The Boxing History Blog

25th November 1980, Superdrome, New Orleans, Louisiana WBC Welterweight Title Roberto Duran Vs Ray Leonard The new champion partied hard after his victory over Ray Leonard. Duran ate, drank and partied some more. In late September the new king of boxing received a call from his manager Carlos Eleta, telling him that the rematch would be in November. "Are you fucking crazy?" Duran shouted. "I weigh nearly two-hundred-pounds (90.72 KG). I can't drop all that weight in a month." The reason for a quick rematch was duly down to the amount of money Don King, who promoted the fight and Carlos Eleta would make. Duran however, knew he would lose as he was so drained making the 147 pounds (66.68 KG) limit that he was suffering from stomach cramps. Three days before the contest Eleta claimed that his fighter had used diuretic medication to get his weight off, but this was refuted by Duran and his personal physician Dr. Orlando Nunez. This ti...

Roberto Duran Roberto Duran was born in Chorillo, a slum on the east side of Panama on 16th June 1951. He was raised in great poverty, which would reflect years later in his fighting style. He was known as a 'Cholo' as he had part Indian, part Spanish blood. His absent father, an itinerant American soldier from Arizona who carried the Indian/Mexican heritage, left Duran's mother before he was born. There are many stories about the escapades of Duran's youth. He learnt to fight on the waterfront and it was said that as a twelve-year-old he struck down grown men with his bare hands. He would make daily raids of the mango plantations, swimming two miles across the Panama Canal with a knife held between his teeth. He would sell the mangoes to help his abandoned mother raise him and his eight siblings. Duran would also busk on the streets, singing and dancing for change, shoe shining, the list is endless. It is also said that when fully grown he knocked a horse senseles...