“One day, a little kid with a shoe shine box walked into the Neco de la Guardia Gymnasium. He put on the gloves and started to box with a boy smaller than he was. I was impressed by the way he moved his head to dodge the blows, and I called him over. He said he wanted to be a boxer.” – Sammy Medina, Roberto Duran’s first boxing trainer
That little kid became none other than Roberto “Manos De Piedra” Duran, one of the sport’s all-time pound-for-pound greatest and arguably the greatest living fighter. Among other things, Duran is most renowned for his ruthless domination of the lightweight division in the 1970s, cementing his legacy as arguably the greatest lightweight ever. During the course of his career, Duran scored wins over the likes of Ernesto Marcel, Ken Buchanan, Guts Ishimatsu, Esteban De Jesus, Saoul Mamby, Carlos Palomino, Sugar Ray Leonard, Pipino Cuevas, Davey Moore and Iran Barkley.
The Panamanian prodigy with “Hands of Stone” was born in 1951 in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district of “La Casa de Piedra” (The House of Stone) within Panama City. Duran began sparring with grown men at the age of eight. He grew up in the tough streets of Panama, and his desire to fight was not only fueled by his lawless actions and mindset but, most of all, the need to survive. He would raid mango plantations daily, swimming two miles across the Panama Canal with a knife held between his teeth. He would sell these mangos to raise money to help his abandoned mother raise him and his eight siblings in the wake of his absent father. Duran would also sing and dance for change and do shoe shining, amongst other things.
At the age of 13, he was expelled from school for punching an older aggressor down a flight of stairs. After a brief amateur career, with an unconfirmed record of 18-3, Duran turned professional at 16. Carlos Eleta was a millionaire racehorse owner who started managing Duran soon after.
Duran was a natural brawler, one-dimensional and extremely raw. Eleta enticed famed trainer Ray Arcel and his partner, Freddie Brown, out of retirement to help him develop his new prodigy. Duran quickly honed his rough edges, becoming a scientific killer—the ultimate blend of savagery and science. Duran established himself as one of boxing’s most intelligent and versatile technicians. Duran’s ability to create and exploit openings while slipping and blocking blows was incredible, and his in-fighting and spatial awareness were as sharp as ever.
