Early life

Roberto Durán was born on June 16, 1951 in Guarare, Panama. His mother, Clara Samaniego, was a native of Guararé, Panama, and his father, Margarito Durán Sánchez, was from Arizona, United States of Mexican descent. He was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district "La Casa de Piedra" (The House of Stone) Panama. He began sparring with experienced boxers at the Neco de La Guardia gymnasium when he was only eight years old. He made his professional debut in 1968 at the age of 16.

Professional career

Lightweight

After an initial adjustment he won thirty in a row, and scored knockout victories over future Featherweight Champion Ernesto Marcel and former Super Featherweight Champion Hiroshi Kobayashi, culminating in his first title bout in June 1972, where he controversially defeated Ken Buchanan in Madison Square Garden, New York for the WBA Lightweight Championship. Durán, as a 2-to-1 underdog, scored a knock down against the defending champion just fifteen seconds into the opening round and battered him throughout the bout. He was well ahead on all three cards as the bell rang to end the 13th round, at which time Durán (apparently not hearing the bell due to crowd noise and the heat of the moment) continued to throw a couple of extra punches as Buchanan lay on the ropes. Upon closer inspection of the famed low blow, referee Johnny LoBianco can be seen standing behind Durán as the bell rang and immediately grabbed Durán in a bear hug-like style to pull Durán away from Buchanan. LoBianco can clearly be seen in the video altering the direction of Duran's right arm, pulling it downward as Durán attempted to throw a clean body punch at Buchanan; thus the infamous ridicule of Durán intentionally throwing a low blow was born. Buchanan immediately dropped to the canvas writhing in pain from a groin punch, that Buchanan's trainer, Gil Clancy, said was caused by a knee to the groin (which it wasn't). Referee Johnny LoBianco awarded the fight to Durán, insisting that the blow that took down Buchanan was "in the abdomen, not any lower" (the punch did land below belt line, LoBianco was out of position to see it) and that he felt that Buchanan would be unable to continue fighting. Columnist Red Smith of The New York Times wrote that LoBianco had to award the victory to Durán, even if the punch was a low blow, as "anything short of pulling a knife is regarded indulgently" in American boxing. Buchanan said he left the fight, "with sore balls".

Durán 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 Jesús. Durán got back on track with successful title defenses against Jimmy Robertson, Hector Thompson and future Lightweight Champion Guts Ishimatsu. In 1974, Durán avenged his loss to De Jesus with a brutal eleventh round knock out. In 1976, he defeated future Light Welterweight Champion Saoul Mamby. Overall, Durán made twelve successful defenses of his title (eleven coming by knock out) and amassed a record of 62-1, his last defense coming in 1978 where Durán fought a third bout with De Jesus, a unification match where Durán once again knocked out De Jesus and captured his WBC Lightweight Championship. Durán gave up the Undisputed Lightweight Championship in February 1979.

Welterweight

Vacating the Lightweight title was a buildup for an attempt at the Welterweight title. Durán 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 was the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the same location where Leonard won an Olympic gold medal during the 1976 Summer Olympics. Durán 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 an incredible 71-1 record. On June 20, 1980, Durán captured the WBC Welterweight title by defeating Leonard via a 15-round unanimous- decision. The fight became known as "The Brawl in Montreal."

"No Más"

After defeating Leonard in Montreal, Duran gained iconic status in his homeland and went on a continuous wild binge and gorged himself on food and partying which caused him to quickly gain weight. Leonard on the other hand vacationed in Hawaii, and after his return initiated the rematch clause and asked for the fight to be the following November. Duran was never good at keeping his weight down, and Leonard knew this. The circumstances of this fight are often contested. Some say that when Duran was forced into the November fight he weighed as much as 180 pounds, and that he should have received more time for his preparation for the rematch. Others state that Duran knew there would be a rematch, and that he thought five months would be enough time to get in great shape. What transpired at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on November 25 would forever be considered as one of the most controversial events to happen inside a boxing ring. Leonard in the second round decided to change tactics and began using his natural advantages of footwork, movement, and speed. This presented a much more elusive target for Duran. In the 7th round, after Leonard had gained a slight lead on the scorecards, Leonard began showboating while taunting and mocking Duran. The proud Panamanian champion was visibly frustrated and was unable to get Leonard against the ropes, a tactic he used to much success in the first fight. Half way into the 8th round Duran suddenly stopped fighting. There are a few theories on why Duran gave up. Some say he had stomach cramps, others believe he was frustrated and quit out of humiliation, and some think he simply knew he was going to lose and decided to take the easy way out.

