Hands of Stone - Christian Giudice [93]
Duran had come to fight, which had not always been the case in recent contests. Those in attendance could see the difference in the way he moved, as if to the addictively sassy rhythm of a salsa. He knew Palomino was good and that he was a barrier to the millions of dollars with Leonard, and that meant he needed to find his groove straight from the bell. And he did. “Although he didn’t have devastating punching power, his quickness really surprised me,” said Palomino. “I never really got hurt but he was so shifty, used angles and was in such a defensive mode that it took away from my offensive mode.”
Duran deliberately stood with his back to the ropes in the second round. He turned his man into his punches, rested his head beside Palomino’s ear to gain leverage, scraped his skull along Palomino’s brows, shortened his blows to make maximum use of the space and doubled up with hooks to the head and body – all against the ropes. It was a superb display of in-fighting, and it was only the beginning. One second Palomino had the man ripe for an uppercut, then he was gone. In contrast Duran would lock his opponent’s left arm and follow with a right uppercut, an old trick, or truco in Spanish, that worked for him thoughout the fight.
Duran struck with such speed and power that at times Palomino bent over, wincing in pain. He faked the right hand to set up other punches and had Palomino flinching from these feints like a boy reflexively jumping back from the strength of an older brother. Yet, with his right hand up by his face, he remained both conscious and respectful of Palomino’s left hook. In other fights, Duran would hold his guard low, showing contempt.
In the fourth round, the salsa continued. Duran landed a right uppercut, which turned into a left hook, straight right combination, and jolted back Palomino’s head. He survived another big right in the middle of the ring in the next round, and in the sixth was set up beautifully when Duran again faked the right, causing him to jerk back his head. When the punch didn’t come, Palomino straightened up, only to find the right hand coming now. It laid him on his back with a thud.
Palomino quickly pushed himself up. He was stunned but not hurt, and took the mandatory eight-count. While chasing Palomino around the ring, Duran planted a right to the liver, but couldn’t stop the former champ. After the bell sounded for the sixth to end the onslaught, a weary Palomino headed to his corner. A broadcaster compared Duran to “Krakatoa about to explode,” but Palomino shook off the knockdown and came back strong the next round.
Nobody hid in the final round. It wasn’t in either man’s nature. Latin fighters fought in a culture where reputation meant everything. “It was a ten-round war,” said Palomino. “I came back to my corner in the ninth round and they told me that I had to go out and take it to him. So I went right after Duran in the tenth.”
As the final bell sounded, Palomino put his glove into Duran’s midsection as a gesture of respect, but Duran was too busy raising his hands to notice. Then he fell to his knees, and still not noticing Palomino’s extended glove, turned to the crowd for the acclaim he deserved. The referee and two judges all scored 99-90 to Duran, meaning he had won nine rounds and shared one. It was an utterly comprehensive victory over one of the finest welterweights in the world.
“I was a big Palomino fan and … he just made Palomino look like a novice,” said boxing writer Steve Farhood. “Palomino was flinching when Duran would fake a punch. I had never seen that before. Palomino was never in the fight and maybe he won one round. I don’t want to call Palomino a great fighter, but he was almost on