Hands of Stone - Christian Giudice [165]
Two days later, he was interviewed by Joe Cross of International Boxing Digest in Ralph’s, an “upscale poolroom-bar” on Via Espana in Panama City. “He was celebrating with both hands,” recorded Oliver, “a drink in one, a pool cue in the other. Two days after scaling 168 for the fight, he weighed 180. Duran gets fat by breathing smoke and looking at food.” He was surrounded by young women, and friends, and seemed happy, talking about another big payday against Leonard or Camacho.
Duran kept plugging away but the deterioration that he had hidden so well in the Camacho bout was now undisguisable. It showed on November 15 when he traveled to South Africa to fight. Replacement David Radford was flown in from England at two days’ notice to fight him and managed to rock Duran on two occasions before losing the eight-round decision. Duran went down in a storm with the South African crowds and was presented with a photograph of himself and Nelson Mandela, who reportedly described him as the most charismatic fighter he had ever met.
Duran met the canvas in his next fight. Fighting at a gross 170 pounds, he went down in the first round to Felix Jose Hernandez, a 10-5-1 “tomato can,” but came back to fell Hernandez in the fifth and twice in the eighth round. He won an eight-round decision and kept alive his streak of never having lost a pro bout in Panama. It was something to cling to.
Those who called for Duran’s retirement were placated by the fact that he still had his mind, his experience and a residue of his skills. Against inferior opponents, these were enough, and no one on his seemingly never-ending comeback tour had hurt him – until he signed to fight the WBA middleweight champ. Roberto Duran had nothing left to teach WBA middleweight champ William Joppy. They were set to fight August 28 at the Las Vegas Hilton on a Don King production. Well aware that he was sending Duran to slaughter, King was more concerned about his still-evident ticket-selling potential. Joppy was strong and close to his prime, with twenty-five victories to one loss, and the little tricks and tactics Duran had perfected in the clinches and off the ropes were not enough. Press conference talk of him springing a surprise on the young fighter was drowned out by laughter.
Joppy punished the Panamanian for two rounds before referee Joe Cortez stopped the bout at 2:54 of the third. The sight of Joppy pummeling a helpless Duran – after a blistering right hand midway through the round had forced him to cover up – should have been enough. Even Duran promised, “I’m finished.” The Nevada Boxing Commission suspended him while his back-up team, which consisted of Acri, DeCubas, and attorney Tony Gonzalez bickered. “Gonzalez made the Joppy fight,” said Luis DeCubas. “That was the worst thing I ever saw in boxing. It was criminal.” The IRS reportedly took $225,000 of his $250,000 purse money to pay back taxes.
Duran followed up the Joppy catastrophe with a ten-round loss to Omar Eduardo Gonzalez in Argentina. On his forty-ninth birthday Duran waited in Panama to take on journeyman Pat Lawlor in a rematch. He trained in a San Miguelito Gym with Plomo and female trainer Maria Toto. The fight was titled “The Battle of Five Decades” as Duran, almost incredibly, had fought in every decade since the Sixties. In 1960, he was running the streets with Chaflan, learning to survive. In 1970, he was assaulting the lightweight division. In 1980, he conquered the indomitable Leonard by forcing him into an alley brawl. In 1990, he was coming off a victory over Iran Barkley. In 2000, the fame and nearly $45 million has vanished through investments and the belief that it would never end.
Before the fight Duran told the press, “Lawlor is fatter and crazier. Sadly, he came to Panama to get a beating.” He then went out and celebrated his birthday with a points win, avenging that earlier stoppage loss to Lawlor when an injured shoulder had forced him to quit.
The show puttered