TRULY A SAD DAY IN MY WORLD OF BOXING
San Francisco, CA– A few days ago, former heavyweight boxer (1989 US National Golden Glove champ) Kevin Ford called to tell me that two-time world title challenger Richard Duran had suffered a stroke. Duran was a teenage phenom hailing from Sacramento, CA, who won many amateur titles, the California State championship and the Western US Olympic Trials all at 112 lbs. in 1984. Later managed by zillionaire Jim Anderson and trained from the beginning until the end by the late-great Don Conley, Richard was my roommate for a number of amateur tournaments.
EX-US CHAMP DELIVERED THE BAD NEWS
Today, Kevin Ford, himself an outstanding amateur with tremendous professional potential, called to tell me that Richard Duran had died. Even though I’ve written obituaries for decades now, this one was especially tough because Richard was truly like a little brother to me when we were fighting. When he won the State title at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, I remember the ring announcer, the late Danny Valdivia, accented the name “Duran” upon naming Richard the victor in this North vs. South battle of California’s best amateur fighters.
CHEWING GUM TOOK SEVEN POUNDS OFF RICHARD
The night before we fought at the Olympic,
this when there were same day early morning weigh ins, I was freaking out because I was 140 1/4 before going to bed and needed to be at 139 some eight hours later. Richard was 119, or seven pounds over his flyweight limit. Taking to bed with him several packs of chewing gum, Gatorade gum if my memory serves me correctly, Duran went to bed chewing gum with a waste paper basket inches away. Throughout the night, I’d hear him chewing, in his sleep mind you, then waking up and spitting into the trash can. Needless to say, when he awoke the next morning and stepped on the scale, Richard was 111 3/4 lbs.
VICTIM OF SOME DASTARDLY AMATEUR SUITS & JUDGES
Later that year, and still just 17 years old, Duran beat everybody hands down at the Western U.S. Olympic Trials held in Colorado Springs, CO. At the final Olympic Trials that I believe were held in Houston, TX that year, the amateur officials basically put a gun to his head and snatched away from him his right to represent the United States in Los Angeles. This was not an uncommon thing as the then United States Amateur Boxing Federation, now USA Boxing, was (is) as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. Even before these elimination series of fights took place, they, the USABF, had their pre-designated Olympians and robbed fighters like Eddie Hopson with Kelcie Banks, and to a lesser extent Mike Tyson over Henry Tillman. If my memory serves me correctly, the late Steve McCrory ended up as the 112 lb. U.S. Olympic boxer in 1984 and won Gold.
DURAN’S BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS THINKING BOXING WAS FAIR
Still only 18, somehow, and just like U.S. 106 lb. amateur champion Mario Lespearance, Richard was persuaded to stay amateur for another four years, only to again fail to make the Olympic team that went to Seoul, South Korea in 1988. Turning professional Richard rolled off 26 victories in a row with the team of Anderson, Conley and promoter Don Chargin backing him. With a crowd pleasing style, Duran, while he didn’t have “Hands of Stone” like Roberto Duran, then IBF 122 lb. king Kennedy McKinney told me he had never been hit as hard after winning a 12-round decision over Richard. Around that point and time, Richard began drinking and things started to spiral out of control for him. A father while still a teenager, Richard was a proud father who had never drank or smoked. But once he got on the sauce, Duran was never the Duran he once was. Chargin would secure a second title shot, this time he went the route with Tracy Harris Patterson, losing by decision in a WBC 122 lb. championship bout.
NEVER VOICED ANY REGRETS TO ME
The last time I saw and remember Richard fighting was when he faced the then undefeated (and later abused by his manager) “Prime Time” Eddie Croft at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. This was Richard’s last fight finishing at 27-3, 13 KOs. Afterwards in the dressing room, my sadness was obvious as the first thing Richard said to me was, “I had a good run Pedro. Eddie was younger and faster, he deserved to win.” Knowing both the winner and loser well, this was a very difficult experience for me as I sat and kept score for ten fistic frames. If ever there was a time where I wanted a fight to end in a draw, this was it as I had personal feelings for both Duran and Croft. The drinking that had started in his mid 20s, had taken its toll on Richard, as did the residual effects of boxing, thus Richard, once the sharpest knife in the drawer had lost that edge and was drinking regularly after he retired from boxing in 1994. He had one ugly incident in which he was jumped at a Sacramento bar, and the guy that did the jumping ended up dying from the beating Richard laid on him.
I CAN CERTAINLY BLAME THE BASTARDS AT USA BOXING
Although people say that you can’t blame boxing, this was a case in which you could. Had the amateur officials not so willfully taken away his deserved position on the 1984 Olympic team, I believe Richard Duran would have won a medal in Los Angeles and then proceeded to win a world title as a professional. Although some say that professional boxing is crooked, it pales in comparison to the rip offs that take place at the amateur level. After suffering the fatal stroke last week, Duran was placed on “Life Support.” When it was removed, Richard Duran died peacefully early this morning at the age of 44. While he had his share of problems, Richard had turned his life around and was training kids in Roseville, CA, a city just a stones throw away from Sacramento when he suffered the stroke. In the coming days, I will expand on Richard Duran, fighter and father. I In closing, there are no words I can offer that can nullify the pain for those of us that knew and loved Richard Duran. Rest in peace little brother, rest in peace.
Pedro Fernandez