Born: 16 June 1951

Birth Place: El Chorrillo, Panama

Nationality: Panamanian

Nickname: Manos de Piedra (Hands of Stone)

Division: Lightweight (135lbs) -Super Middleweight (168lbs)

Height: 5’ 7” / 170 cm

Reach: 66″ / 168 cm

• The Ring’s 5th greatest fighter of the last 80 years

• Associated Press’ #1 lightweight of the 20th century

• Five Time World Champion in Four Different Weight Classes

• Ferociousness

Roberto Duran wasn’t an ordinary brawler. He was a great body puncher with decent power in both hands, and unlike many brawlers, Duran had great defensive skills also.

He was able to subtly slip punches often with his arms by his waist, but Duran’s greatest attribute was his ferocity in the ring. His sheer aggression would intimidate and wear his opponents down especially when he was fighting at his best in the lightweight division.

Raised in the slums of El Chorrillo, Panama, Robert Duran is no stranger to hardship. Fighting for survival and even for fun, made Duran a beast in the ring. The infamous story of when Duran knocked out a horse in his younger days for a bottle of whiskey, shows the kind of mentality he had.

Even with little amateur experience, Duran often sparred with much more experienced fighters. He turned professional at just 16 and won his first world title at 21.

Duran’s record was 72-1 until he moved up to Welterweight to face the extraordinary Sugar Ray Leonard. Infuriated by the fact that Leonard was making five times more than him despite having a much better record, Duran vented his frustration in their fight. Known as “The Brawl in Montreal”, Duran outfought and even out-boxed Leonard throughout the fight to win a decision.

Their rematch destroyed Duran’s reputation as he quit due to being frustrated by his inability to hit Leonard while being taunted at the same time. Now coined as the “No Mas” (no more) fight, Duran had to endure mockery and criticism after this incident.

After several years of ups and downs, his reputation was restored after winning some very tough fights and adding several world titles to his collection.

What makes Roberto Duran such a great fighter? First and foreman, Duran is a fighter at heart. He had natural abilities but his mentality is something that cannot be emulated.

At his worst, Duran would indulge in women and food even when he had upcoming fights, but at his best, he would approach training the same way he fought - with ferocity.

He would rope skip at such a fast pace while performing “double unders” and jump squats at the same time. He would also bounce the speed bag around effectively with his head.

Sparring with much bigger men was a normal occurrence and it helped him to succeed in the heavier weight divisions. Roberto Duran retired from boxing at the age of 50 due to a car crash, but he would’ve almost certainly continued to fight as long as he could if it wasn’t for the accident.

Born: 17 May 1956

Birth Place: Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA

Nationality: American

Nickname: Sugar

Division: Welterweight (147lbs) – Light Heavyweight (175lbs)

Height: 5’ 10” / 178 cm

Reach: 74″ / 188 cm

• 1976 Olympic Light Welterweight Gold Medalist

• Boxer of the Decade for the 1980’s

• World Champion in Five Different Weight Classes

• First Boxer to Earn More than $100 Million in Purses

• Fast Hands

• Great Movement

• Ability to Brawl or Box

Sugar Ray Leonard effectively utilizes his very fast hands and excellent foot movement to quickly attack and get out of trouble. These attributes were honed from his days as a very successful amateur boxer. His assets often allowed him to dictate the pace of the fight and if necessary, Leonard could brawl as well as box.

One of the greatest boxers ever, Sugar Ray Leonard had a number of legendary fights against all-time greats which includes wins over Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.

It was Leonard’s speed and foot movement that gave even his toughest opponents a very difficult time finding him. He could attribute his best assets to his training methods.

• Ran 4-5 miles everyday in preparation for the Olympics where he won a gold medal.

• Ran backwards and sideways to try and imitate every movement that goes on inside the ring, most applicably, boxing on the backfoot.

• Wore combat boots for his runs to condition his legs.

Leonard retired from boxing from 3 years and took everyone by surprise when he announced he was making a comeback against the great Middleweight, Marvin Hagler. Inactivity and eye injuries led the general public and media believe that Leonard was no match for the heavy favourite, Hagler.

Unbeknown to Hagler, let alone the public, Leonard had actually engaged in several real boxing fights behind closed doors to shake off any ring rust. It was this preparation that allowed Leonard to jump straight back into the elite level of boxing after such a long layoff.