I think Duran accepted the rematch under conditions he probably wouldn't have chosen himself. Had this occurred in today's boxing, a lot more posturing and hemming and hawing would've happened. Five months always seemed like a short time, given the circumstances. Duran himself said he had let the first victory get to his head, and he ballooned up in weight. I can't believe he was close to 200 pounds, like it was said in the documentary. But I don't doubt he let the good life get to him inmensely. He was partying with the rest of Panama, and wasn't giving the rematch much of a thought.

None of this is to excuse Duran, however. Leonard made it his mission to get that thorn off his side. And he came in with a better gameplan than he had for the first fight, where he seemed overwhelmed by the event itself.

All this goes to show that boxing at its best is an extremely psychological, mental sport.

I still think the documentary was great. Not that it will win any Golden Globes.... but just seeing the old footage from the fights, hearing Howard Cossell calling the fights, hearing what people from both the U.S. and Panama had to say about the 2nd fight..... and seeing Leonard and Duran in the ring after getting old..... that was plenty for me. I'm not much into critiquing the technical aspects of sports documentaries, especially done on subjects rarely done before.