Francisco Munoz

Roberto Durán

Roberto Durán (born June 16, 1951) is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all-time. During his career he would be called in admiration "Manos de Piedra, which translates to "Hands of Stone".

In 2002, he was chosen by The Ring Magazine to be the 5th greatest fighter of the last 80 years. He held world titles at four different weights - lightweight (1972-79), welterweight (1980), junior middleweight (1983-84) and middleweight (1989). He was the second boxer to have fought in five different decades. Mamby became the first boxer in history to compete in five decades. Two weeks later, Roberto Duran became the second fighter to do it.

He finally retired in January 2002 at age 50 (having previously retired in 1998) following a bad car crash in October 2001, with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins with 70 KOs. Up until the second Ray Leonard fight, he was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.

History

Born in Guararé, Panamá to a Mexican father and a Panamanian mother, he had his first professional fight in 1967. After an initial adjustment he won thirty in a row, culminating in his first title bout in June 1972, where he controversially defeated Ken Buchanan at New York's Madison Square Garden for the WBA world lightweight championship. Duran knocked down Buchanan in the first round and dominated him throughout the fight, until Duran floored him with an unpunished low-blow with the final punch of the match. Duran followed up on his title winning performance with several non-title matches. Later that year, in another non-title bout, he lost a ten round decision to Esteban De Jesus. Duran got back on track with successful title defenses against Jimmy Robertson, Hector Thompson, and former lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu. In 1974, Durán would avenge his loss to De Jesus with a brutal eleventh round knock out. Overall Durán made twelve successful defenses of his title (eleven coming by knock out), his last defense coming in 1978 where Durán fought a third fight with De Jesus, a unification match where Durán once again knocked out De Jesus and captured his WBC lightweight belt. Durán would give up the unified lightweight title in February 1979.

Vacating the lightweight title was a build up for an attempt at the welterweight title. Duran earned a pair of wins against former WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino and Zeferino Gonzales, setting the stage for a title bout against then undefeated WBC Welterweight Champion Sugar Ray Leonard. The venue chosen would be the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the same location where Leonard won an Olympic gold medal during the 1976 Summer Olympics. Duran resented the fact that he was getting only one-fifth the money Leonard would make despite the fact that he was entering the bout with a 73-1 record. He would curse and insult Leonard during press conferences in an attempt to intimidate the young champion. On June 20, 1980, Duran captured the WBC welterweight title by defeating Leonard via a 15-round unanimous decision. The fight would become known as "The Brawl in Montreal". In the November re-match, however, Durán shockingly quit. Leonard has said that his strategy was to use speed and agility to taunt and frustrate Durán, believing it was his best chance of winning the fight. In round 8, Durán turned around, walked to his corner and gave up, supposedly saying the now famous words, "no más" (no more). However he claims to have actually said, "No quiero pelear con el payaso." (Meaning "I do not want to fight with this clown.") Another version of events has him saying, in Spanish, "I can't continue". Referee Octavio Meyran, perhaps as incredulous as was the rest of the world at what he was seeing, asked Durán if he was sure, and Durán then said, "No más, no más" (no more, no more). In violation of what any professional fighter does on the day of a fight, Durán gorged himself after the weigh-in, claimed he quit because he was having stomach cramps. The controversy regarding this bout continues to this day.

He took some time to recover from that fight, gaining even more weight to contend for the WBC world junior middleweight title, but losing in his first attempt at a championship in that division on the January 30 of 1982, against Wilfredo Benitez by a 15 round unanimous decision. Duran was also to lose his come back fight in December 1982 in Detroit. Kirkland Laing, from London, shocked the boxing world, producing the type of display his talents promised yet he so rarely produced, taking the split decision. After being relegated to a 10 round walk out win over Englishman Jimmy Batten at The Battle of The Champions in Miami, Durán signed with promoter Bob Arum. This marked the beginning of a comeback in which he beat former world champion and now hall of famer Pipino Cuevas via a fourth round knock-out, which earned him a second crack at the junior middleweight title, this time against WBA champion Davey Moore.

The WBA title bout took place at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1983, which also happened to be Duran's 32nd birthday. The result turned out to be a one sided affair as Duran dominated Moore throughout the bout. The pro-Duran crowd at ringside cheered as Duran relentlessly punished Moore. By the end of the sixth round, Moore's eye had swollen shut and he was floored near the end of the seventh. Finally the fight was stopped in the eighth round as Moore was taking such a horrific beating and Duran won his third world title. After the victory, Duran was hoisted up in the air as the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to a sobbing Duran.

