Very good fighter. His durability wasn’t the greatest. But he had an elegant style and a nice combination of power and hand speed.
He lacked the intangibles and the toughness to beat the truly elite of the elite welters, but he was talented and skilled enough to beat most welters. Quality wise, he was closer to DLH, Mosley, Quartey level than he was to Leonard, Duran, Hearns level.
I'd take Bud at this stage. Bud simply has more substance than Curry. I think Bud's tougher and meaner as well. 85 Curry beats Spence.
Curry had all the goods to be an ATG but just didn't have that special something that made other great fighters excel. Still, he was magnificent for a spell and he did show why he was seen as the top fighter at the time. Very talented and beautiful style to watch.
If we measure Curry up against the best welters from the 90s on: I think Curry had the right style to soundly beat Oscar, Forrest, Cotto, Whitaker, McGirt, and yes, Floyd. I think Trinidad, mid-90s Quartey, 2000 Mosley, 2009 Pac, and Crawford would be wrong for him. ESPECIALLY Trinidad.
REED Can't Help But Wonder HOW the U.S. Boycott of the '80 Olympics AFFECTED Curry; Both In AND Out of the Ring... Financially, the MILLIONS Curry Missed Out On Could Never Be Properly Calculated, But REED's Always Wondered How a Heightened Level of Fame/Fortune Could've Improved Him IN the Ring...Despite the "Eye of the Tiger", BROKE Man Success Stories, Others Like Sugar Ray Leonard and Dela Hoya Actually IMPROVED Upon Their Olympic Exploits....The CONFIDENCE They Gained was Immeasurable and the Taste of Fame/Fortune Actually SHARPENED Their Competitive Edges @ the Pro Level... We'll Never Know, But Perhaps Donald Curry Would've Been Even BETTER As a Pro, if Not for the Boycott...What we DO Know is Curry Had ALREADY Faced/Beaten the Stiffest Competition In His Gold Medal Path... Sad He Never Got to REALIZE/ACTUALIZE It... REED
