Hands of Stone - Christian Giudice [44]
The cut that Thomas slit would need ten stitches, eight on the outside and two on the inside, and Buchanan would later need plastic surgery to remove the scar tissue. Laguna, the idol of Panama, never climbed through the ropes again.
The bout between Buchanan and Duran wasn’t just about a championship, but revenge. “One day, he came to me and told me about the fight where Laguna fought with Buchanan and Laguna lost,” said Duran’s mother, Clara. “Roberto did not like this. Then Eleta came to talk to me and told me Roberto wanted to fight with Buchanan. I reminded him my son was only twenty years old, but since he wanted to do this fight, I had to sign some papers giving my authorization; he asked me to do it. At the time, when Duran had to fight I felt sick and was taken to hospital to be operated on. After the operation I learned they wanted to tell Roberto about it, so I asked the doctor to let me travel instead, so that Roberto did not get worried before the fight. I got my permission to leave the hospital. When I arrived home, Roberto called me and asked me whether I was sick. I told him everything was OK. I was holding the scar the operation had left, but calmed him down telling him I was all right.”
Buchanan’s camp saw nothing complicated in Duran’s aggressive style and felt their man would take charge in the later rounds, when they expected the challenger to tire. “Duran didn’t have an unorthodox style, he was a complete fighter who could punch to the body and to the head, move good,” said Buchanan’s American cornerman, Gil Clancy. “There wasn’t anything special that we did for the fight except to tell Kenny to use his jab a lot and keep moving. We were going to wait for Duran to get tired.” There was nothing illogical about Clancy’s plan. Having seen Duran in the States only against Huertas, and knowing his history of quick destruction, he expected the young boxer to “blow up” after a few rounds.
Duran also had his usual pre-fight dramas. “I went to train with Plomo in Chiriqui,” said Duran. “I’m at a hotel, the National Hotel and when I’m done training I throw myself in the pool and I’m already hot and sweaty. I get this fever and I feel like I’m going to die. I call Eleta and tell him everything that happened. I started crying because I thought I was going to lose my chance to fight for the world championship. I come back and three or four days later I’m fine. The doctor tells me I’m ready to fight. I’m happy as a ham and they send me to New York.”
Before Duran left for New York, he made the plane and hotel reservations for a dear friend. “I was gaining fame in boxing,” Duran recalled. “When I was boxing like eight or ten rounds, Chaflan came to me and asked me that if I fought for the championship one day, if I would take him. So I promised him I would. For my world championship fight, I asked Eleta to bring Chaflan. I came a week before the fight to train at Grossinger’s [and] Eleta brought Chaflan over. I was in New York staying at the Mayflower Hotel. I was very happy to see him because it was a promise I made to him and I kept it.”
Duran wasn’t the type of person to ignore those who had helped him when he couldn’t afford a meal. It wasn’t long before the smiling Chaflan made himself at home. However, this wasn’t Panama, where everybody knew his name. To the New Yorkers, he was a crazy guy panhandling in the bars. Look at this guy’s dance. He’s fucking crazy. It would mark the last time he and Duran traveled together.