Durán later fought for the World middleweight title, meeting Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas in November 1983, but losing in a competitive fight that went the full fifteen rounds. Despite the loss, Duran was the first fighter to go the full distance with the great middleweight champion in one of his defenses. In June 1984, Duran was stripped of his junior middleweight title when the WBA did not approve of his fight with WBC world champion Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, and took away recognition of Duran as world champion the moment Duran stepped into the ring to box Hearns. Durán lost the fight after a vicious second round knock-out by Hearns.

Durán did not contend another title fight until 1989, but made the shot count when he won the WBC middleweight title from Iran Barkley in February, a fight in which Duran used Don Longanecker as a training partner.The fight is considered one of Duran's greatest achievements, as the 38 year old former lightweight champion took the middleweight crown, his fourth title. In a tough, back and forth fight, Durán knocked Barkley down in the eleventh round and won a close decision. The bout was named the 1989 "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine. His reign was short lived once again as Duran moved up to super middleweight for a third clash with Sugar Ray Leonard in December (a fight dubbed Uno Más--One More--by promoters), but lost in a decision. Duran seemed to be in decline after the fight, he attempted to win further middleweight titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 (fighting for the minor IBC belt). In 1998, at the age of 47, he challenged 28 year old WBA middleweight champion William Joppy. Joppy, a trim, quick-fisted fighter, battered Duran to defeat in just 3 rounds. It was Duran's most emphatic loss since the Hearns fight, over a decade earlier. Duran then announced his retirement in August 1998, but was back fighting in 1999. In June 2000 he won a minor super middleweight title from Pat Lawlor but quickly lost it to Héctor Camacho.

After splitting fights with Jorge Castro and losing a rematch to Camacho, Durán went to Argentina to promote a Salsa music CD that he had just released. While there, he was involved in a dramatic car crash and required life-saving surgery. After that, he announced his retirement from boxing.

Durán's five world title belts, which he won in four different divisions, were stolen from his house in Panama in 1993 during a robbery allegedly staged by his brother-in-law, who gave them to memorabilia seller Luis González Báez, who will stand trial for trying to sell stolen goods. González Báez allegedly sold the belts to undercover FBI agents. He alleges that Duran authorized the sale of the five belts to him during a time that Duran was facing financial trouble. On September 23, 2003, a federal judge in Florida ordered the five belts returned to Duran.

His 70 wins by knockout place him in an exclusive group of boxers who have won 50 or more fights by knockout.

On October 14, 2006 Roberto was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Riverside, California, and on June 10, 2007 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.

sexy baby

Appearances in film

Durán's first appearance in a movie was in the 1979 sequel Rocky II as a lightning fast sparring partner for Rocky Balboa. Outside of this, he has also received minor roles in Harlem Nights and Miami Vice.

Roberto Duran's life and boxing career are collected in the documentary "Los puños de una nación" (The fists of a nation) by Panamanian film maker, Pituka Ortega-Heilbron.

