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kenyan_cheena · 08-10-2010, 02:57 AM

Mi Diario

Sunday 15 April 2007

LIGHTWEIGHT PHENOM
MAKES PRO DEBUT

Story by Jorge Mendieta

Former #1-world ranked amateur lightweight boxer Roberto Duran made his professional debut last night in Panama City, the hard-hitting 16 year-old Los Santos native scoring a 2nd round knockout of local fighter Luis Baloy. The bout was originally scheduled to take place in February against a different opponent but was delayed due to Duran suffering a shoulder injury while training. It was so anticipated that, despite the fact that it was not the evening's main event, a crowd of almost 20,000 were in attendance at the Rod Carew Stadium. After a cautious opening round Duran put his foot down in the 2nd, dropping Baloy twice. The referee counted him out at the 1:39 mark.

In an amateur career that only lasted ten months Duran captured gold medals at both the Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena, Colombia in late July and the November South American Games, which were held in Buenos Aires. His handlers announced in January that his amateur career was over and he'd be making his professional debut in February. The injury delayed it but only served to heighten the feeling of expectation. Amongst those at ringside last night were IBL competitors Hilario Zapata (current flyweight Americas champion) and two-time Olympic gold medallist Joe Gans (ranked #5 at middleweight).

There are many experts who have already confidently predicted that Duran will be a world champion within two years, but the teenager himself has shrugged off such talk and said after his debut that right now he is only worried about developing his skills and gaining experience as a professional. His trainer Rolando Velez reiterated his words from earlier in the week when he said that they'll be bringing Duran along slowly, with his next outing most likely to be in three or four weeks. Velez called the idea of Duran even fighting for a world title within two years "ludicrous", pointing to the young slugger's age and maturity.

08-10-2010, 02:57 AM	#1042
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	*Mi Diario* Sunday 15 April 2007 LIGHTWEIGHT PHENOM MAKES PRO DEBUT Story by Jorge Mendieta Former #1-world ranked amateur lightweight boxer Roberto Duran made his professional debut last night in Panama City, the hard-hitting 16 year-old Los Santos native scoring a 2nd round knockout of local fighter Luis Baloy. The bout was originally scheduled to take place in February against a different opponent but was delayed due to Duran suffering a shoulder injury while training. It was so anticipated that, despite the fact that it was not the evening's main event, a crowd of almost 20,000 were in attendance at the Rod Carew Stadium. After a cautious opening round Duran put his foot down in the 2nd, dropping Baloy twice. The referee counted him out at the 1:39 mark. In an amateur career that only lasted ten months Duran captured gold medals at both the Central American and Caribbean Games in Cartagena, Colombia in late July and the November South American Games, which were held in Buenos Aires. His handlers announced in January that his amateur career was over and he'd be making his professional debut in February. The injury delayed it but only served to heighten the feeling of expectation. Amongst those at ringside last night were IBL competitors Hilario Zapata (current flyweight Americas champion) and two-time Olympic gold medallist Joe Gans (ranked #5 at middleweight). There are many experts who have already confidently predicted that Duran will be a world champion within two years, but the teenager himself has shrugged off such talk and said after his debut that right now he is only worried about developing his skills and gaining experience as a professional. His trainer Rolando Velez reiterated his words from earlier in the week when he said that they'll be bringing Duran along slowly, with his next outing most likely to be in three or four weeks. Velez called the idea of Duran even fighting for a world title within two years "ludicrous", pointing to the young slugger's age and maturity.