| Roberto Durán | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Real name | Roberto Durán Samaniego |
| Nickname(s) | Mano de Piedra El Cholo |
| Rated at | Lightweight Welterweight Light Middleweight Middleweight Super Middleweight |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Reach | 66 in (168 cm) |
| Nationality | Panamanian |
| Born | June 16, 1951 Guararé, Panama |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 119 |
| Wins | 103 |
| Wins by KO | 70 |
| Losses | 16 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Roberto Durán Samaniego (born June 16, 1951) is a retired professional boxer from Panama, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A versatile brawler in the ring, he was nicknamed "Manos de Piedra" (or "Hands of Stone") during his career.[1]
In 2002, he was chosen by The Ring to be the 5th greatest fighter of the last 80 years.[2] Bert Sugar rates him as the 8th greatest fighter of all-time and many consider him the greatest lightweight of all time. He held world titles at four different weights—lightweight (1972–79), welterweight (1980), junior middleweight (1983–84) and middleweight (1989). He was the second boxer to have fought a span of five decades.
He finally retired in January 2002 at age 50 (having previously retired in 1998) following a bad car crash in October 2001, with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins with 70 KOs. Up until the second Ray Leonard fight, he was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel.
Durán is one of the only men in boxing history to win fights in 5 separate decades. He registered wins in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and the 2000s. Putting him in the company of such boxers as Jack Johnson who had wins in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.
Contents |
Roberto Durán was born on June 16, 1951 in Panama, his father was a native from Mexico and mother from Panama. He was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district "La Casa de Piedra" (The House of Stone) Panama. He made his professional debut in 1968 at the age of 16.[3]
After an initial adjustment he won thirty in a row, and scored knockout victories over future featherweight champion Ernesto Marcel and former super featherweight champion Hiroshi Kobayashi, culminating in his first title bout in June 1972, where he controversially defeated Ken Buchanan in Madison Square Garden, New York for the WBA world lightweight championship. Durán, as a 2-to-1 underdog, scored a knock down against the defending champion just fifteen seconds into the opening round and battered him throughout the bout.[4] He was well ahead on all three cards as the bell rang to end the 13th round at which time Duran (apparently not hearing the bell due to crowd noise and the heat of the moment)continued to throw a couple of extra punches as Buchanan lay on the ropes. Upon closer inspection of the famed low blow, referee Johnny LoBianco can be seen standing behind Duran as the bell rang and immediately grabbed Duran bear-hug style to pull Duran away from Buchanan, LoBianco can clearly be seen in the video altering the direction of Duran's right arm, pulling it downward as Duran attempted to throw a clean body punch at Buchanan; thus the infamous ridicule of Duran intentionally throwing a low blow was born. Buchanan immediately dropped to the canvas writhing in pain from a groin punch, that Buchanan's trainer, Gil Clancy, said was caused by a knee to the groin (which it wasn't). Referee Johnny LoBianco awarded the fight to Durán, insisting that the blow that took down Buchanan was "in the abdomen, not any lower" (the punch did land below belt line, LoBianco was out of position to see it) and that he felt that Buchanan would be unable to continue fighting.[5] Columnist Red Smith of The New York Times wrote that LoBianco had to award the victory to Durán, even if the punch was a low blow, as "anything short of pulling a knife is regarded indulgently" in American boxing.[6]
Duran followed up on his title winning performance with several non-title matches. Later that year, in another non-title bout, he lost a ten round decision to Esteban De Jesús. Duran got back on track with successful title defenses against Jimmy Robertson, Hector Thompson, and future lightweight champion Guts Ishimatsu. In 1974, Durán would avenge his loss to De Jesus with a brutal eleventh round knock out. In 1976, he defeated future light welterweight champion Saoul Mamby. Overall Durán made twelve successful defenses of his title (eleven coming by knock out) and amassed a record of 62-1, his last defense coming in 1978 where Durán fought a third fight with De Jesus, a unification match where Durán once again knocked out De Jesus and captured his WBC lightweight belt. Durán would give up the unified lightweight title in February 1979.
