Roberto Duran

Roberto Duran, known as ‘Manos de Piedra’ (Hands of Stone), captured his first major world title, the WBA Lightweight Championship, in June 1972 at Madison Square Garden by defeating Ken Buchanan. Duran turned professional in February 1968, and early in his career, he amassed an impressive 31 consecutive professional wins. He successfully defended the WBA Lightweight title an astounding twelve times between 1973 and 1978, with eleven of these victories coming by knockout. A pivotal moment in his lightweight reign was avenging an earlier non-title loss to Esteban De Jesús with an eleventh-round knockout in 1974, before he unified the lightweight titles by once again defeating De Jesús in 1978, securing the WBC Lightweight Championship.

Roberto Duran was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006, and further solidified his place among boxing’s all-time greats with his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007, celebrating his enduring legacy as one of the most dominant and versatile champions in boxing history.