Roberto “Manos De Piedra” Duran
“HANDS OF STONE” ONE OF TEN BEST EVER!
San Francisco, CA– If you look at history and the careers of the fighters that you could truly call great, Roberto Duran is right there with Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and a select few others. Without going into depth, which in this instance is not the intent, the picture is supposed to speak a thousand words or so they say. From my estimations, this is July 1980 and Duran was at one of many pinnacles in his boxing life having just beaten Ray Leonard.
DURAN DETRACTORS CITE SECOND LEONARD FIGHT
The November 25, 1980 “rushed” rematch between Roberto Duran and “Sugar Ray” Leonard ended when Duran said, F*** it” and quit. Well, actually he said, “No Mas” and quit. I asked the aforementioned Ray “Sugar Ray” Robinson after the Tommy Hearns KO of Duran in June 1984 about Duran’s place in history. Said Robinson, “Duran is a great fighter. Hearns maybe great to some seeing he knocked Duran out, but Duran will go down as the greater fighter.”
I LOOK AT PHOTO AND SEE THE BEST!
Having seen most, if not all of the greats of the past 45 years, nobody was a better “Pound for Pound” fighter than Roberto Duran. From his lightweight (135 lb) title win in 1972 until the 1989 clash with Iran Barkely at 160, in between there were flashes of pure pugilistic brilliance that have never been duplicated.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Was Duran greater than Hearns, Leonard and Marvin Hagler, all of whom he lost to? I say, yes!
Pedro Fernandez