Mythical lightweight matchup

[frasd]

The lightweight division has a rich history and there were great fighters @IamInuit mentions. Manny just passed through the weight during his peak and very impressive phase, that frightened Floyd so much he accused him of being unnatural, bu he did not stay there long enough to say he was greater than the top fighters.

Style wise Duran would land big right hands on Manny but Pac Man's punch power and speed would give hand of stone trouble. Still think Duran wins.

Julio Ceaser Chavez v Roberto Duran would have been great.

Not sure on the speed thing my friend. Duran was unreal at 135. I'd argue he was just as fast as Manny if not faster. He matched speed with Leonard at 147. Durans another one of these guys I grew to like after his peak but thought of him a dick during it. Dejesus managed to out point him once but he was unstoppable and reached 71-1. I actually feel bad for Duran because he was overshadowed by Ali.

When both Ray Arcel and Freddie Brown say they never saw anything like him since Henry Armstrong, that carries a lot of cred. Both guys trained Armstrong and grew up around Benny Leonard. Speaking of mythical matchups, I'd probably remove a testicle to see Armstrong v Duran.

Like I said, I am a big Duran fan. I bought a box set of his fights online. Quality was not too bad and a great collection. At first I thought it was a mistake but the only fights not on the collection was Leanord II and Hearns fight. Just as well I guess. But I looked through all the DVDs 50 times to see if I was mistaken. Must be a coincidence.
His biography is a good read as well and I still say he was a monster at lightweight and wouldn't bet against him vs past or present greats.