Vacating the lightweight title was a build up for an attempt at the welterweight title. Durán earned a pair of wins against former WBC welterweight champion Carlos Palomino and Zeferino Gonzales, setting the stage for a title bout against then undefeated WBC Welterweight Champion Sugar Ray Leonard. The venue chosen would be the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the same location where Leonard won an Olympic gold medal during the 1976 Summer Olympics. Duran resented the fact that he was getting only one-fifth the money Leonard would make despite the fact that he was entering the bout with an incredible 71-1 record. He would curse and insult Leonard during press conferences in an attempt to intimidate the young champion. On June 20, 1980, Durán captured the WBC welterweight title by defeating Leonard via a 15-round unanimous decision. The fight would become known as "The Brawl in Montreal."[7]
In the November rematch, Durán shockingly quit. Leonard has said that his strategy was to use speed and agility to taunt and frustrate Durán, believing it was his best chance of winning the fight.[8] In the seventh round, Leonard started to taunt Durán. His most memorable punch came late in the round. Winding up with his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch, Leonard hit Durán flush in the face with a left. In the eighth round, Durán, slightly behind on all three scorecards, shortly after a vicious right uppercut from Leonard, turned around, walked to his corner and gave up, supposedly saying the now famous words, "no más" (no more). However, he claims to have actually said, "No quiero pelear con el payaso." (Meaning "I do not want to fight with this clown.") Another version of events has him saying, in Spanish, "I can't continue." Referee Octavio Meyran, perhaps as incredulous as was the rest of the world at what he was seeing, asked Durán if he was sure, and Durán then said, "No más, no más" (no more, no more). In violation of what any professional fighter does on the day of a fight, Durán gorged himself after the weigh-in and claimed he quit because he was having stomach cramps.[2] However, Durán's manager, Carlos Eleta, said, "Durán didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed. I know this."[9]
He took some time to recover from that fight, gaining even more weight to contend for the WBC super welterweight title, but losing in his first attempt at a championship in that division on the January 30 of 1982, against Wilfred Benítez by a 15 round unanimous decision. Durán was also to lose his comeback fight in December 1982 in Detroit. Kirkland Laing, from London, shocked the boxing world, producing the type of display his talents promised yet he so rarely produced, taking the split decision. After being relegated to a 10 round walk out win over Englishman Jimmy Batten at The Battle of The Champions in Miami, Durán signed with promoter Bob Arum. This marked the beginning of a comeback in which he beat former world champion and now hall of famer Pipino Cuevas via a fourth round knock-out, which earned him a second crack at the light middleweight title, this time against WBA champion Davey Moore.
The WBA title bout took place at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1983, which also happened to be Durán's 32nd birthday. The still inexperienced Moore (12-0) was game through the first three rounds, but by the 4th, Duran said he knew Moore couldn't hurt him, and an onslaught began.[10] The pro-Durán crowd at ringside cheered as Durán relentlessly punished Moore. By the end of the sixth round, Moore's eye had swollen shut and he was floored near the end of the seventh. Finally the fight was stopped in the eighth round as Moore was taking such a horrific beating and Durán won his third world title. After the victory, Durán was hoisted up in the air as the crowd sang "Happy Birthday" to a sobbing Durán.[7]
Durán later fought for the World middleweight title, meeting Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas in November 1983, but losing in a competitive fight that went the full fifteen rounds. Despite the loss, Durán was the first fighter to go the full distance with the great middleweight champion in one of his defenses. In June 1984, Duran was stripped of his junior middleweight title when the WBA did not approve of his fight with WBC champion Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, and took away recognition of Durán as world champion the moment Durán stepped into the ring to box Hearns. Durán lost the fight after a vicious second round knock-out by Hearns.
Durán did not contend another title fight until 1989, but made the shot count when he won the WBC middleweight title from Iran Barkley in February. The fight is considered one of Duran's greatest achievements, as the 37 year old former lightweight champion took the middleweight crown, his fourth title. In a tough, back and forth fight, Durán knocked Barkley down in the eleventh round and won a close decision. The bout was named the 1989 "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. His reign was short lived once again as Duran moved up to super middleweight (although both fighters weighed in at the middleweight limit) for a third clash with Sugar Ray Leonard in December (a fight dubbed Uno Más--One More—by promoters), but lost in a decision. Duran seemed to be in decline after the fight, he attempted to win further middleweight titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 (fighting for the minor IBC belt).
Durán fought Vinny Pazienza in 1994 and 1995 for the IBC Super Middleweight Championship and was defeated both times by unanimous decision.
In 1996, he challenged Héctor Camacho for the IBC Middleweight Championship but lost via unanimous decision. In 1997, Durán was defeated by former champion Jorge Castro. Durán fought Castro in a rematch bout and won via unanimous decision.
