Guarare (Panamá), 1951

By Pablo Alabarces

After working as a painter, waiter, and shoeshine boy, Panamanian Roberto Durán began his professional boxing career before turning seventeen, in 1968. In just three years — and with a streak of fifteen victories — he had become the hero of the Marañón Gym. In 1971, promoter Carlos Eleta bought his contract for three hundred dollars, and in September of that year, he fought in New York, knocking out Benny Huertas in 66 seconds. On June 26, 1972, he defeated champion Ken Buchanan for the world lightweight title. Durán managed to win when Buchanan could not come out for the 14th round, after receiving a low blow that happened when the previous round had already ended. The winner was received as a hero in Panama.

“Mano de Piedra,” as he was known, fought at Madison Square Garden with Esteban De Jesús, who knocked him down within sixty seconds, but Durán won the fight by points over ten rounds. In the rematch on March 16, 1974, in Panama with the title at stake, Durán was knocked down again in the first round but recovered and won by technical knockout in the 11th round. Durán and De Jesús, who had won the WBC title, faced each other for the third time on January 21, 1978. The Panamanian won again by technical knockout in the 12th round, in his last defense of the lightweight title. He secured convincing victories at welterweight until earning the opportunity to compete against champion “Sugar” Ray Leonard. Durán managed to bring the fight to his own style and always maintained an advantage. He won by unanimous decision on points. Five months later, they met again: this time Leonard demolished Durán, who quit the fight. It is said that at one point he was heard saying, “no más, no más.” The Montreal Athletic Commission began investigating the incident and found that Durán’s promoter, Carlos Eleta, had collected the purse in advance. The boxer’s defeat was a huge disappointment for the Panamanian people. In June 1983, Durán defeated the undefeated Davey Moore at Madison Square Garden to become the super welterweight champion. In 1988, he defeated middleweight champion Iran Barkley by points. Thus, he became a world champion again seventeen years after winning his first title. He continued in the ring intermittently until his final fight in 2001, at fifty years old. The greatest athlete in Panama’s history ended his career with a record of 120 professional fights, 104 wins (69 by knockout), and sixteen losses (four by knockout).