Roberto Duran was one of the famous ‘four kings’ and has shared the ring with some of boxing’s most adored legends. Although, when asked to name the fighter who punched him the hardest during his arduous 119-fight career, Duran offered up a lesser known name.
Duran dethroned Scottish icon Ken Buchanan with a statement performance at the age of just 21 years old to get his hands on the WBA lightweight world title, but it was in the higher weight divisions where the Panamanian faced his fiercest foes.
In 1980, ‘Hands of Stone’ overcame the great Sugar Ray Leonard to become a two-division conqueror, but he fell short in his two rematches with Leonard, as well as in fights against his fellow ‘kings’, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns.
Of those defeats, Hearns’ was the only man to truly knock Duran out, although he did lose by stoppage in his ‘No Mas’ rematch against Leonard, when he famously quit in the corner after eight rounds.
Yet, despite Hearns’ devastating win, Duran told Ring Magazine that Esteban De Jesus, whom he lost to in a non-title fight just five months after his victory against Buchanan, hit him the hardest during his career.
“Esteban De Jesus. De Jesus was the first opponent to knock me down and he had me down again in the second fight.
“When I lost to Thomas Hearns, I was drained from losing weight too quickly, and that had a bad effect on me. Hearns got me with a great punch, but I could have performed far better in a rematch.”
De Jesus provided Duran with the first blemish of his career and it remained as the sole shortcoming on his record until his 74th fight. However, De Jesus would later go on to lose to Duran on two occasions as he ultimately proved to be second best in their rivalry.
The Puerto Rican became a lightweight world champion himself in 1976 when he trumped Guts Ishimatsu for the WBC crown, going on to make three title defences before losing the belt to Duran in their trilogy bout.
