carlos Palomino, Pipino Cuevas, Davey Moore, Monroe Brooks...and went pretty damn close with Wilfred Benitez. You think Trinidad does that? You think he doesn't get KOed by Thomas Hearns in quick fashion? Not a chance. I'd pick the 135 pound Duran to beat the 154 pound Trinidad in a heart beat.
Duran....i'm surprised it's so polarised. Aside from everything else, compare both in their big middleweight matchups. Duran would bamboozle the plodding Tito.
Honestly, the Tito nutlickers need to throw in the towel. Tito was not very good in terms of all time greats. This thread is a through beating. Anyone who picked Tito is just not thinking. There is no reason to rationally believe it.
tito lost to guys at 160+ against guys who would've whupped little duran. aside from ray leonard, tito beats just about anyone that duran beat including carlos palomino, a shot pipino cuevas, davey moore, and benitez. benitez was inconsistent as was duran after the leonard rematch. de la hoya made tito look foolish, but he also stalled tito from moving up to 154. he wasn't the same guy at 147 the late late 90s.
Tito had three fights at 154...Reid, Thiam and Vargas...none of which are hall of fame caliber like Benitez and Hearns.
Not sure about Palomino. I'd pick Trinidad over Cuevas, Moore, and Brooks, and to lose to Benitez and Hearns. Hearns would have a field day with the straight right hands on Tito, who was always vulnerable to that punch. I don't agree at all with Benitez-Duran being close though. I thought Benitez won by a wide margin on the cards.
I thought it was a 9-6 kind of fight...which isn't so bad, IMO. I don't think Trinidad loses to Brooks or Moore either, I'm just stirring.
benitez was inconsistent and lacked dedication. talented or not, it could've taken lesser guys than tito to beat him at 154. duran also lacked consistency and dedication at 154. some of the responses to this thread are pathetic. tito had one close fight in his career (vs. oscar) and two lopsided loss to great fighters who would've whupped duran or benitez.
Initially i thought Trinidad but after some thought it's pretty clear Duran would win this. I think Trinidad would hurt Duran early, but he wouldn't be able to finish. Guys like Vargas, Reid, Joppy etc all got up repeatedly from Trinidads shots and Duran is clearly tougher then those guys. It'd be like Hagler against Hearns, not as a fight but in the sense that Hagler was buzzed early (like Duran would be) but once he was comfortable with Hearns power it was all one way traffic. If Trinidad doesn't get him out of there early (and he wouldn't) Duran would give him a savage beating similar to the one Moore took. Duran TKO 6
This is a good post EXCEPT for that statement. Benitez beat Duran VERY clearly! Outta the 15 rounds, Duran won 5 TOPS! You could argue that Benitez won as many as 12 rounds in that fight.
It's a bruising, savage fight. I'm less than certain who I'd favour. This was Trinidad's best division, & Duran's defense had begun to suffer under the extra weight he was now carrying. He remained a great, great fighter, doubtless, but the question is could he brawl right down the stretch with Trinidad? That's the type of fight I see this becoming --- tit-for-tat, & much as I have little time for Trinidad, I admire his iron-clad hunger for victory. Even at 154lbs, Duran still exhibited more nous & ability than Trinidad ever had, though. Would be interesting. Love to see Jay Nady officiate, but his head might've exploded at all the fouling.