In 1998, at the age of 47, he challenged 28 year old WBA middleweight champion William Joppy. Joppy, a trim, quick-fisted fighter, battered Durán to defeat in just 3 rounds. It was Duran's most emphatic loss since the Hearns fight, over a decade earlier. Durán then announced his retirement in August 1998, but was back fighting in 1999.
In June 2000, Durán avenged a previous loss to Pat Lawlor and won the NBA Super Middleweight Championship on his 49th birthday. He lost the title a year later to Héctor Camacho in a rematch bout and in what would be Durán's final fight.
In 2001, Durán traveled to Argentina to promote a salsa music CD that he had just released. While there, he was involved in a car crash and required life-saving surgery. After that incident, he announced his retirement from boxing at the age of 50.
Durán's five world title belts, which he won in four different divisions, were stolen from his house in Panama in 1993 during a robbery allegedly staged by his brother-in-law, who gave them to memorabilia seller Luis González Báez, who will stand trial for trying to sell stolen goods. González Báez allegedly sold the belts to undercover FBI agents. He alleges that Durán authorized the sale of the five belts to him during a time that Durán was facing financial trouble. On September 23, 2003, a federal judge in Florida ordered the five belts returned to Durán.
His 70 wins by knockout place him in an exclusive group of boxers who have won 50 or more fights by knockout. He was ranked number 28 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time.
On October 14, 2006, Durán was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Riverside, California, and on June 10, 2007, into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.
Duran is also an ultralight pilot. He holds a license to fly ultralight aircraft in Panama since April 12, 1985.
Durán's first appearance in a movie was in the 1979 sequel Rocky II as a lightning fast sparring partner for Rocky Balboa. Outside of this, he has also received minor roles in Harlem Nights and Miami Vice.
Roberto Durán's life and boxing career are collected in the documentary "Los puños de una nación" (The fists of a nation) by Panamanian film maker, Pituka Ortega-Heilbron. In the fourth episode of the second season of the hit US Crime Drama CSI New York, Duran is mentioned by the Medical Examiner after talking about a dead body who was found to have metal screws put in his hands to boost his punching power.
Durán is mentioned in the third verse of Nas' original demo for It Ain't Hard to Tell in the line: "Metaphors of murder man, hittin' like Roberto Duran, hold the mic in my hand, my life span" [11]
Durán is also mentioned in the third verse of Paul Thorn's "Hammer and Nail," based on Thorn's nationally-televised fight with Duran: "I climbed in the ring with Roberto Durán and the punches began to rain down He hit me with a dozen hard upper cuts and my corner threw in the towel I asked him why he had to knock me out and he summed it up real well He said I'd rather be a hammer than a nail"
He also appears very briefly during an interview for the documentary "The Panama Deception" (1992), in which he recounts his experience during the United States invasion of Panama.
Texas rockabilly band Reverend Horton Heat mentions him in their song "Eat Steak" off of their album Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em.
| 103 Wins (70 knockouts, 32 decisions, 1 retirement), 16 Losses (4 knockouts, 12 decisions) [3] | |||||||
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Rd., Time | Date | Location | Notes |
| Loss | 103-16 | Héctor Camacho | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 2001-07-14 | Denver, Colorado | Lost NBA Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 103-15 | Patrick Goossen | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 2000-08-12 | Toppenish, Washington | |
| Win | 102-15 | Pat Lawlor | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 2000-06-16 | Panama City, Panama | Won NBA Super Middleweight title. |
| Loss | 101-15 | Omar Gonzalez | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1999-03-06 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| Loss | 101-14 | William Joppy | TKO | 3 (12), 2:54 | 1998-08-28 | Las Vegas, Nevada | For WBA Middleweight title. |
| Win | 101-13 | Felix Jose Hernandez | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1998-01-31 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 100-13 | David Radford | Decision (unan.) | 8 (8) | 1997-11-15 | Temba, South Africa | |
