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By Lee Groves - Twenty five years ago today, Roberto Duran rose from the ashes of "No Mas" and bludgeoned WBA junior middleweight champion Davey Moore to capture his third divisional crown, completing a most inspiring tale of redemption. It was fitting that Duran's fistic rebirth took place on his 32nd birthday at Madison Square Garden, the site of his first championship triumph over Ken Buchanan more than a decade earlier. The displays of emotion from both Duran and his adoring fans made this fight one of 1983's most unforgettable spectacles, but the story that led up to his triumph was just as compelling as the bout itself.
Nineteen eighty-two was a horrible year for the man known as "Manos de Piedra." On January 30, Duran was comprehensively out-boxed by WBC junior middleweight champion Wilfred Benitez before dropping a unanimous decision that was nowhere near as close as the scorecards (143-142, 144-141 and 145-141) indicated. Then on September 4, with a possible showdown with young knockout sensation Tony Ayala Jr. on the horizon, a blubbery and unmotivated Duran lost to former sparring partner Kirkland Laing by a 10 round split decision that should have been unanimous.
Fighting with his hands at his side, Laing popped the beer-bloated Duran with clean combinations while Duran's punches carried little power and even less enthusiasm. Duran left the ring at Detroit's Cobo Hall a thoroughly humiliated and forlorn figure and Don King's post-fight locker room tirade only added to Duran's misery. The fact that Laing-Duran was named Ring Magazine's 1982 Upset of the Year illustrated both Duran's high standing before the match and how far he had fallen after it. [details]
Nineteen eighty-two was a horrible year for the man known as "Manos de Piedra." On January 30, Duran was comprehensively out-boxed by WBC junior middleweight champion Wilfred Benitez before dropping a unanimous decision that was nowhere near as close as the scorecards (143-142, 144-141 and 145-141) indicated. Then on September 4, with a possible showdown with young knockout sensation Tony Ayala Jr. on the horizon, a blubbery and unmotivated Duran lost to former sparring partner Kirkland Laing by a 10 round split decision that should have been unanimous.
Fighting with his hands at his side, Laing popped the beer-bloated Duran with clean combinations while Duran's punches carried little power and even less enthusiasm. Duran left the ring at Detroit's Cobo Hall a thoroughly humiliated and forlorn figure and Don King's post-fight locker room tirade only added to Duran's misery. The fact that Laing-Duran was named Ring Magazine's 1982 Upset of the Year illustrated both Duran's high standing before the match and how far he had fallen after it. [details]
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