Duran's Impossible Comeback Explained - Duran vs Barkley Breakdown

every former champion thinks they have one more great fight in them some pushing themselves far past their limit and continuing on well beyond their prime many thought the same of the legendary hands of stone Roberto Duran Duran was set to fight the current champion I ran the blade Berkeley Berkeley was in his prime being 10 years younger than Duran at 6 1 he stood 6 inches taller with the 6-inch reach advantage to top it all off Duran would be fighting for the middleweight title three divisions above his natural weight class Duran was no stranger to overcoming long odds he had survived extreme poverty in the streets of Panama rummaging through garbage to stay alive and working tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of boxing through focus commitment and sheer willpower Duran had worked his way up the ranks to become champion becoming widely recognized as perhaps the greatest lightweight of all time Duran style was based around in fighting using guard manipulation and wrestling to disrupt his opponents defenses and slip in tight fight ending shots eventually he used these tactics to stun the world defeating Sugar Ray Leonard to take the welterweight title a few controversies and many years later he destroyed a vie more to win the junior middleweight title but to many these accomplishments were now Nolan Boyd Duran had lost his edge and aged out of his prime adding to the arguments of Durant's detractors Barkley had taken his title by knocking out another legend Thomas the Hitman Hearns Duran's own fight with Hearns had not gone well and many wondered how Duran could hope to have any chance against Berkeley when Barkley had flattened the man who had taken out Duran so easily however Duran was never one to listen to others or care much about their opinions he thought he could win now all he had to do was pull off this impossible task and prove it barclays look to test Durant immediately charging in with hard-hitting combinations Duran wisely kept his distance cross stepping or pivoting to remain safely sideways and relying on his impressive head movement to take care of the rest but this couldn't last for long Duran knew that against a much larger opponent it's crucial to gain their respect immediately if Duran couldn't prove that he could hurt Barkley not just hit but hurt then Barkley would have no qualms about taking several shots to land one big one Duran's plan was to nail Barkley with the counter right over his jab but Barkley kept pulling and rolling away meanwhile Barkley was having success landing his own best shot a tight lead hook off of his jab Barkley proved he had a decently high every night you throwing this shot to the body as often as he did to the head a smart idea considering just how hard it was to land a clean shot on Durant's chin not only was Barclays hook finding a home it doubled as an unintentional defense by knocking away Durant crosses undaunted Duran went to move inside infighting was his specialty after all but surprisingly Barkley had the perfect defense here as well he thudded powerful hooks into Durant sides forcing the hands of stone to back off in just the first round Barkley was dominating at all ranges but then at the very end of the round one of Duran's big punches finally made it through Brad slipped outside to bark this job and looked to return a hard overhand Barkley threw his hook at the same time but it was sloppy and too wide Barclays staggered back shaken he quickly regained his composure and smiled as he walked back to his corner it was unclear if Duran had gained his respect but he had certainly gained his attention Duran started off the second my downward carrying Barclays jab trying to clear a path to land with the same hand but Barkley was wise to Duran's right now and was determined not to make the same mistake twice Duran pressed forward looking to move into close range where he was strongest but rather than retreat his most of Durant's opponents Barkley fired back in kaien daram Cloud Ford anyways hoping to press Barkley back and savage him against the ropes but Barkley took a page from Durant's book and definitely turned now it was Duran against the ropes Barkley fainted a job and then tore into Durant's ribs of the heavy lead hook brad shifted forward with an overhand and slammed his new rear hand into Barclays stomach but Barkley was unfazed and Duran was forced to back off when Barkley pounded in his own body shots for the rest of the round Barkley brutalized two rads ribs trading him blow-for-blow Barkley was a completely fresh much bigger opponent even if Duran landed more it was Barclays body shots that would deal more damage it seemed apparent that Barkley had the perfect game plan to deal with Duran's unique style for now Duran would have to make his chances on the one tactic that had worked for him the BAL announced round three unable to make any headway in fighting Duran spent round three a long-range jabbing and counterpunching with expert timing and precision Barclays superior reach should have made his jab his most valuable tool but Duran used it against him slipping and stepping into close the distance Brad avoided long exchanges landing a few punches and then quickly moving back to safety for the first time the fight seemed truly competitive if Duran could build on his success get a good chance of winning but in round four Barclays proved he would not go down so easily tired of taking