Roberto Duran going about his business in a boxing ring, even when grabbing his crotch in celebration, was an incredible sight.
At his violent best, Duran might have been the closest we saw to a ‘complete package’, one who could box both beautifully and patiently while calling on hellacious force when required.
Surely the finest lightweight of them all, Duran made boxing look so easy in the 1970s that he could have argued with Muhammad Ali over who was the greatest fighter of the decade. His subsequent rise through the weights – winning titles up at welter, junior middle, and middle – enhances his reputation further.
Yet his legend is juxtaposed by some of his most famous defeats: the surrenders; the lack of interest; the face-planting at the hands of Thomas Hearns. Through it all, the 103-16 (70 KOs) Duran retained an infectious lust for life, and today, as he celebrates his 74th birthday, we rate his 10 best performances while paying tribute – of sorts – to five he might prefer we forgot.
The best of Roberto Duran:
10. Roberto Duran PTS 15 Edwin Viruet (September 17, 1977)
Two years before this rematch, in a non-title fight, Duran won a decision that was booed by sections of the crowd after 10 rounds. Viruet’s claim that it had been fixed irked Duran to the point he agreed to a return, with his championship on the line, with the slick and slippery Puerto Rican. There were no doubts this time as Duran, exuding controlled aggression, dominated before winning a lopsided decision after 15 rounds.
9. Roberto Duran TKO 10 Guts Ishamatsu (September 8, 1973)
Ishamatsu, who had several aliases, was still a year away from winning a world belt when 22-year-old Duran exhibited the wide range of tools at his disposal to score a violent yet somehow balletic thrashing. Five knockdowns in the space of two rounds eventually persuaded the referee to end it in the 10th.
8. Marvin Hagler PTS 15 Roberto Duran (November 10, 1983)
Going into the 14th round of his challenge to one of the greatest middleweights in history, Duran was ahead by one point on two cards and level on the third. Perhaps the judges were kind to Duran but, regardless, his success in this 15-round battle should only showcase how extravagantly skilled he was. Hagler, nursing a bloody left eye, did just enough to take the last two sessions and the decision. “Everyone was saying he was a destroyer, but when he hit me, he didn't do anything to me,” Duran reported in the aftermath.
7. Roberto Duran KO 14 Ray Lampkin (March 2, 1975)
“Manos de Piedra” struggled to contain the assassin within when he pounded the resistance out of a stubborn Lampkin in 14 rounds. A left hook of frightening efficiency separated the challenger from reality and, as Lampkin fell, his head smashed into the canvas. Duran coldly said of his victory: “Today I sent him to the hospital. Next time I’ll put him in the morgue.”
6. Roberto Duran PTS 10 Carlos Palomino (June 22, 1979)
Sublime feints, counters, and combination punching from Duran saw him dominate former 147lbs beltholder Carlos Palomino. The contest, which made the cover of Sports Illustrated (over the main event, Larry Holmes beating Mike Weaver), proved that Duran – one year away from unseating welterweight king Sugar Ray Leonard – had retained all his brilliance after moving up in weight.
5. Roberto Duran TKO 8 Davey Moore (June 16, 1983)
While becoming the seventh fighter in history to win titles in three weight classes, Duran – written off after losses to Kirkland Laing and Wilfred Benitez – wrecked 5/2 favorite and junior middleweight titlist Davey Moore. Moore’s mother and girlfriend slumped in their seats, reportedly having fainted, such was the extent of the beating their man was taking through the first seven rounds. It got much worse in the conclusive eighth, and Moore, 12-0 heading in, was never the same fighter again.
4. Roberto Duran TKO 13 Ken Buchanan (June 26, 1972)
There should be no debate as to where the final blow of Duran’s challenge to the great Ken Buchanan landed: Firmly in the Scot’s groin. Yet that skirmish, which came after the bell should have ended the 13th round, need not disguise another fact: Prior to it, 21-year-old Duran had the beating of a fine lightweight champion. One untruth, however, was Duran’s post-fight declaration: “I always fight clean.”
3. Roberto Duran PTS 12 Iran Barkley (February 24, 1989)
Almost 22 years after his professional career began, 37-year-old Duran scored a sizeable upset when he outpointed Iran Barkley to win a slice of the middleweight championship in Atlantic City. Duran didn’t have things all his own way, the fight was a two-sided cracker, but he sealed the victory with a knockdown in the 11th. “It was his heart,” Barkley said afterwards, “it just wouldn’t go.”
2. Roberto Duran KO 11 Esteban De Jesus (March 16, 1974)
Duran had won 10 fights in a row since losing a non-title 10-rounder to De Jesus in November 1972 but question marks remained going into the sequel. Like in the first fight, Duran found himself floored in the opening round but, this time, the Panamanian fought back with gusto. De Jesus had no answers as Duran, raiding upstairs and down, thumped the fight from one of his greatest rivals.
1. Roberto Duran PTS 15 Sugar Ray Leonard (June 20, 1980)
Simply one of the greatest contests of all time and, thus, one of boxing history’s best triumphs, Duran beating Leonard will forever be his masterpiece. Leonard was terrific, too, but couldn’t quite match Duran’s infighting prowess during furious and plentiful exchanges. It’s widely been said that the American fought the wrong fight but what’s not been reported enough is that Duran fought a perfect one.
And the worst:
5. Thomas Hearns KO 2 Roberto Duran (June 15, 1984)
Ouch. Duran endures a torrid opening round (scored 10-7 for Hearns by all three judges) in which he’s dropped twice and barely able to find his stool at the bell. A whizz-bang right hand knocks Duran cold in the second.
4. Kirkland Laing PTS 10 Roberto Duran (September 4, 1982)
Laing, at his best, was a tremendous boxer but that didn’t stop some British journalists fearing the worst when he took on Duran. They need not have worried; Duran's performance was so underwhelming that promoter Don King afterwards urged him to retire.
3. Pat Lawlor TKO 6 Roberto Duran
The fight that made boxing fans (briefly) remove Duran from their list of heroes as, 15 months after the mind-numbing loss to Leonard in their rubber match, he was pulled out of a forgettable fight against the unknown Pat Lawlor after injuring his shoulder.
2. Sugar Ray Leonard TKO 8 Roberto Duran (December
‘No Mas’, when Duran surrendered to his bitter rival, is more famous than the victory over Leonard that came directly before.
1. Sugar Ray Leonard PTS 12 Roberto Duran
It is frankly difficult to pinpoint a more disappointing ‘superfight’ than the third fight between Leonard and Duran. Listless and seemingly uninterested, Duran allowed Leonard to control what little action there was.