Roberto Duran vs Alexis Arguello?

Question

Would this match have taken place if both fighters would have remained at 130? I can not even to begin how good of a fight this would have been. Any outcomes of this superfight?

Answer 1

Roberto Duran, the ferocious lightweight king with the killer stare and hands of stone, dominated the division and unified the title during this time period. Historians who had previously debated the relative merits of Benny Leonard and Joe Gans were suddenly including Duran in their analysis of the greatest lightweights ever.

Arguello, unusually tall for a featherweight, had earned the nickname "The Explosive Thin Man" by blasting out opponent after opponent. At 126 pounds, he controlled his division in much the same fashion as Duran did his, at 135 pounds.

By 1978, both Duran and Arguello had run out of challengers in their respective divisions. Duran was still fighting as a lightweight, though making the weight was becoming a chore. Arguello, on the other hand, had vacated the featherweight throne and claimed the WBC super featherweight title by stopping the excellent Alfredo Escalera in the 13th round of their championship bout. A showdown between the two dynamic little giants seemed inevitable. Said Teddy Brenner, matchmaker at Madison Square Garden, "This guy (Arguello) would knock out Duran any time."

The speculation slowly faded, though, when Duran began to fight at junior welterweight and then at welterweight. Big-money showdowns loomed for Hands of Stone in the form of Carlos Palomino and Sugar Ray Leonard. As for Arguello, there were plenty of attractive opponents at 130 pounds, including Escalera, Bazooka Limon and Bobby Chacon. A fight with Duran could wait.

As it would turn out, Duran would make millions in superfights with Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler. Arguello would reign supreme at junior lightweight before wining the lightweight crown from Jim Watt in 1981. After a successful run at 135 pounds, Arguello twice suffered stoppage defeats at the hands of WBA junior welterweight champion Aaron Pryor.

Duran and Arguello would never meet.

How It Should Have Been:

Duran decides to delay his move to welterweight for at least one more bout, opting for a million dollar payday and a dream fight against newly crowned junior lightweight king Arguello. The Nicaraguan, who recently defended his title for the first time by stopping Rey Tam in five rounds, agrees to move up in weight in an attempt to earn a third crown. Arguello will not have to abdicate his throne; win or lose against Duran, he'll leave the ring a champion.

Duran's motivation is money but machismo and pride also enter into his decision to fight Arguello. Tired of hearing the experts all but canonize the popular Arguello, he desperately wants to prove he's the best Latino fighter in the world. Ever the gentlemen, Arguello predicts victory in a humble but sincere manner. This further infuriates Duran, who says, "Remember what I did to Ray Lampkin? Arguello, I'll hurt even worse!"

Asked to pick a winner, boxing pundits are split. Duran supporters give him an edge in stamina, strength and killer instinct. Arguello's height and reach, they argue, will turn out to be a weakness not a strength, against Duran, who loves to work inside. Arguello's slow feet will doom him, claim Duran's camp. And no one can stand and trade with Roberto Duran.

Those in Arguello's corner are equally confident. His jab, they point out, is a multipurpose weapon that will enable him to control the fight. Arguello will keep Duran off-balance and at some point, Alexis will get the chance to display his superior one-punch poer. The result: Duran will be stopped inside the distance.

Predictions aside, everyone agrees on one thing: the fight, to be held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, is bound to be a war . . . and a classic.

The Fight

Round 1: As expected, Duran moves forward, bobbing and weaving as he tries to force his way inside. Sticking to his fight plan, Arguello throws jab after jab, successfully keeping Duran at bay. There are few power punches in the first half of the round. At the midpoint, Duran counters over a lazy jab and lands flush with a straight right. Arguello's knees buckle ever so slightly. Duran swarms, pounding the body as Arguello ties to clinch. At the bell, Duran shoves a fist into the air as he marches to his corner.

Rounds 2-3: Inspired by his success at the end of round one, Duran comes out even faster for the second. However, Arguello, completely recovered, repeatedly beats his opponent to the punch. Sensing the opportunity for a quick knockout has passed, Duran steps back and begins to box, an underrated skill that he most assuredly possesses. Round three is a replay of the second, with Arguello maximizing the effectiveness of his reach advantage and landing the more telling blows.

Round 4: Duran continues to box and evades most of Arguello's jabs. But while not getting hit, Duran is not able to launch an offensive either. Less than a minute into the round, Arguello suddenly plants his feet and initiates a trade of blows. The two fighters exchange punches and then Duran lunges and misses with a wild hook. Arguello's counter right lands flush on the jaw and the crowd rises in sync with Duran's fall to the canvas. Duran picks himself up as referee Mills Lane reaches the count of six and indicates to his corner that he's not hurt. Motioning for Arguello to come in, Duran backs to the ropes and brilliantly blocks and slips most of the follow-up punches. After a clinch forces Lane to intervene, Duran springs off the ropes and stuns Arguello with an overhand right. Duran then digs a double left hook to the body. Arguello answers with a short, chopping right and then fires home a stinging jab. The crowd screams for both men as they return to their corners.

