Even the Oscar that fought Tito would have a hard time keeping Duran off him. Plus, I don't think Oscar was as dynamic as Leonard was in terms of how he was able to frustrate an unfocused Duran.
Doesn't matter how Oscar fights. Even if he moves, he wasn't as fluid or as fast as Leonard. And above ALLL, there's an astronomical gap between Leonard and Oscar in stamina. Oscar would fade late against Duran, like always. Brains are also a factor here. Duran would outhink Oscar. DLH had a low IQ for a great fighter.
Like it or not...Oscar had a better jab than Leonard and hit harder. Leonard better overall, but that is the case. Ali better overall than Foreman but Foreman hit harder and was physically stronger. You act as though Leonard was better than Oscar in every single category.
Duran wins at any weight. Oscar seems like the type of opponent Duran would be "up" for and train hard. And while Duran was inconsistent above 147, that's also where Oscar lost quite a bit of his movement and legs. It would start off good but Duran's edge in stamina, and Oscar's relative vulnerability to body shots would do him in.
Stamina would be a huge factor. Oscar is one of those guys with a smallish gas tank however hard he trains, Duran is the opposite. Duran would maul him to a decision, it could get ugly for De La Lovesongs in the championship rounds when he fades and Duran is fresh as a daisy.
"Like I said before", Mythical Matchups always work under the assumpion that we're using both fighters on their A games. I mean, if somebody started Tyson vs Foreman matchup, we wouldn't be talking about the Tyson that fought Douglas and the Foreman that fought Young.
If given the best version of Duran at each weight, I don't see how Oscar wins. We KNOW he ain't beating Duran at 135, that's outta the question. And at 147, he ain't beating the Duran of Montreal of the version that beat Palomino. That means Oscar's best chance is 154, but it's doubtful he beats the Duran that whupped Moore.
De La Hoya could have indeed beaten Duran at 135lb. Yes Duran is the light weight GOAT and all of that but Oscar was a huge lightweight with serious power and handspeed. Duran never fought anyone with that combination of attributes to my knowledge
Despite his physical gifts, Oscar was still somewhat inexperienced at 135, and possibly a little drained. There were some questions about his chin early on, and I think he took a better shot at higher weights as his legs were stronger. Oscar's best chances would be at 140 and 154. At 140, DLH still had the physical gifts of being tall, rangy, powerful, and also was probably more comfortable at the weight. At 154, Duran became inconsistent and was not as light on his feet. Duran didn't even look that bad to me in his last bout at 147 in New Orleans despite all the talk of him being bloated or whatever, which made his quit job all the more puzzling and disgraceful. But as said earlier, above 147 is also where DLH also lost some of his legs and movement. DLH never looked as sharp after the first Mosley fight at 147 in 2000. He actually looked terrific physically in that bout and very sharp. Unfortunately, he didn't fight the smartest fight, and Mosley was just sharper and quicker with a better gas tank. To me, there was a certain sharpness and speed that he never had again after that fight.
Yeah, you're 100% correct. DLH's physical prime was 96-00. He was a bit slower after the Mosley fight.
Oscar has never a been a favourite amongst us hardcore boxing fans, so it's easy to forget that a peak Oscar was a fairly formidable offensive fighter. Excellent combination of speed and power, very good left hook, good solid jab, good chin. Let down a bit by his lack of right hand, and sub par stamina. Overall though, a fairly underrated fighter.
I would pick the DLH that fought Hopkins to defeat the Duran that fought Ray Leonard in the third match which was at the time the largest gate ever for a fight
I think Oscar is rated fairly correctly. H2H, I think more of him as a junior welter than a welter. He was a beast at 140. There aren't awhole lot of junior welters in history I'd take over DLH. Maybe a handful, but not many. At welterweight, he was EXCELLENT, but dare I say, not quite a great. He was a tier below the "big 4" of the 80s as a welterweight. I also consider Curry a better welterweight than Oscar.
Definitely, "Uno Mas" was absolutely dreadful. Duran looked just awful. Naturally, he made excuses and said "Leonard didn't beat me, the IRS beat me". The fat Oscar of the Sturm fight beats that Duran too.