Middleweight

He took some time to recover from that fight and gained even more weight to contend for the WBC Light Middleweight title, but losing in his first attempt at a championship in that division on January 30, 1982, against Wilfred Benítez by a 15 round unanimous decision. Durán was also to lose his comeback fight in September 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 light 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 Durán's 32nd birthday. The still inexperienced Moore (12-0) was game through the first three rounds, but by the 4th, Durán said he knew Moore couldn't hurt him, and an onslaught began. The pro-Durán crowd at ringside cheered as Durán 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 Durán won his third world title. After the victory, Durán was hoisted up in the air as the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to a sobbing Durán.

Durán later fought for the World Middleweight Championship, meeting Marvelous Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas in November 1983, but lost in a very competitive fight that went the full fifteen rounds, although after 12 rounds two of the judges had Durán ahead on points. Hagler fought tenaciously over the final three rounds to earn a unanimous decision. Despite the loss, Durán became the second man to take Hagler to a fifteen round decision (Vito Antuofermo was the other) and the only one to do so while Hagler was the world champion.

In June 1984, Durán was stripped of his Light Middleweight title when the WBA did not approve of his fight with WBC Champion Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and took away recognition of Durán as world champion the moment Durán stepped into the ring to box Hearns. Durán again made history in the fight, but this time it was the wrong kind. Hearns dropped Durán twice in the first round and as he rose to his feet after the second knockdown, which ended the round, the former champion did not know where his corner was. Hearns went on to knock Duran down a third time in the second round and the fight was stopped, marking the first time in his career that Durán had been knocked out in a fight (the "No Más" fight was officially recorded as a technical knockout, because Duran quit).

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. The fight is considered one of Durán's greatest achievements, as the 37-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 The Ring.

Super Middleweight

His reign was short lived once again as Duran moved up to super middleweight (although both fighters weighed in at the middleweight limit) for a third clash with Sugar Ray Leonard in December 1990 (a fight dubbed Uno Más—One More—by promoters), which Leonard won by wide unanimous decision. Durán seemed to be in decline after the fight, he attempted to win further middleweight titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 (fighting for the minor International Boxing Council (IBC) belt).

Durán fought Vinny Pazienza in 1994 and 1995 for the IBC Super Middleweight Championship and was defeated both times by unanimous decision, but many people felt Duran clearly won the first bout and he was robbed of the victory.

In 1996, he was challenged by Héctor Camacho for the vacant IBC Middleweight Championship but lost by a very controversial unanimous decision. In 1997, Durán was defeated by former champion Jorge Castro. Durán fought Castro in a rematch bout and won via unanimous decision.

In 1998, at the age of 47, he challenged 28-year-old WBA Middleweight Champion William Joppy. Joppy, a trim, quick-fisted fighter, battered Durán to defeat in just 3 rounds. It was Duran's most emphatic loss since the Hearns fight, over a decade earlier. Durán then announced his retirement in August 1998, but was back fighting in 1999.

In June 2000, Durán avenged a previous loss to Pat Lawlor and won the NBA Super Middleweight Championship on his 49th birthday. He lost the title a year later to Héctor Camacho in a rematch bout and in what would be Durán's final fight.

Retirement

In 2001, Durán traveled to Argentina to promote a salsa music CD that he had just released. While there, he was involved in a car crash and required life-saving surgery. After that incident, he announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 50.

