Roberto Duran was one of Mike Tyson’s favorite boxers and a figurehead of the ‘Four Kings’ era of boxing.
Roberto Duran was known for his aggressive style, a trait which made him the favorite of Mike Tyson‘s.
Duran’s ruthless approach led to his record of 103-16, though despite his four stoppage losses only Thomas Hearns knocked Duran out.
Duran is perhaps best known for his trilogy with Sugar Ray Leonard, which began in 1980.
Roberto Duran reminded Joe Frazier of America’s most prolific cult leader ahead of his legendary win over Sugar Ray Leonard
Despite being forced to spend three days having his heart checked ahead of the fight, the 71-1 Duran still challenged the 27-0 Leonard for his WBC world title.
The fight was a close one but ended in a unanimous decision victory for Duran, who, according to BoxRec, said after the fight:
“He is the best I have fought. He hit me hard a couple of times, but I was never in bad shape. He was pretty good, but he had to be because he was fighting me.”
Leonard called Duran the toughest man he ever fought.
It was during the ring walks, however, where Joe Frazier compared Duran to America’s most infamous criminal, as a ‘New York Times’ columnist asked Frazier if Duran reminded him of anyone.
Frazier responded: “He reminds me of Charles Manson.”
Vasyl Lomachenko was nicknamed after Roberto Duran’s worst night in boxing after string of knockout victories
Vasyl Lomachenko had built a record of 9-1 with world titles in two divisions when he faced 17-0 Guillermo Rigondeaux, who will return aged 44 to the ring, in 2017.
Lomachenko stopped the Cuban, marking the penultimate of an unbroken string of stoppage wins.
The Ukrainian had one seven fights by stoppage in a row following the Rigondeaux victory, and topped it off with an eighth over Jorge Linares before defeating Jose Pedraza on points.
It was after the Rigondeaux fight where Lomachenko announced himself as ‘No Mas Chenko’, a reference to Duran’s words ‘No Mas’, meaning ‘No More’ as he quit against Leonard in their rematch.
Lomachenko, who wants Gervonta Davis next, said: “Maybe I should change my second name, now my name is ‘No Mas Chenko’.”