Duran legacy?

[TitoFan]

I'm no hardcore Duran fan, but I can appreciate greatness when I see it. Fenster's right about being able to criticize the Leonard "no mas" without putting the Lawlor fight in the same context. How do you categorize a fighter as a quitter when he's had a long and storied career full of wars against some elite opposition? How does a quitter pull out a hard-fought Iran Barkley fight? How does a quitter amass victories over such warriors as Carlos Palomino, Esteban de Jesus, Pipino Cuevas, Sugar Ray Leonard, etc.?

I saw the Lawlor fight. It was a sudden, debilitating arm injury which made Duran immediately wince in obvious pain. It was the doctor who stopped the fight, prompting an immediate protest from Duran.

"Quitting" is thrown around so carelessly here.
It's obvious very few of us here have ever laced up boxing gloves.

[Primo Carnera]

IMO people focus way too much on Duran in the "no mas" situation , rather than give credit to SRL. To make Duran quit by taking his Pride and breaking him down mentally is a massive achievement.
I reckon Duran would rather have been Pummelled for every minute of every round than to lose face like that. For him to quit must've broke him.
I don't think that one moment should take away the amazing career he had.

[TitoFan]

I give all the credit in the world to SRL. In fact, he and Duran rank among the alltime ATG's in my personal opinion. Their first fight was one of the best ever. However, Duran did quit. He robbed us fans of witnessing a 2nd great installment in what was a riveting rivalry in boxing. Why did quit? I don't know, even after watching the HBO documentary about Leonard and Duran. Still..... I compartmentalize that into what was one of the most storied careers ever for a boxer.