Round 5: Arguello starts slowly, whether out of respect for Duran's power or because of the number of punches he threw in the previous round. As a result, Duran consistently moves inside for the first time in the fight. Clearly out muscled, Arguello is forced to fight most of the round off the ropes. Duran's body attack turns Arguello's long lean torso red. It is the Panmanian's best round of the fight and the only stanza that he has won in convincing fashion.

Round 6-8: Arguello's corner screams instructions during the rest period and the fighter responds, presenting enough different angles to limit Duran's offense. Arguello's jab is ever-accurate and the threat of his dangerous counterpunches keeps Duran from swarming. Arguello takes the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds, albeit by narrow margins. Duran's frustration threatens to boil over in the eighth, when he hurls Arguello to the canvas during a clinch. The normally mild-mannered Arguello responds by leaping to his feet and punching Duran behind the head. Duran immediately attacks and Lane literally has no chance to reprimand the fighters as they punch away. At the rounds conclusion, however, Lane screams at both men and threatens to disqualify them if the repeat their infractions. Duran is sporting a small cut over his left eye and Arguello is showing slight swelling under his.

Round 9: Fighting with a sneer on his face, Duran lands his first punch of the round - a right to Arguello's groin. Arguello falls to the canvas, grimacing in pain. To the dismay of Duran's corner, Lane quickly deducts a point. After a minute and forty-five second delay, the lightweights go toe-to-toe. A thrilling exchange is highlighted by a Duran hook which made Arguello take a full step back. "Manos de Piedra" capitalizes by rushing in and scoring wicked shots to his opponent's body. Duran captures the stanza but because of the deduction, all three judges score the round 9-9.

Rounds 10: Arguello's left eye is beginning to close and blood trickles from his nose. Arguello opens with several stiff jabs but they aren't accompanied by any sort of movement and Duran charges inside once more. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the round, Duran steps inside a wide right and staggers Arguello with a hook to the head. Arguello covers reasonably well but Duran still manages to rip home a half dozen punches before the bell sounds.

Round 11: Behind on all cards, Duran senses a dramatic shift in momentum. Arguello, looking for a second wind, stands directly in front of the lightweight champion, and fourty-five seconds into the round, a classic three-punch combination sends the Explosive Thin Man down. After Lane's mandatory count, Arguello attempts to answer punch for punch. He is intially successful but Duran, mixing blows to the head and body, is far stronger. Arguello tries to hold. Duran, though, refuses to stop throwing punches. A right hand drive Arguello to the ropes. Duran begins to rain punches. Arguello refuses to go down but he's not punching back at all. Mills Lane jumps in! He's calling a halt to the bout at around the 1:30 mark. It's over!

Roberto Duran wins via TKO in Round 11

After the dust has settkled, longtime observers hail the bout as a classic, citing the fourth and ninth rounds as worthy of legendary status. The clamor of a rematch arises even before the fighters return to their dressing rooms. But Duran immediately announces his jump to welterweight and Arguello indicates that he'll return to 130 pounds. An absolutely awesome fight that goes a long way to establishing both Duran and Arguello's place in the Canastota Hall of Fame.

Answer 2

How great a fight would this have been?

Considering Arguello won the WBC Lightweight title in 1980 and Roberto Duran had his last fight at Lightweigth in 1979, they were dang close to having a fight.

Considering that Duran was able to move up successfully to 160 makes me believe he would have been a much stronger fighter than Arguello. However, remember what Thomas Hearns did to Duran at 154 lb in 1984? Arguello had the similar build and was very powerful as well.

Arguello and Duran had problems with movers, so they both would have been in their element in this fight.

Up to 135, I take Duran by narrow split decision in a fight of the year candidate.

At 140, I take Duran by entertaining unanimous decision.

Beyond 140, Duran is too strong.

Answer 3

That would be a excellent fight. Have to give to edge to a relentless Duran. I think Roberto has more a killer instinct. Arguello was a great fighter with more class than most.

Answer 4

Marv Arguello

Answer 5

The result and match would have been about the same as the first Pryor fight. Duran by late round TKO. Too much pressure from the Hands of Stone. Great fight!

Answer 6

They didn't call Duran "The Hands of Stone" for nothing. Arguello would've given him quite a fight though.

Answer 7

Duran would have killed Arguello back at lightweight.

Answer 8

duran would woop up on that @ss.