08.12.06 – By MICHAEL MARLEY – From www.boxingconfidential.com
1. He did knock out a horse which is something that Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvy Marvin Hagler never did.
2. He did have a pet lion named Simba. And he wasn’t lying about that.
3. He took that knockout shot from Hitman Hearns and did not die on the spot.
4. Without speaking a single word of English, he was scarier than Tony Montana.
5. He split two fights with Puerto Rican Esteban DeJesus and, when DeJesus was dying of AIDS in a prison, “Hands Of Stone” went to pay his respects when they both the end was near for Esteban..
6. In retrospect, his ‘no mas” quit job against the dancing, prancing Leonard was no great shame. He was in a fight he knew he could not win so he basically flipped Sugar Ray the bird by quitting.
7. When he left a barely breathing, twitching Ray “Birdlegs” Lampkin stretched on the canvas, a TV jerk asked for a comment. “I hope I killed him,” Duran said and he meant it figuratively, not literally. Duran spoke from his savage heart and did not give “shout outs” to the boys in the barrio or thank his ‘Lord and savior” or any of that post-fight silliness.
8. Once upon a time, or so I heard, his then wife caught him flagrante delicto (wearing only his birthday suit if you get my drift) with a strange and also nude lady. The then wife started fuming and cursing but Duran told her to shut up and to call the police to report that he had surprised this female burglar trying to steal his wife’s wardrobe. I don’t think the Miami PD made any arrest on the daytime b&e, however.
9.. His entourage and DeJesus’ crew had a stupid 4 a.m. weigh-in at Caesars Palace before their second fight. Naturally, everyone except Roberto and Esteban were drunk as skunks at the time. Some bright boy in Caesars security sent two 70ish security guards to handle things and the result was the best brawl two camps have ever had outside the ring.
10. Duran had knocked someone out at Caesars. He was young and so was I (he’s two days older than me) and we both celebrated separately into the wee hours (they had a lot of “distractions: in the old Vegas). We wound up in the same elevator about 3:30 am. with two Nebraska-looking middle-aged couples who probably thought a Latino was someone who speaks Latin. Duran had a leather jacket on, was hoisting a champagne bottle and his pants were unopened. Disheveled might be a good description. Duran offered me a swig of his bubbly and then he got off the elevator. “How,” one of the lady turisitas sniffed, “do they let people like that into Caesars Palace?”
I don’t think anyone will ask how they let “Cabeza De Piedra” into Canastota.
Tony Montana was a pantywaist compared to you, Roberto.