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Roberto Durán vs. Esteban de Jesús II

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Roberto Durán vs. Esteban de Jesús II
DateMarch 16, 1974
VenueGimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama
Title(s) on the lineWBA and The Ring lightweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Roberto Durán Esteban de Jesús
Nickname "Manos de Piedra"
("Hands of Stone")
"Vita"
Hometown Panama City, Panama Province, Panama Carolina, Puerto Rico
Purse $125,000 $45,000
Pre-fight record 41–1 (36 KO) 41–1 (22 KO)
Age 22 years, 9 months 23 years, 7 months
Height 5 ft 7+12 in (171 cm) 5 ft 4+12 in (164 cm)
Weight 134 lb (61 kg) 134+14 lb (61 kg)
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBA and The Ring
Lightweight Champion
Result
Durán wins via 11th-round KO

Roberto Durán vs. Esteban de Jesús II was a professional boxing match contested on March 16, 1974, for the WBA and The Ring lightweight titles.[1]

Background

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15 months prior, undefeated WBA lightweight champion Roberto Durán faced top ranked contender Esteban de Jesús in a non-title bout in Madison Square Garden. Durán was dropped in the opening round and de Jesús outboxed the champion the rest of the way to earn a unanimous decision victory and give Durán his first loss.[2]

After that fight, both Durán and de Jesús would go on impressive win streaks. Durán would go 10–0, successfully defending his lightweight title three times while also winning seven non-title fights to bring his record up to 41–1 then while de Jesús had gone 7–0 to also bring his record up to 41–1. Finally, the long-awaited rematch was made official for March 16, 1974 in Durán's native Panama.[3]

The fight

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For the second time in a row, de Jesús would score and opening round knockdown, dropping Durán with a left hook during the first minute of the round. Durán arose from the knockdown and unlike their previous fight, fought aggressively and by the third round, had taken control of the fight. In the final minute of the seventh round Durán scored a knockdown of his own after he landed a barrage of punches finishing with a right hand after which De Jesús crumpled to the ground, though he survived the round despite a furious rally from Durán. A clearly exhausted de Jesús would make it to the 11th round, though Durán sent him down again following a five-punch combination, though he narrowly missed beating the referee's 10-count and Durán was named winner by knockout.[4]

Fight card

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Confirmed bouts:[5]

Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round Notes
Lightweight 135 lbs. Roberto Durán def. Esteban de Jesús KO 11/15 Note 1
Bantamweight 118 lbs. Marcos Britton def. Jorge Madrigal TKO 1/10
Featherweight 126 lbs. Mario Mendoza def. Enrique Maxwell KO 7/10
Featherweight 126 lbs. Rodolfo Francis def. Norberto Reyes Blanquicet TKO 1/10

^Note 1 For WBA and The Ring Lightweight titles

Broadcasting

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Country Broadcaster
 United Kingdom ITV
 United States ABC

References

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  1. ^ "Roberto Duran vs. Esteban De Jesus (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  2. ^ DeJesus Outpoints Duran, Lightweight Titleholder, NY Times article, 1972-11-18 Retrieved on 2024-06-12
  3. ^ Rivalry: The Tale Of Duran vs De Jesus, thefightcity.com article, 2023-11-17 Retrieved on 2024-06-12
  4. ^ Duran Stops DeJesus in 11th Round, NY Times article, 1973-03-17 Retrieved on 2024-06-12
  5. ^ "BoxRec - event".
Preceded by
vs. Armando Mendoza
Roberto Durán's bouts
16 March 1974
Succeeded by
vs. Flash Gallego
Preceded by Esteban de Jesús's bouts
16 March 1974
Succeeded by
vs. Gerardo Ferrat