Roberto Duran is widely considered to be one of the greatest fighters of all time with over 100 professional wins.
Among Duran’s best wins are Sugar Ray Leonard and Iran Barkley, however, there is a lengthy catalogue of top performances from ‘El Cholo’.
The former four-division world champion retired in 2001, 33 years after making his debut. The fighter was remarkably 50 years old when Duran faced old rival Hector Camacho.
However, many had felt Duran was past his best 20 years ago when he suffered a shock loss to a relatively unknown fighter.
- READ MORE: Roberto Duran won ‘Fight of the Year’ to claim world title and set up Sugar Ray Leonard trilogy
Roberto Duran lost to ‘The Gifted One’ in career-worst loss
After his loss in the ‘No Mas’ fight with Leonard, Duran would pick up back-to-back wins. However, when Duran ran into Wilfred Benitez, he once again lost.
Now 2-2 in his last four, Duran took a step down in competition in September 1982. Despite facing a fighter of a lower quality, Duran would not impress fans.
Kirkland Laing was the fighter opposite Duran in Detroit for his 78th professional fight. Although ‘The Chosen One’ Laing had a 23-3-1 record, he had not faced any fighter close to Duran’s level.
In what was awarded ‘Upset of the Year’ by Ring Magazine, Laing was the winner via split decision.
The loss saw Duran’s record fall to 74-4, as Laing got his highest profile win.
Roberto Duran scored impressive TKO win over former champion in 1983
Just two months after his loss to Laing, Duran returned to face Jimmy Batten, winning via unanimous decision.
Taking a step up from Batten, Duran faced former world champion Jose ‘Pipino’ Cuevas in Los Angeles. The pair met in January 1983, as Cuevas was a former Thomas Hearns opponent.
The pair would have a back-and-forth affair in their bout that was scheduled for 12 rounds. Due to the high-paced action, the fight would end in the fourth round.
In what would turn out to be the final round of the fight, Duran began landing heavy shots on his Mexican opponent. Relentlessly, Duran pursued Cuevas scoring two knockdowns to stop his opponent.
Cuevas was a welterweight champion from 1976 to 1980, only losing his title to Hearns. A win over an opponent of this caliber showed that Duran still had what it took to compete at the top.
In his following fight, Duran would stop Davey Moore to claim the WBA World Super Welterweight title as ‘El Cholo’ could once again call himself champion.