| Win | 99-13 | Jorge Fernando Castro | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1997-06-14 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Loss | 98-13 | Jorge Fernando Castro | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1997-02-15 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | |
| Win | 98-12 | Mike Culbert | TKO | 6 (10) | 1996-09-27 | Chester, West Virginia | |
| Win | 97-12 | Ariel Cruz | KO | 1 (10) | 1996-08-31 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Loss | 96-12 | Héctor Camacho | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 1996-06-22 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | For vacant IBC Middleweight title. |
| Win | 96-11 | Ray Domenge | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1996-02-20 | Miami, Florida | |
| Win | 95-11 | Wilbur Garst | TKO | 4 (10) | 1995-12-21 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | |
| Win | 94-11 | Roni Martinez | TKO | 7 (10), 2:59 | 1995-06-10 | Kansas City, Missouri | |
| Loss | 93-11 | Vinny Pazienza | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 1995-01-14 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | For IBC Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 93-10 | Heath Todd | TKO | 7 (10) | 1994-10-18 | Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | |
| Loss | 92-10 | Vinny Pazienza | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 1994-06-25 | Las Vegas, Nevada | For IBC Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 92-9 | Terry Thomas | TKO | 4 (10) | 1994-03-29 | Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | |
| Win | 91-9 | Carlos Montero | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1994-02-22 | Marseille, France | |
| Win | 90-9 | Tony Menefee | TKO | 8 (10) | 1993-12-14 | Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | |
| Win | 89-9 | Sean Fitzgerald | KO | 6 (10) | 1993-08-17 | Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | |
| Win | 88-9 | Jacques LeBlanc | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1993-06-29 | Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi | |
| Win | 87-9 | Ken Hulsey | KO | 2 (10), 2:45 | 1992-12-17 | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| Win | 86-9 | Tony Biglen | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1992-09-30 | Buffalo, New York | |
| Loss | 85-9 | Pat Lawlor | TKO | 6 (10), 1:50 | 1991-03-18 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Duran injures his shoulder and is unable to continue. |
| Loss | 85-8 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Decision (unan.) | 12 (12) | 1989-12-07 | Las Vegas, Nevada | For WBC Super Middleweight title. |
| Win | 85-7 | Iran Barkley | Decision (split) | 12 (12) | 1989-02-24 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Won WBC Middleweight title. The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1989) |
| Win | 84-7 | Jeff Lanas | Decision (split) | 10 (10) | 1988-10-01 | Chicago, Illinois | |
| Win | 83-7 | Paul Thorn | Retirement | 6 (10) | 1988-04-14 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 82-7 | Ricky Stackhouse | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1988-02-05 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | |
| Win | 81-7 | Juan Ferreyra | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1987-09-12 | Miami, Florida | |
| Win | 80-7 | Victor Claudio | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1987-05-16 | Miami, Florida | |
| Loss | 79-7 | Robbie Sims | Decision (split) | 10 (10) | 1986-06-23 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 79-6 | Jorge Suero | KO | 2 (10), 1:45 | 1986-04-18 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 78-6 | Manuel Zambrano | KO | 2 (10), 2:57 | 1986-01-31 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Loss | 77-6 | Thomas Hearns | KO | 2 (15) | 1984-06-15 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | For WBC Light Middleweight title. |
| Loss | 77-5 | Marvin Hagler | Decision (unan.) | 15 (15) | 1983-11-10 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | For The Ring, WBC, WBA, & IBF Middleweight titles. |
| Win | 77-4 | Davey Moore | TKO | 8 (15), 2:02 | 1983-06-16 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | Won WBA Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 76-4 | Pipino Cuevas | TKO | 4 (12), 2:26 | 1983-01-29 | Los Angeles, California | |
| Win | 75-4 | Jimmy Batten | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1982-11-12 | Miami, Florida | |
| Loss | 74-4 | Kirkland Laing | Decision (split) | 10 (10) | 1982-09-04 | Detroit, Michigan | 1982 Upset of the Year - Ring Magazine |
| Loss | 74-3 | Wilfred Benítez | Decision (unan.) | 15 (15) | 1982-01-30 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | For WBC Light Middleweight title. |
