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By Root 1220 0

emptied his pockets and expected nothing in return. His children adore him; his wife has never left his side. He treats his sons like royalty, his daughters like queens. They live for him. His people affectionately chide him, “Duran is loco, but we love him and always will.” He found happiness with friends and family, in small things like sitting down to black beans and fried plantains at Victor’s Cafe, playing dominoes or billiards, listening to Celia Cruz or Willie Colon, playing the bongos till dawn, drinking a whiskey with milk, eating an ice cream dessert, or heading to the beach on a Sunday afternoon. At his lowest, he settled for lonely makeshift gyms and club sandwiches in far-away forgotten casino towns. Those who love him won’t remember that Duran. They will remember the fighter that made war on life.

The man himself remains optimistic: always a fighter but perhaps, above all, a survivor. He will never change. “The Panamanian public loves me now, now that I’m old,” he said. “They’ve recognized now that the greatest thing that Panama ever had was Roberto Duran. They have to accept that. I was born poor in Chorrillo, never smoked marijuana, don’t do drugs, have beautiful kids, good education … never stole from anyone, give money to others when I have it. I could be starving but if I see another man starving I would take my food and give it to him.”

Then he flexed his muscles like the Duran of old.

Notes

Unless otherwise stated, all quotes come from interviews with the author.

Chapter 5

“Don’t you dare … he’s in shape,” Dave Anderson, Ringmasters (Robson Books, 1991). “He was dangerous … you know a lot,’” quoted at www.cyberboxingzone.com

Chapter 6

Popular opinion … Buchanan seemed to fit the bill, quoted in Harry Mullan, Heroes and Hard Men (Hutchinson, 1990). “If Duran wants … the book,” he promised, quoted in Boxing News, 14 July 1972.

Chapter 7

“The second oldest trade ... which they pronounce ‘Bookanar,’” Boxing News, 7 July 1972.

Chapter 9

“A woman came … throw a punch,” Boxing International, October 1975. “Edwin frustrated … stood there and fought me?’” Knockout, Spring 1990. “I was supposed to be … apologized to me,” Boxing News, 21 March 1980.

Chapter 10

“Holy Christ!” said … a Puerto Rican gym, Boxing News, 5 November 1976. “I told Duran not to worry … It worked,” The Ring, January 1977.

Chapter 12

“A programme of boxing … modern era of the game,” Hugh McIlvanney, The Observer, 15 June 1980. “He moves faster … in a boarding house,” Boxing Illustrated, May 1980. One magazine reported … to make a counter offer, Boxing Illustrated, March 80.

Chapter 13

“Ray Charles Leonard was a prodigy … all natural talent is suspect,” Sam Toperoff, Sugar Ray Leonard and Other Noble Warriors (Simon & Schuster 1988). “And all throughout the workout … or express exuberance,” John Schulian, Inside Sports, 31 August 1980.

Chapter 14

“He was with … had no shame,” Miami New Times, 5 October 1995. “It would require a deal … never could be a quitter,” Red Smith, reprinted in The Red Smith Reader (Random House, 1982). One boxing magazine … and Leonard’s taunting, KO, April 1981.

Chapter 15

“I almost had a nervous breakdown … to be electrocuted,” World Boxing, July 1982. “At 157 pounds … a finished fighter,” Knockout, Summer 1993.

Chapter 16

“The satanic eyes … so human and weak,” Knockout, Summer 93.

Chapter 18

“Then I got rebellious … ‘just let him go,’” Peter Heller, In This Corner (Da Capo Press 1994).

Chapter 19

“When I was penniless … those times when I was penniless,” quoted in Peter Heller, In This Corner (Da Capo Press, 1994). “The best round ... in nearly three years,” KO, November 1986. “Roberto’s an old man,” declared one headline, Boxing News, 14 October 1988.

Chapter 20

“I didn’t want to kill him … didn’t want to hurt him,” quoted in Arlene Schulman, The Prizefighters (Lyons and Burford, 1994).

Chapter 21

“One time him and his friends … end up spending $4,000,” quoted in KO, July 88.

Acknowledgments

I conjure up strikingly vivid images every