Career record

103 Wins (70 knockouts, 32 decisions, 1 retirement), 16 Losses (4 knockouts, 12 decisions)
Res.	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Héctor Camacho	Decision	12	2001-07-14	Denver, Colorado
Win	Patrick Goossen	Decision	10	2000-08-12	Toppenish, Washington
Win	Pat Lawlor	Decision	12	2000-06-16	Panama City, Panama
Loss	Omar Gonzalez	Decision	10	1999-03-06	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Loss	William Joppy	TKO	3 ,	1998-08-28	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	Felix Jose Hernandez	Decision	10	1998-01-31	Panama City, Panama
Win	David Radford	Decision	8	1997-11-15	Temba, South Africa
Win	Jorge Fernando Castro	Decision	10	1997-06-14	Panama City, Panama
Loss	Jorge Fernando Castro	Decision	10	1997-02-15	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Win	Mike Culbert	TKO	6	1996-09-27	Chester, West Virginia
Win	Ariel Cruz	KO	1	1996-08-31	Panama City, Panama
Loss	Héctor Camacho	Decision	12	1996-06-22	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Ray Domenge	Decision	10	1996-02-20	Miami, Florida
Win	Wilbur Garst	TKO	4	1995-12-21	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Win	Roni Martinez	TKO	7 ,	1995-06-10	Kansas City, Missouri
Loss	Vinny Pazienza	Decision	12	1995-01-14	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Heath Todd	TKO	7	1994-10-18	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Loss	Vinny Pazienza	Decision	12	1994-06-25	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	Terry Thomas	TKO	4	1994-03-29	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Win	Carlos Montero	Decision	10	1994-02-22	Marseille, France
Win	Tony Menefee	TKO	8	1993-12-14	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Win	Sean Fitzgerald	KO	6	1993-08-17	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Win	Jacques LeBlanc	Decision	10	1993-06-29	Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi
Win	Ken Hulsey	KO	2 ,	1992-12-17	Cleveland, Ohio
Win	Tony Biglen	Decision	10	1992-09-30	Buffalo, New York
Loss	Pat Lawlor	TKO	6 ,	1991-03-18	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	Sugar Ray Leonard	Decision	12	1989-12-07	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	Iran Barkley	Decision	12	1989-02-24	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Jeff Lanas	Decision	10	1988-10-01	Chicago, Illinois
Win	Paul Thorn	Retirement	6	1988-04-14	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Ricky Stackhouse	Decision	10	1988-02-05	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win	Juan Ferreyra	Decision	10	1987-09-12	Miami, Florida
Win	Victor Claudio	Decision	10	1987-05-16	Miami, Florida
Loss	Robbie Sims	Decision	10	1986-06-23	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Jorge Suero	KO	2 ,	1986-04-18	Panama City, Panama
Win	Manuel Zambrano	KO	2 ,	1986-01-31	Panama City, Panama
Loss	Thomas Hearns	KO	2	1984-06-15	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Loss	Marvin Hagler	Decision	15	1983-11-10	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Davey Moore	TKO	8 ,	1983-06-16	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Pipino Cuevas	TKO	4 ,	1983-01-29	Los Angeles, California
Win	Jimmy Batten	Decision	10	1982-11-12	Miami, Florida
Loss	Kirkland Laing	Decision	10	1982-09-04	Detroit, Michigan
Loss	Wilfred Benitez	Decision	15	1982-01-30	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Luigi Minchillo	Decision	10	1981-09-26	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Nino Gonzalez	Decision	10	1981-08-09	Cleveland, Ohio
Loss	Sugar Ray Leonard	TKO	8 ,	1980-11-25	New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	Sugar Ray Leonard	Decision	15	1980-06-20	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win	Wellington Wheatley	TKO	6	1980-02-24	Tropicana Hotel, Las Vegas
Win	Joseph Nsubuga	TKO	4 ,	1980-01-13	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Zeferino Gonzalez	Decision	10	1979-09-28	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Carlos Palomino	Decision	10	1979-06-22	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Jimmy Heair	Decision	10	1979-04-08	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Monroe Brooks	KO	8 ,	1978-12-08	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Ezequiel Obando	KO	2 ,	1978-09-01	Panama City, Panama