| Win | 74-2 | Luigi Minchillo | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1981-09-26 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 73-2 | Nino Gonzalez | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1981-08-09 | Cleveland, Ohio | |
| Loss | 72-2 | Sugar Ray Leonard | TKO | 8 (15), 2:44 | 1980-11-25 | New Orleans, Louisiana | Lost The Ring & WBC Welterweight titles. |
| Win | 72-1 | Sugar Ray Leonard | Decision (unan.) | 15 (15) | 1980-06-20 | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Won The Ring & WBC Welterweight titles. |
| Win | 71-1 | Wellington Wheatley | TKO | 6 (10) | 1980-02-24 | Tropicana Hotel, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 70-1 | Joseph Nsubuga | TKO | 4 (10), 3:00 | 1980-01-13 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 69-1 | Zeferino Gonzalez | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1979-09-28 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 68-1 | Carlos Palomino | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1979-06-22 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 67-1 | Jimmy Heair | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1979-04-08 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | |
| Win | 66-1 | Monroe Brooks | KO | 8 (12), 1:59 | 1978-12-08 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 65-1 | Ezequiel Obando | KO | 2 (10), 1:09 | 1978-09-01 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 64-1 | Adolfo Viruet | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1978-04-27 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 63-1 | Esteban De Jesús | TKO | 12 (15), 2:32 | 1978-01-21 | Caesars Palace, Las Vegas | Retained The Ring & WBA, & won WBC Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 62-1 | Edwin Viruet | Decision (unan.) | 15 (15) | 1977-09-17 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 61-1 | Bernardo Diaz | KO | 1 (10), 1:29 | 1977-08-06 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 60-1 | Javier Muniz | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1977-05-16 | Landover, Maryland | |
| Win | 59-1 | Vilomar Fernandez | KO | 13 (15), 2:10 | 1977-01-29 | Miami, Florida | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 58-1 | Alvaro Rojas | TKO | 1 (15), 2:17 | 1976-10-15 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 57-1 | Emiliano Villa | TKO | 7 (10), 2:00 | 1976-07-31 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 56-1 | Lou Bizzarro | KO | 14 (15), 2:15 | 1976-05-23 | Erie, Pennsylvania | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 55-1 | Saoul Mamby | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1976-05-04 | Miami Beach, Florida | |
| Win | 54-1 | Leoncio Ortiz | KO | 15 (15), 2:39 | 1975-12-20 | Hato Rey, Puerto Rico | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 53-1 | Edwin Viruet | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1975-09-30 | Uniondale, New York | |
| Win | 52-1 | Alirio Acuna | KO | 3 (10) | 1975-09-13 | Chitre, Panama | |
| Win | 51-1 | Pedro Mendoza | KO | 1 (10), 2:00 | 1975-08-02 | Managua, Nicaragua | |
| Win | 50-1 | Jose Peterson | TKO | 1 (10) | 1975-06-03 | Miami, Florida | |
| Win | 49-1 | Ray Lampkin | KO | 14 (15), 0:39 | 1975-03-02 | Panama City, Panama | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 48-1 | Andres Salgado | KO | 1 (10), 1:00 | 1975-02-15 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 47-1 | Masataka Takayama | KO | 1 (15), 1:40 | 1974-12-21 | San José, Costa Rica | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 46-1 | Adalberto Vanegas | KO | 1 (10) | 1974-11-16 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 45-1 | Jose Vasquez | KO | 2 (10) | 1974-10-31 | San José, Costa Rica | |
| Win | 44-1 | Hector Matta | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1974-09-02 | Hato Rey, Puerto Rico | |
| Win | 43-1 | Flash Gallego | TKO | 7 (10), 2:35 | 1974-07-06 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 42-1 | Esteban De Jesús | KO | 11 (15) | 1974-03-16 | Panama City, Panama | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 41-1 | Armando Mendoza | TKO | 3 (10), 1:50 | 1974-02-16 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 40-1 | Leonard Tavarez | TKO | 4 (10) | 1974-01-21 | Paris, France | |
| Win | 39-1 | Tony Garcia | KO | 3 (10) | 1973-12-01 | Santiago de Veraguas, Panama | |
| Win | 38-1 | Guts Ishimatsu | TKO | 10 (15), 2:10 | 1973-09-08 | Panama City, Panama | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 37-1 | Doc McClendon | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1973-08-04 | Hato Rey, Puerto Rico | |
