Roberto Duran has revealed who he believes to be the greatest fighter in the history of boxing.
The Panamanian icon had an exceptional professional career of his own, winning world titles across four weight divisions including the undisputed world lightweight championship which he captured back in 1978.
Duran would enjoy further success during the 1980s where he became a member of ‘The Four Kings’, a legendary quartet of fighters made up of himself, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.
‘Hands of Stone’ was naturally smaller than the rest of the group, meaning he only scored one win in his record against them, coming in his first bout with Leonard before losing the rematch and trilogy. He lost a unanimous decision to Hagler and was stopped by Hearns inside two round.
Despite those high profile losses, Duran retired with a record of 103 wins from 119 fights, putting him in the conversation as one of the best of all time.
Speaking to ESNEWS, he was asked to predict the outcome of a fantasy clash between Sugar Ray Robinson and Floyd Mayweather Jr, before claiming that he believes Robinson is ‘the best’ of all time.
“Sugar Ray Robinson [wins]. he’s the best. Sugar Ray Robinson is the best ever.”
Robinson is widely considered to be one of, if not the greatest fighter to have ever laced up a pair of gloves. The Georgia-native became a world champion on six separate occasions throughout the course of his professional career, which spanned between 1940 and 1965.
He reigned as the world welterweight champion for half a decade between 1946 and 1951, before he eventually made the move up to 160lbs, capturing the world title on five occasions within a period of nine years.
