Robert Duran: The "Hands of Stone" Hammers Out His Legend

Looking back on that day of June 16th, 1951, it must have seemed like Roberto Duran was born to be a fighter. Born in the little Pacific town of Guararé, Panama, Duran had a limited amateur background, and little or no technical training when he became a prize fighter at the age of 16. That mattered very little in those early days, though. Fighting in mostly Panama as a teenager at bantamweight and featherweight (118-126lbs), young Duran displayed the psychological traits that would characterize his entire career: relentless aggression, machismo, and will to win. Largely on the basis of energy, grit, and unrefined talent, Duran drew crowds and racked up a 21-0 record, most of those wins coming by knockout. It was at this point that Duran attracted the attention of a wealthy local landowner, Carlos Eleta. Eleta bought Duran's professional contract for a mere $300, and engaged the services of trainers Ray Arcel and Freddie Brown. Soon Duran's punches were shortened, he learned deceptively simple-but-effective defensive techniques, and overall complemented his fierce aggression with sound technique. Duran was getting ready for the big time.

Under the guidance of Eleta, Arcel, and Brown, Duran began a campaign for a world championship. His first major opponent was former 130lbs champion Hiroshi Kobayashi of Japan, who Duran disposed of with left-right combination to the head, knocking Kobayashi out in the 7th. By June 1972, Duran was ready to challenge Ken Buchannan for the WBA lightweight (135lbs) title at Madison Square Garden. Buchanan was an established British Commonwealth and European lightweight champion, making the third defense of his world title. It was a very dirty bout, with Duran still showing a lot of his rough and tumble experience in fighing Panamanian smokers. He fouled Buchanan with head butts and low blows, although he was only warned for the low blows and that only once. He hit Buchanan with a low blow in the 14th, which Buchanan did not recover from. The result was a Duran victory by TKO in the 14th Round, although strictly speaking Duran should have been disqualified for his dirty tactics.