Durant's constant jabs and hard over hands Barkley decided to pour on the pressure himself while moving in close would mean that Duran had more opportunities to connect it would also let Barkley use his size to moved around around the ring and knock him off balance these were the kinds of situations where Duran normally thrived smothering his upon his punches while landing his own but Barkley again proved himself to be more than just a hard hitter showing off his ability to tie Duran and land tremendous uppercuts these uppercuts would play a significant role over the remainder of the fight Duran was nothing if not stubborn he seemed determined to land the last shot of each exchange but Barkley wasn't making it easy both men took hard shots but neither could gain more than a temporary advantage later in the round Duran deftly sidestepped to gain a better angle smashing a ride into Berkeley and trapping him against the ropes but then Barkley returned the favor angling out to get off the ropes himself and driving a tight right into Durant's temple as the round came to a close it was anyone's guess how the fight would end but either way the audience was getting their money's worth the fourth had been an incredible display of both skill and brutality but as it turned out that would pale in comparison to the fit Duran used one of his more common tactics weaving into paces head on Berkeley shoulder this both protected his chin and got him posed enough to sneak in shots through Barclays guard Duran liked to use one arm to control his opponent tying them up and serving their balance and the other arm to punch he did so here leaving a way to throw and then weaving back to safety Duran would also weave from shoulder to shoulder placing him in a better position to hit Barclays right son this bolt kept Barclay guessing and put Duran in a prime position to target his liver but here Barclays uppercuts again proved too much to handle duress tactic of protecting his chin by resting it on his opponents shoulder wasn't working near as well against such a tall competitor even when Duran managed to pull away in time his upright posture left and vulnerable to follow-ups and while Duran was doing a better job of cover blocking Barclays body shots Barclays was using this tactic against Duran throwing load to entice Duran to drop his guard and clearing a path for his headshots as a round progressed it seemed that most everything Duran landed was a counter he threw after getting hit this is a rare skill and it kept her at in the fight but it was by no means ideal by the end of the round both men had absorbed the amount of punishment often taken in a full fight in Barclays corner his coach told him to work behind his jab but in the 6th it was Duran who used his jab to reset the pace perhaps Drennan realized he had little chance of winning by treading shot-for-shot and trying to bully a bigger stronger younger opponent Duran instead avoided brawling expertly timing his jab to set up one or two shots and then quickly retreating out of the way when Barclays attacked Duran evaded countered and then reset to long-range the hands of stone even avoided infighting into the last 10 seconds of the round this would by no means lead to a knockout but it was exactly what Duran needed to recover and get back into the fight of course Duran was not looking to survive the fight he was looking to win it so on the seventh he again tried to close the distance hoping to do some real damage Barclays well-placed uppercuts persisted but midway through the round Duran adjusted simply pulling away would only give Barclay the space he wanted to land harder blows but Duran started pulling and then countering immediately durant had come to expect Barclays uppercuts and was now treating them as an opportunity rather than a hazard that was one problem dealt with but Barclays body shots were still a big deterrent when it came to infighting Duran was keeping his arms lower now but this of course turned Barclays tremendous hooks into an even bigger problem with his arms low Duran had to rely on head movement to protect his chin and there was no way to avoid every single shot that came his way just as Duran was starting to gain serious momentum too picture-perfect lead hooks whipped his head around throwing two hooks off the same side that fast with that much power is an incredibly rare talent to have and now a third was coming Duran narrowly avoided the last fight ending shot and soldiered on the two stared each other down at the end of the round the fight was proving more difficult than either had anticipated and both were now eager to finish it the Bell announced the eighth since Duran couldn't build on his punches ball in fighting he instead tried to add more punches onto the overhand that had been working so well for him but this proved to be a terrible idea there's an old saying in boxing never hook with the hooker and it held true here by trying to add on a hook to his overhand Duran gave Barclay the perfect opportunity to land his hook Duran usually rolled with punches but this time he moved right into one he staggered back in serious trouble he managed to get his balance just in time but his head was far from clear fighting on instinct Duran relied on his aggression in a way it was his best defense his senses may have been too dulled for him to defend well but if he were going to take punches then Barclay was gonna take them too Duran stayed inside where Barclay didn't have the space