Announcing his retirement, Durán cited the weight issues of his friend, Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona, as motivation for getting back in shape, stating: "As of now, I am exercising so that when the honors arrive the people will see me in shape. I don't want to like Maradona did, all fat."

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 Durán authorized the sale of the five belts to him during a time that Durán was facing financial trouble. On September 23, 2003, a federal judge in Florida ordered the five belts returned to Durán.

His 70 wins by knockout place him in an exclusive group of boxers who have won 50 or more fights by knockout. He is ranked number 28 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.

On October 14, 2006, Durán 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.

Today he is the brand ambassador of Panama Blue, Panamas premium bottled water.

Duran is a licensed ultralight aircraft pilot in Panama. He flew a Quick Silver MX model.

Appearances in film/music

Film

Durán's first appearance in a movie was in the 1979 film Rocky II as a lightning-fast sparring partner for Rocky Balboa. Outside of this, Durán had minor roles in Harlem Nights.

Durán's life and boxing career are told in the documentary Los puños de una nación ("The Fists of a Nation") by Panamanian filmmaker Pituka Ortega-Heilbron. Durán also appears very briefly during an interview for the documentary The Panama Deception (1992), in which he recounts his experience during the United States invasion of Panama.

The biopic Hands of Stone will star Édgar Ramírez as Duran, Robert De Niro as Ray Arcel and Usher as Sugar Ray Leonard, and is due for release in mid 2016.

Television

Durán played the drug lord Jesus Maroto in Miami Vice season two, episode 19.

In the fourth episode of the second season of the hit American crime drama CSI: NY, Durán is mentioned by the medical examiner while discussing a dead man found to have metal screws put in his hands to boost his punching power.

Music

The song "The Eyes of Roberto Durán" by Tom Russell is featured on the album The Long Way Around, and contains the lyric, "Panama City it's three in the morning, they're talking 'bout the Hands of Stone."

Durán is mentioned in the third verse of Nas' original demo for It Ain't Hard to Tell in the line: "Metaphors of murder man, hittin' like Roberto Durán, hold the mic in my hand, my lifespan."

The musician Jackie Leven recorded a song ("Museum of Childhood") that explores the events of the second world title fight between Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Jazz musician Miles Davis, an avid boxing fan, recorded a tribute to Roberto Duran titled, "Duran".

Durán is also mentioned in the third verse of Paul Thorn's "Hammer and Nail," based on Thorn's nationally televised fight with Durán:

“

I climbed in the ring with Roberto Durán and the punches began to rain down He hit me with a dozen hard uppercuts and my corner threw in the towel I asked him why he had to knock me out and he summed it up real well He said, 'I'd rather be a hammer than a nail'

”

Texas rockabilly band Reverend Horton Heat mentions Durán in their song "Eat Steak," off of their album Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em.

