Biography of Carlos Roberto Durán (Stone Fits)

COMMEMORATION OF CARLOS ROBERTO DURÁN SAMANIEGO

ALIAS: STONE FISTS

(Born: 1951 – )

Roberto Durán was born on June 16, 1951 in El Chorrillo, Panama. His mother, Clara Samaniego, was a native from Guararé, Panama and his father, Margarito Durán Sanchez, was from Arizona, United States and of Mexican American heritage. He was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district “La Casa de Piedra” (The House of Stone) Panama. He began sparring with experienced boxers at the Neco de La Guardia gymnasium when he was only eight years old. He made his professional debut in 1968 at the age of 16.

Is a retired Panamanian professional boxer, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed “Manos de Piedra” (“Stone Fists,” although the literal translation is “Hands of Stone”) during his career.

Propelled by the income a successful boxing career offered, 16-year-old Duran made the decision to turn professional. After a short adjustment period, he turned the tables on his older and more experienced opponents. It didn’t take long for audiences and the media to recognize that Duran’s raw, explosive talent was the stuff legends are made of. Though he lacked a press agent and professional representation, the newcomer consistently brought in packed houses. He had fought – and won – a streak of 21 professional fights without any specialized instruction when wealthy landowner Carlos Eleta bought his contract for a mere $300. Eleta then hired renowned trainers Ray Arcel and Freddie Brown to streamline Duran’s relentless style and teach him cunning defensive strategies.

On June 26, 1972, Duran’s uninterrupted victories hit 30, 19 of which were KOs. That night, he defeated WBA Lightweight Champion Ken Buchanan in the 13th round at New York’s Madison Square Garden. It was the 21-year-old’s first world title. And he was just getting started.

In 2002, he was chosen by The Ring to be the 5th greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Bert Sugar rates him as the 8th greatest fighter of all-time and the Associated Press voted Duran as the #1 lightweight of the 20th century. Many even consider him the greatest lightweight of all time.

He is viewed as the greatest lightweight of all time, but he won championships in four weight classes:  lightweight (1972–79), welterweight (1980), junior middleweight (1983–84) and middleweight (1989). The belts and championships only tell a tiny fraction of the force of nature that was “Manos de Piedra” or hands of stone.

He was the second boxer to have fought a span of five decades, the first being Jack Johnson.

He finally retired in January 2002 at age 50 (having previously retired in 1998) following a bad car crash in October 2001, with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins with 70 KOs. Up until the second Ray Leonard fight, he was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.

Durán is one of the rare men in boxing history to win fights in 5 separate decades. He registered wins in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s, putting him in the company of Jack Johnson, who had wins in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.

In a career that spans five decades, Duran went on to be the WBC Lightweight Champion, WBC Welterweight Champion, WBA Light Middleweight Champion, WBC Middleweight Champion and WBA Junior Middleweight Champion. His lights-out right punch has stopped opponents from Esteban De Jesus, to Dave y Moore, to Sugar Ray Leonard. Seemingly endless stamina and persistent ferocity have pitted him against many of the world’s best light and middleweight fighters, arguably making Roberto Duran one of the 10 best boxers of all time.

Citar este texto en formato APA: _______. (2016). WEBSCOLAR. Biography of Carlos Roberto Durán (Stone Fits). https://www.webscolar.com/biography-of-carlos-roberto-duran-stone-fits. Fecha de consulta: 23 de April de 2024.