Roberto Duran is one of Four Kings who defined a golden era in the sport of boxing.
‘Hands of Stone’ from Panama – naturally smaller than the other three – fought Sugar Ray Leonard three times, winning their first bout in 1980 by unanimous decision in a classic brawl, but losing the rematch later that year via the infamous ‘No Mas’ surrender in the eighth round, and then again in their 1989 rubber match by decision.
Against Thomas Hearns, Duran suffered a devastating second-round knockout in 1984, one of the most brutal defeats of his career. He had faced Marvin Hagler one year prior, giving a strong performance but ultimately losing a competitive unanimous decision.
Despite the grit shown in all of the above mentioned contests, when asked to name the toughest fight of his career by Boxing News, Duran said Iran Barkley without hesitation.
“Iran Barkley, definitely. I was told by everyone not to take that fight. In my country of Panama, they said that I should have my license taken away if I tried to take that fight. When your own country is against you it makes it very hard.”
His fight with Barkley on February 24, 1989 was one of the greatest victories of his legendary career – especially considering the odds and context.
At age 37, Duran was seen as past his prime and was giving away weight again to challenge the American – a much younger and stronger WBC middleweight champion known for his power and for having knocked out Hearns the previous year.
It was a back-and-forth war in which, crucially, Duran scored a knockdown in the penultimate round. He would win by split decision with the scores of 118–112 and 116–113 in his favour and 116-112 for Barkley.
Incredibly, the Panamanian legend would not hang the gloves up for another 12 years after a near-fatal car crash.