Professional boxing record

103 Wins (70 knockouts, 32 decisions, 1 retirement), 16 Losses (4 knockouts, 12 decisions), 0 Draws
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	103-16	Héctor Camacho	UD	12	2001-07-14
Win	103-15	Patrick Goossen	UD	10	2000-08-12
Win	102-15	Pat Lawlor	UD	12	2000-06-16
Loss	101-15	Omar Gonzalez	UD	10	1999-03-06
Loss	101-14	William Joppy	TKO	3,	1998-08-28
Win	101-13	Felix Jose Hernandez	UD	10	1998-01-31
Win	100-13	David Radford	UD	8	1997-11-15
Win	99-13	Jorge Fernando Castro	UD	10	1997-06-14
Loss	98-13	Jorge Fernando Castro	UD	10	1997-02-15
Win	98-12	Mike Culbert	TKO	6	1996-09-27
Win	97-12	Ariel Cruz	KO	1	1996-08-31
Loss	96-12	Héctor Camacho	UD	12	1996-06-22
Win	96-11	Ray Domenge	UD	10	1996-02-20
Win	95-11	Wilbur Garst	TKO	4	1995-12-21
Win	94-11	Roni Martinez	TKO	7,	1995-06-10
Loss	93-11	Vinny Pazienza	UD	12	1995-01-14
Win	93-10	Heath Todd	TKO	7	1994-10-18
Loss	92-10	Vinny Pazienza	UD	12	1994-06-25
Win	92-9	Terry Thomas	TKO	4	1994-03-29
Win	91-9	Carlos Montero	UD	10	1994-02-22
Win	90-9	Tony Menefee	TKO	8	1993-12-14
Win	89-9	Sean Fitzgerald	KO	6	1993-08-17
Win	88-9	Jacques LeBlanc	UD	10	1993-06-29
Win	87-9	Ken Hulsey	KO	2,	1992-12-17
Win	86-9	Tony Biglen	UD	10	1992-09-30
Loss	85-9	Pat Lawlor	TKO	6,	1991-03-18
Loss	85-8	Sugar Ray Leonard	UD	12	1989-12-07
Win	85-7	Iran Barkley	SD	12	1989-02-24
Win	84-7	Jeff Lanas	SD	10	1988-10-01
Win	83-7	Paul Thorn	RTD	6	1988-04-14
Win	82-7	Ricky Stackhouse	UD	10	1988-02-05
Win	81-7	Juan Ferreyra	UD	10	1987-09-12
Win	80-7	Victor Claudio	UD	10	1987-05-16
Loss	79-7	Robbie Sims	SD	10	1986-06-23
Win	79-6	Jorge Suero	KO	2,	1986-04-18
Win	78-6	Manuel Zambrano	KO	2,	1986-01-31
Loss	77-6	Thomas Hearns	TKO	2	1984-06-15
Loss	77-5	Marvelous Marvin Hagler	UD	15	1983-11-10
Win	77-4	Davey Moore	TKO	8,	1983-06-16
Win	76-4	Pipino Cuevas	TKO	4,	1983-01-29
Win	75-4	Jimmy Batten	UD	10	1982-11-12
Loss	74-4	Kirkland Laing	SD	10	1982-09-04
Loss	74-3	Wilfred Benítez	UD	15	1982-01-30
Win	74-2	Luigi Minchillo	UD	10	1981-09-26
Win	73-2	Nino Gonzalez	UD	10	1981-08-09
Loss	72-2	Sugar Ray Leonard	TKO	8,	1980-11-25
Win	72-1	Sugar Ray Leonard	UD	15	1980-06-20
Win	71-1	Wellington Wheatley	TKO	6	1980-02-24
Win	70-1	Joseph Nsubuga	TKO	4,	1980-01-13
Win	69-1	Zeferino Gonzalez	UD	10	1979-09-28
Win	68-1	Carlos Palomino	UD	10	1979-06-22
Win	67-1	Jimmy Heair	UD	10	1979-04-08
Win	66-1	Monroe Brooks	KO	8,	1978-12-08
Win	65-1	Ezequiel Obando	KO	2,	1978-09-01
Win	64-1	Adolfo Viruet	UD	10	1978-04-27
Win	63-1	Esteban De Jesús	TKO	12,	1978-01-21
Win	62-1	Edwin Viruet	UD	15	1977-09-17
Win	61-1	Bernardo Diaz	KO	1,	1977-08-06
Win	60-1	Javier Muniz	UD	10	1977-05-16
Win	59-1	Vilomar Fernandez	KO	13,	1977-01-29
Win	58-1	Alvaro Rojas	TKO	1,	1976-10-15
Win	57-1	Emiliano Villa	TKO	7,	1976-07-31
Win	56-1	Lou Bizzarro	KO	14,	1976-05-23
Win	55-1	Saoul Mamby	UD	10	1976-05-04