to land his hardest shots unable to safely pull away to mid range Duran took a number of devastating uppercuts however by the end of the round his head seemed to have cleared he managed to survive until the Bell and even finish strong of course it was anyone's guess if he could get the momentum back Barclays insane lead hooks were proving to be the deciding factor in the fight as he did in the 6th Duran went back to boxing he used every trick in the book to set up his overhand level changing fainting staggering his steps and breaking his rhythm Duran was landing but he wasn't doing enough real damage to change the course of the fight and though Barclays work rate was down from the last round his lead hooks were still getting through but late in the round Duran finally found a solution to Barclays devastating lead hooks and this tactic would proved to be the deciding factor in the tenth Duran's idea wasn't to stop Barclays hook or even to try and counter it instead Duran drew out Barclays best punch on purpose just to make him miss the first time Duran drew Barclays hook he ducked underneath and Barclays completely lost his footing putting himself in a terrible position at giving two ran the opportunity to land several counters the second time Duran fainted across only two weave under Barclays counter hook once more Barclays again stumbled out of position a look of total confusion on his face for a fighter nothing is more tiring or disparaging than consistently missing punches now Duran had Barclays questioning his own best shot leaving him unsure if he were actually attacking or trying to draw an attack the uncertainty Duran created in Barclays helped him to land more often and finally put long combinations together now each time Barclays hooked Duran would stop punching mid combination to weave underneath before continuing with his relentless assault Barclays started to slow even backing off the jabs by mid round Barclays rhythm was completely gone and Duran lowered his hands slipping punch after punch before unloading another huge over hand as a round came to an end Duran was still down on the scorecards but it now seemed he had a real chance of winning the fight however with only a few rounds left to make up points he would most likely need a knockdown as xi approached a member of drams team encouraged him shouting prove you are the champion Duran smiled and went out to try and make history one more time Brad poured out everything he had and built on the success of the last round he pulled encountered uppercuts he weaved underneath hooks and countered Barclays body hooks with tight head hooks before Barclays could withdraw his punch was carved as Duran's punches piled up Berkeley became more and more sluggish mid-round Duran landed a thudding one to dr. way from Barclays counter and then exploded out of his Crouch with the forth thunderous punches in a row Duran grinned is Berkeley fell to the canvas knowing that he had just pulled off the impossible Berkeley made it to his feet although we lost the remainder of the round badly he showed tremendous heart and weathered rants endless barrage of punches as a 12th approached Berkeley knew he had one last chance to win the fight he would now do everything he could to take Duran out as the bell rang for the 12th the entire crowd was on their feet Berkeley went on the attack immediately but retreating and winning on the scorecards wasn't Durant's style although Berkeley did all he could to renovated near everyone of his punches with stunning head movement and brilliant counters Duran looks sharper than ever nearly invincible not since his first fight with Leonard had Duran seemed so dialed in as the round came to a close it was no doubt Berkeley who was lucky to have survived Berkeley raised his hands claiming victory Duran stared defiantly his team raising him into the air the crowd roared their appreciation and the announcer read out the judges score the first judge ruled the fight for Duran the second for Berkeley and the third for the hands of stone Duran had taken a title in his fourth weight class once again he had pulled off the impossible stay tuned for more technique breakdowns and one final fight and the four kings saga from the modern martial artist this has been David Christian wishing you happy training

Channel: The Modern Martial Artist

Views: 1,760,431

Rating: 4.8683777 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 2pWMEgR4N9I

Length: 15min 32sec (932 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 21 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Chairman__Netero]

Duran is just ridiculous. What a fighter.

[u/MrInternationalBoi]

Never knew that Barkley put down Tommy The Hit-man Hearns and never realized he was so much bigger than Duran -- The hands of Stone is a GOAT.

[u/SkunkyMcNugg]

Love his vids, you?

[u/JohnGwynbleidd]

Iran Barkley will always be a true warrior. Fought some of the best names during his career.

[u/TalenSilkShadow]

Perhaps my favourite Roberto Duran performance.

[u/RachelBixby]

This is one of my most favorite fights! Will definitely watch this later...

[u/[deleted]]

I havent seen the vid but watching the fight it was clear Barkely was wading water. Duran coming back never felt impossible, with every round, more inevitable.

[u/FreshPrinceAV]

What a mad scientist. I’ve never seen this fight, I can’t wait to watch it. This breakdown got me hyped!

[u/venom1stas]

Best fight analysis I've seen so far and what a fight.