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06/18/2005 Archived Entry: "Roberto Duran Recalls 25th anniversary of win over Leonard"
Roberto Duran Recalls 25th anniversary of win over Leonard
The legendary Roberto Duran, who celebrated his 54th birthday on Thursday, was on a national conference call to promote the June 24th Team Freedom pay-per-view fight headlined by Yory Boy Campas vs. Matt Vanda. The fight will emanate from the Target Center in Minneapolis, and will also feature a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Duran's memorable victory over Sugar Ray Leonard, the first loss in Leonard's tremendous career, to win the WBC welterweight title.
On why he is now promoting fights for Team Freedom: "I want to be remembered as a great fighter and great person; I want to keep the Roberto Duran name out there so people don't forget."
On how it felt to defeat Leonard: "I was elated after that win. He was the Golden Boy, the idol of the U.S. But I was ready mentally and physically. I felt I had won over the Montreal fans, I was very happy."
Could the fighters of today in his division beat him. "I know all the fighters well. Some of them might be hard fights, but it would be very difficult for any of these fighters to beat me because I am on a different level."
Does he have any regrets about the No Mas rematch against Leonard? "Leonard's people outsmarted my people, they knew I was going to party hard after the win. They outsmarted us by having the rematch so soon after the first fight. I had a difficult time making the weight. I was really upset at the management team."
On how the rematch ended: "I never said no mas, how could (television broadcaster) Howard Cosell hear what I was saying, he was on the other side of the ring."