Win	Adolfo Viruet	Decision	10	1978-04-27	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Esteban De Jesús	TKO	12 ,	1978-01-21	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
Win	Edwin Viruet	Decision	15	1977-09-17	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	Bernardo Diaz	KO	1 ,	1977-08-06	Panama City, Panama
Win	Javier Muniz	Decision	10	1977-05-16	Landover, Maryland
Win	Vilomar Fernandez	KO	13 ,	1977-01-29	Miami, Florida
Win	Alvaro Rojas	TKO	1 ,	1976-10-15	Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win	Emiliano Villa	TKO	7 ,	1976-07-31	Panama City, Panama
Win	Lou Bizzarro	KO	14 ,	1976-05-23	Erie, Pennsylvania
Win	Saoul Mamby	Decision	10	1976-05-04	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	Leoncio Ortiz	KO	15 ,	1975-12-20	Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Win	Edwin Viruet	Decision	10	1975-09-30	Uniondale, New York
Win	Alirio Acuna	KO	3	1975-09-13	Chitre, Panama
Win	Pedro Mendoza	KO	1 ,	1975-08-02	Managua, Nicaragua
Win	Jose Peterson	TKO	1	1975-06-03	Miami, Florida
Win	Ray Lampkin	KO	14 ,	1975-03-02	Panama City, Panama
Win	Andres Salgado	KO	1 ,	1975-02-15	Panama City, Panama
Win	Masataka Takayama	KO	1 ,	1974-12-21	San Jose, Costa Rica
Win	Adalberto Vanegas	KO	1	1974-11-16	Panama City, Panama
Win	Jose Vasquez	KO	2	1974-10-31	San José, Costa Rica
Win	Hector Matta	Decision	10	1974-09-02	Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Win	Flash Gallego	TKO	7 ,	1974-07-06	Panama City, Panama
Win	Esteban De Jesús	KO	11	1974-03-16	Panama City, Panama
Win	Armando Mendoza	TKO	3 ,	1974-02-16	Panama City, Panama
Win	Leonard Tavarez	TKO	4	1974-01-21	Paris, France
Win	Tony Garcia	KO	3	1973-12-01	Santiago de Veraguas, Panama
Win	Guts Ishimatsu	TKO	10 ,	1973-09-08	Panama City, Panama
Win	Doc McClendon	Decision	10	1973-08-04	Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Win	Hector Thompson	TKO	8 ,	1973-06-02	Panama City, Panama
Win	Gerardo Ferrat	TKO	2 ,	1973-04-14	Panama City, Panama
Win	Javier Ayala	Decision	10	1973-03-17	Los Angeles, California
Win	Juan Medina	KO	7 ,	1973-02-22	Los Angeles, California
Win	Jimmy Robertson	KO	5	1973-01-20	Panama City, Panama
Loss	Esteban De Jesús	Decision	10	1972-11-17	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Lupe Ramirez	KO	1 ,	1972-10-28	Panama City, Panama
Win	Greg Potter	KO	1 ,	1972-09-02	Panama City, Panama
Win	Ken Buchanan	TKO	13	1972-06-26	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Francisco Munoz	TKO	1 ,	1972-03-10	Panama City, Panama
Win	Angel Robinson Garcia	Decision	10	1972-01-15	Panama City, Panama
Win	Hiroshi Kobayashi	KO	7 ,	1971-10-16	Panama City, Panama
Win	Benny Huertas	TKO	1 ,	1971-09-13	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	Fermin Soto	TKO	3	1971-07-18	Monterrey, Mexico
Win	Lloyd Marshall	TKO	6 ,	1971-05-29	Panama City, Panama
Win	Jose Acosta	KO	1 ,	1971-03-21	Panama City, Panama
Win	Jose Angel Herrera	KO	6	1971-01-10	Monterrey, Mexico
Win	Ignacio Castaneda	TKO	3	1970-10-18	Panama City, Panama
Win	Marvin Castaneda	KO	1 ,	1970-09-05	Chiriqui, Panama
Win	Clemente Mucino	KO	6 ,	1970-07-18	Colon, Panama
Win	Ernesto Marcel	TKO	10	1970-05-16	Panama City, Panama
Win	Felipe Torres	Decision	10	1970-03-28	Mexico City, Mexico
Win	Luis Patino	TKO	8	1969-11-23	Panama City, Panama
Win	Serafin Garcia	TKO	5	1969-09-21	Panama City, Panama
Win	Adolfo Osses	TKO	7	1969-06-22	Panama City, Panama
Win	Jacinto Garcia	TKO	4	1969-05-18	Panama City, Panama
Win	Eduardo Frutos	Decision	6	1969-02-01	Panama City, Panama
Win	Alberto Brand	TKO	4	1969-01-19	Panama City, Panama
Win	Carlos Howard	TKO	1	1968-12-07	Panama City, Panama
Win	Juan Gondola	KO	2	1968-11-16	Colon, Panama
Win	Ulises De Leon	KO	1 ,	1968-09-22	Panama City, Panama
Win	Leroy Carghill	KO	1	1968-08-25	Panama City, Panama
Win	Enrique Jacobo	KO	1	1968-08-10	Panama City, Panama
Win	Eduardo Morales	KO	1 ,	1968-06-30	Panama City, Panama
Win	Manuel Jiménez	KO	1	1968-06-15	Colon, Panama
Win	Juan Gondola	KO	1	1968-05-14	Colon, Panama
Win	Carlos Mendoza	Decision	4	1968-02-23	Colón, Panama