Who is Roberto Duran and how great was he?
Roberto Durán (born June 16, 1951) is a Panamanian former professional boxer, widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. A master in-fighter in the ring, he was nicknamed “Manos de Piedra” (“Hands of Stone”) during his career.
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 69 knockouts.
Up until his fight with Wilfred Benítez in a light middleweight title clash in 1982, he was trained by legendary boxing trainer Ray Arcel
How great was Roberto Duran? He was a master of the “sweet science” of boxing. considered as the best lightweight (135 pounds) ever.
Roberto was ferocious and highly intelligent fighter that could do it all. The video exemplifies this perfectly. It shoes in different segments his mastery of the ring and his mastery of the sweet science ( along with the animal like killer instinct that made him great).
Highlights of what you will see in this video of Duran below, will reveal that the way Duran moved was in fact artistic… a vicious art, perhaps, but there was also a science (precision) behind him and his every move.
For those of you that are into boxing this video will show you or remind you what boxing truly is… a tough, but beautiful sport, which brings out the best in men…and women also,.
But, to those of you who are just casual fans or who are contemplating taking up the sport as a way to exercise, to get in shape and or deal with stress, you should 100% take it up, its one of the best all around sports to partake in for mental and physical conditioning.
You don’t have to spar (box) and get hit if you don’t want to, there are many boxing programs today that are safe in that way.
However, I must WARN YOU! once you start to feel in some type of boxing shape, you may very well want to try it for REAL in the ring with a practice opponent AKA a sparring partner.
If you do decide to try it Have fun…but before you begin get the docs approval, based on your physical. at the end of this article I have included some gyms in New York which you may want to try.
What you will see in this video “The Tao of Roberto Duran”
- Fainting..(make them believe one thing, but give them another)
- The art of slipping, ducking & rolling with lunches…(a la Mayweather)
- Ducking, weaving & counter punching…(making your opponent miss & make them pay for it)
- Turning & pivoting…(take away your opponents balance & momentum…use all you got to keep them confused and frustrated)
- Shifting ( as in baseball, the change up pitch confuses the batter. Keep em confused)
- putting with the jab…( an illusion to give them something else)
Check out this country song about Duran, called “The eyes of Roberto Duran” by Chris Gaffney
Where to go for a boxing workout or training in NY
Mendez Boxing Midtown NYC: http://www.mendezboxingny.com/
Church Street Gym downtown NYC: http://www.csboxinggym.com/
Gleasons Gym, downtown (DUMBO) Brooklyn: : http://gleasonsgym.net/index.html
