Roberto ‘Manos de Piedra’ Duran, of Panamanian fame

Roberto “Stone Hands” Durán, He had a career with ups and downs, although the sum of his boxing career ended in glory overcoming adversity and after his retirement he was inducted into Hall of Fame.

“Stone hands” Durán He has just passed another test, he is resting at home, after successfully leaving the operating room, having undergone an operation in which he was fitted with a pacemaker. Durán, 72, was hospitalized for a cardiac complication resulting from complete atrioventricular (AV) block.

Duran in his career

“Stone hands” Durán With a performance of 103 wins, with 70 knockouts and 16 losses, he won four world titles and one little recognized one. from United States National Boxing Association (NBA).

Four world titles won with fists, sweat and effort, contested over five decades, depict the greatness of one “giant” of world boxing, Roberto “Stone Hands” Durán, He is the most successful Panamanian athlete of the 20th century and ranked among the ten best boxers in history.

Pleasant, extroverted and “mouth”, Durán He lived his golden age in the 70s, a period in which he won the lightweight title (135 pounds) on June 26, 1972, when he defeated the then champion Ken Buchanan in 13 rounds, losing once: to the late Esteban De Jesus, who knocked him down first.

He had three memorable lawsuits with De Jesús. He lost the first one on October 29, 1972, and won the second two on March 16, 1974 in Gimnasio Nuevo. Panama, knocking him out in 11 rounds, and on January 21, 1978, in a fight to unify the lightweight crowns of both organizations. Durán for WBA and De Jesús for CMB, He crushed the Puerto Rican and provided a superb demonstration of precise and devastating boxing in the 12 rounds the fight lasted.

Interestingly, the Puerto Rican managed to knock him down twice: in the first round of the first two fights, but the Panamanian, whose father was Mexican and whose mother was from Santeña, quickly assimilated his first defeat as a professional with a KO delivered on January 20, 1973. Jimmy Robertson in 5 rounds he started a streak of 41 victories, 29 of them by chloroform, 17 before the end of the fifth round. In this way, the Panamanian is considered the best lightweight in history.

Second title

Then he went to the weights light heavyweights (147 pounds), faced Ray Sugar Leonard, against whom three fights were held “Cholo”, there were 2 losses of the Panamanian and one victory, but Durán won the most important trilogy (the first).

On June 20, 1980, Durán fought perhaps the most significant fight of his life, against the American Leonardo, who had just remained undefeated in Olympic Games in Montreal from 1976

With the void he left Muhammad Ali, Leonard It was the new sensation of the United States. Durán was successful again and won his second world title, which he would leave to himself. Leonard November 25 of the same year, in his famous “no más”.

Knock out Moore

It took him three years to regain the crown, winning the super middleweight title (154 pounds) by knockout in the eighth round from the late Davey Moore on June 16, 1983.

Duran He would seek his fourth world title in November 1983 at middleweight (160 pounds), but his dreams were thwarted by a last-round “fight” against Marvin “Maravilla” Hagler, in a fight that, if agreed, would have gone twelve rounds. be, Panama I would have the first four-time boxing world champion.

But, “Hands of Stone” He had another opportunity for the middleweight world title (160 pounds) on February 24, 1989, which he won, his fourth world title, defeating American Iran Barkley.

Interestingly, yes Barkley knockout Tommy Hearnsthe boxer who knocked out Duran on June 15, 1984.

The last crown was won by “Manos de Piedra” against Patt Lawlor, whom he defeated in the United States National Boxing Association (NBA) super middleweight division (168 pounds), in Gymnasium Nuevo Panamá (today Roberto Durán Arena) title which he lost to Puerto Rican Héctor “Macho” Camacho on June 14, 2001.

house of fame

On October 14, 2006, Roberto Durán was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Riverside, California, Los Angeles, on June 10, 2007, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, also in the living room The famous Nevada and Atlantic City

Durán held the record in fights in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, in addition to having knockouts in all rounds.