| Win | 36-1 | Hector Thompson | TKO | 8 (15), 2:15 | 1973-06-02 | Panama City, Panama | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 35-1 | Gerardo Ferrat | TKO | 2 (10), 2:45 | 1973-04-14 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 34-1 | Javier Ayala | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1973-03-17 | Los Angeles, California | |
| Win | 33-1 | Juan Medina | KO | 7 (10), 1:22 | 1973-02-22 | Los Angeles, California | |
| Win | 32-1 | Jimmy Robertson | KO | 5 (15) | 1973-01-20 | Panama City, Panama | Retained The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Loss | 31-1 | Esteban De Jesús | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1972-11-17 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | A non-title fight at Light Welterweight. |
| Win | 31-0 | Lupe Ramirez | KO | 1 (10), 3:03 | 1972-10-28 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 30-0 | Greg Potter | KO | 1 (10), 1:58 | 1972-09-02 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 29-0 | Ken Buchanan | TKO | 13 (15) | 1972-06-26 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | Won The Ring & WBA Lightweight titles. |
| Win | 28-0 | Francisco Munoz | TKO | 1 (10), 2:34 | 1972-03-10 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 27-0 | Angel Robinson Garcia | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1972-01-15 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 26-0 | Hiroshi Kobayashi | KO | 7 (10), 0:30 | 1971-10-16 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 25-0 | Benny Huertas | TKO | 1 (10), 1:06 | 1971-09-13 | Madison Square Garden, New York City | |
| Win | 24-0 | Fermin Soto | TKO | 3 (10) | 1971-07-18 | Monterrey, Mexico | |
| Win | 23-0 | Lloyd Marshall | TKO | 6 (10), 1:37 | 1971-05-29 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 22-0 | Jose Acosta | KO | 1 (10), 1:55 | 1971-03-21 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 21-0 | Jose Angel Herrera | KO | 6 (10) | 1971-01-10 | Monterrey, Mexico | |
| Win | 20-0 | Ignacio Castaneda | TKO | 3 (10) | 1970-10-18 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 19-0 | Marvin Castaneda | KO | 1 (10), 1:30 | 1970-09-05 | Chiriqui, Panama | |
| Win | 18-0 | Clemente Mucino | KO | 6 (10), 2:18 | 1970-07-18 | Colon, Panama | |
| Win | 17-0 | Ernesto Marcel | TKO | 10 (10) | 1970-05-16 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 16-0 | Felipe Torres | Decision (unan.) | 10 (10) | 1970-03-28 | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Win | 15-0 | Luis Patino | TKO | 8 (10) | 1969-11-23 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 14-0 | Serafin Garcia | TKO | 5 (8) | 1969-09-21 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 13-0 | Adolfo Osses | TKO | 7 (8) | 1969-06-22 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 12-0 | Jacinto Garcia | TKO | 4 (8) | 1969-05-18 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 11-0 | Eduardo Frutos | Decision (unan.) | 6 (6) | 1969-02-01 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 10-0 | Alberto Brand | TKO | 4 (6) | 1969-01-19 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 9-0 | Carlos Howard | TKO | 1 (6) | 1968-12-07 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 8-0 | Juan Gondola | KO | 2 (6) | 1968-11-16 | Colon, Panama | |
| Win | 7-0 | Cesar De Leon | KO | 1 (6), 1:20 | 1968-09-22 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 6-0 | Leroy Carghill | KO | 1 (6) | 1968-08-25 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 5-0 | Enrique Jacobo | KO | 1 (6) | 1968-08-10 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 4-0 | Eduardo Morales | KO | 1 (4), 3:00 | 1968-06-30 | Panama City, Panama | |
| Win | 3-0 | Manuel Jiménez | KO | 1 (4) | 1968-06-15 | Colon, Panama | |
| Win | 2-0 | Juan Gondola | KO | 1 (4) | 1968-05-14 | Colon, Panama | |
| Win | 1-0 | Carlos Mendoza | Decision (unan.) | 4 (4) | 1968-02-23 | Colón, Panama | Professional Debut |
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ken Buchanan |
WBA Lightweight Champion June 26, 1972 – January 1979 Vacated |
Vacant
Title next held by
Ernesto España |
| The Ring Lightweight Champion June 26, 1972 – January 1979 Vacated |
Vacant
Title next held by
Jim Watt |
|
| Preceded by Esteban De Jesús |
WBC Lightweight Champion January 21, 1978 – January 1979 Vacated |
|
| Preceded by Sugar Ray Leonard |
WBC Welterweight Champion June 20, 1980 – November 25, 1980 |
Succeeded by Sugar Ray Leonard |
| The Ring Welterweight Champion June 20, 1980 – November 25, 1980 |
||
| Preceded by Davey Moore |
WBA Light Middleweight Champion June 16, 1983–1984 Stripped |
Vacant
Title next held by
Mike McCallum |
| Preceded by Iran Barkley |
WBC Middleweight Champion February 24, 1989–1990 Vacated |
Vacant
Title next held by
Julian Jackson |