Hello guys, welcome back to Amolipi channel, where you learn interesting info about
your favorite actors and athletes. The main character of our video today is Roberto Durán.
Roberto Durán, in full Roberto Durán Samaniego, was born on June 16, 1951 in El Chorrillo,
Panama and is a former professional boxer. He competed from period of 1968 till 2001,
and is known as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter, which earned him the nickname
of "Manos de Piedra" ("Hands of Stone") for his formidable punching power and excellent defense.
Over his five-decade spanning career, Duran held world championships in four weight classes.
Duran was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district "La Casa de Piedra" (The
House of Stone), in Panama City. His father, Margarito Durán Sánchez, was from Arizona,
United States, and of Mexican descent, and his mother, Clara Samaniego, was a native of Guararé.
He began sparring with experienced boxers when he was only eight years old. Durán compiled a
record of 29–3 in his amateur career, with all 3 losses coming in Durán's first 3 amateur fights.
Roberto married his long-time girlfriend Mia Felicidad Duran sometime during the early
phases of his career. Of his marriage, the couple has parented six children; Irichelle, Giovana,
Roberto Duran Jr, Víctor, Dalia, and Robin Durán. His daughter, Irichelle Duran, was a professional
boxer herself who garnered a record of 1 win and 2 losses in 3 bouts, with 1 win by knockout.
Following his amateur career, Durán made his professional debut in February 1968 at the age of
16. He won his first 31 consecutive professional fights, culminating in his first title bout in
June 1972, where he defeated Ken Buchanan for the WBA Lightweight Championship. Durán was
successful in all 12 of his subsequent lightweight championship matches, a winning streak that began
in 1973 and continued through 1978. He also won all of his nontitle bouts during this period.
After moving up to the welterweight division, Durán defeated Sugar Ray Leonard in June 1980,
to claim the world championship, but in his next fight, in November 1980, he lost the title.
In the second meeting with Leonard, Durán was not actually knocked out. Instead,
in an event that became infamous, he refused to continue, surrendering in mid-round with the words
“No mas!” (“No more!”). Durán resumed his career
until retiring for good in January 2002 at age 50, following a car crash in Argentina.
He had previously retired in November 1980, June 1984 and August 1998, only to change his mind.
Durán ended his career with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins, and 70 knockouts.
Throughout his five-decade spanning career from 1968 to 2001, Duran held world championships in
four weight classes: lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight, as well as
reigns as the undisputed and lineal lightweight champion, and the lineal welterweight champion.
In 2002, Durán was voted by The Ring magazine as the fifth greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
The Associated Press voted him as the best lightweight of the 20th century,
with many considering him the greatest lightweight of all time. In 2006, Durán was inducted into
the World Boxing Hall of Fame and in 2007, into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
As of 2021, Roberto Duran has an estimated net worth of $5 million. He reportedly blew
through more than $20 million during the peak of his career on a lavish lifestyle.
Duran is the second boxer to have competed over a span of five decades,
the first being Jack Johnson. His 70 wins by knockout place him in an
exclusive group of boxers who have won 50 or more fights by knockout. He is ranked number 28 on The
Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. Outside of boxing, Duran also involved in films
and music. He himself was a Salsa singer once. The biopic Hands of Stone, based on
his life and career stars Édgar Ramírez, Robert De Niro and Usher was released in August 2016.
Today, the former boxer is the brand ambassador of Panama Blue, Panama's premium bottled water.
He is also a licensed ultralight aircraft pilot in Panama. He flew a Quick Silver MX model.
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