Win	54-1	Leoncio Ortiz	KO	15,	1975-12-20
Win	53-1	Edwin Viruet	UD	10	1975-09-30
Win	52-1	Alirio Acuna	KO	3	1975-09-13
Win	51-1	Pedro Mendoza	KO	1,	1975-08-02
Win	50-1	Jose Peterson	TKO	1	1975-06-03
Win	49-1	Ray Lampkin	KO	14,	1975-03-02
Win	48-1	Andres Salgado	KO	1,	1975-02-15
Win	47-1	Masataka Takayama	KO	1,	1974-12-21
Win	46-1	Adalberto Vanegas	KO	1	1974-11-16
Win	45-1	Jose Vasquez	KO	2	1974-10-31
Win	44-1	Hector Matta	UD	10	1974-09-02
Win	43-1	Flash Gallego	TKO	7,	1974-07-06
Win	42-1	Esteban De Jesús	KO	11	1974-03-16
Win	41-1	Armando Mendoza	TKO	3,	1974-02-16
Win	40-1	Leonard Tavarez	TKO	4	1974-01-21
Win	39-1	Tony Garcia	KO	3	1973-12-01
Win	38-1	Guts Ishimatsu	TKO	10,	1973-09-08
Win	37-1	Doc McClendon	UD	10	1973-08-04
Win	36-1	Hector Thompson	TKO	8,	1973-06-02
Win	35-1	Gerardo Ferrat	TKO	2,	1973-04-14
Win	34-1	Javier Ayala	UD	10	1973-03-17
Win	33-1	Juan Medina	KO	7,	1973-02-22
Win	32-1	Jimmy Robertson	KO	5	1973-01-20
Loss	31-1	Esteban De Jesús	UD	10	1972-11-17
Win	31-0	Lupe Ramirez	KO	1,	1972-10-28
Win	30-0	Greg Potter	KO	1,	1972-09-02
Win	29-0	Ken Buchanan	TKO	13	1972-06-26
Win	28-0	Francisco Munoz	TKO	1,	1972-03-10
Win	27-0	Angel 'Robinson' Garcia	UD	10	1972-01-15
Win	26-0	Hiroshi Kobayashi	KO	7,	1971-10-16
Win	25-0	Benny Huertas	TKO	1,	1971-09-13
Win	24-0	Fermin Soto	TKO	3	1971-07-18
Win	23-0	Lloyd Marshall	TKO	6,	1971-05-29
Win	22-0	Jose Acosta	KO	1,	1971-03-21
Win	21-0	Jose Angel Herrera	KO	6	1971-01-10
Win	20-0	Ignacio Castaneda	TKO	3	1970-10-18
Win	19-0	Marvin Castaneda	KO	1,	1970-09-05
Win	18-0	Clemente Mucino	KO	6,	1970-07-18
Win	17-0	Ernesto Marcel	TKO	10	1970-05-16
Win	16-0	Felipe Torres	UD	10	1970-03-28
Win	15-0	Luis Patino	TKO	8	1969-11-23
Win	14-0	Serafin Garcia	TKO	5	1969-09-21
Win	13-0	Adolfo Osses	TKO	7	1969-06-22
Win	12-0	Jacinto Garcia	TKO	4	1969-05-18
Win	11-0	Eduardo Frutos	UD	6	1969-02-01
Win	10-0	Alberto Brand	TKO	4	1969-01-19
Win	9-0	Carlos Howard	TKO	1	1968-12-07
Win	8-0	Juan Gondola	KO	2	1968-11-16
Win	7-0	Cesar De Leon	KO	1,	1968-09-22
Win	6-0	Leroy Carghill	KO	1	1968-08-25
Win	5-0	Enrique Jacobo	KO	1	1968-08-10
Win	4-0	Eduardo Morales	KO	1,	1968-06-30
Win	3-0	Manuel Jiménez	KO	1	1968-06-15
Win	2-0	Juan Gondola	KO	1	1968-05-14
Win	1-0	Carlos Mendoza	UD	4	1968-02-23

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

• WBA Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)
• WBC Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)
• WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)
• WBA Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs)
• WBC Middleweight Champion (160 lbs)

Minor World Titles:

• NBA Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs)

The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles:

• The Ring Lightweight Champion (135 lbs)
• The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]