Roberto Duran vs Edwin Viruet 2

Panamanian hero Roberto Duran retained the WBA lightweight championship by outpointing Edwin Viruet over 15 rounds at the Spectrum in Philadelphia on September 17, 1977. There were no knockdowns, but Duran’s heavier punching and sustained pressure earned him a unanimous decision. Referee Isidro Rodriguez scored the contest 73–68, judge Frank Adams 71–65 and judge Servio Tulio Lay 73–65, all for the champion. Duran weighed 134 pounds and Viruet 135.

The match was Duran’s eleventh defence of the championship he had taken from Ken Buchanan in 1972. The Panamanian entered with a record of 61 wins and one defeat and had won each of his first ten title defences inside the distance. Viruet, a Puerto Rican-born New Yorker with only two defeats, presented a different problem. He had quick feet, a long jab and a sound chin, but lacked the punching power needed to discourage Duran for long. He had previously beaten Alfredo Escalera and Vilomar Fernandez and drawn with Saoul Mamby.

The men had first met in a non-title contest at Nassau Coliseum in September 1975. Duran won a unanimous decision after ten rounds, although the verdict was loudly booed and Viruet maintained that he had done enough to win. Their dislike for one another continued after that encounter and gave the return contest an ill-tempered edge. Duran received a purse of $150,000 for the championship match, while Viruet was paid $15,000. Don King and Philadelphia promoter J. Russell Peltz staged the promotion, which ABC televised nationally in the United States.

Viruet began by circling widely, holding his left arm out to measure the distance and using the jab to interrupt Duran’s advance. He changed direction quickly and occasionally stopped to deliver short combinations before moving away again. At times he dropped his hands, shuffled his feet and leaned his face towards the champion, inviting him to lead. Duran did not always find him easy to reach cleanly, but he steadily reduced the ring and struck the harder blows whenever Viruet remained within range.

Duran’s pursuit was controlled rather than reckless. He feinted with the left hand, stepped across Viruet’s line of escape and looked to drive the right over the challenger’s jab. When he reached close quarters, he worked hooks and uppercuts to the body and then brought the attack upstairs. Viruet frequently tied him up or pushed away before resuming his movement. The challenger’s tactics made Duran miss more than most lightweights could, but much of Viruet’s work was defensive. His jab scored regularly, yet it seldom stopped the champion from coming forward.

Through the middle rounds Viruet continued moving and occasionally stood his ground long enough to exchange. His courage was considerable. Duran landed solidly to both head and body and repeatedly forced him towards the ropes, but the challenger showed no sign of being close to a knockdown. Viruet sometimes answered with quick rights and left hooks, and his movement continued to frustrate the champion. The difference remained in the weight and effect of the blows. Viruet could catch Duran cleanly without changing the course of the round; when Duran landed, the impact drove the challenger backwards and allowed the champion to continue his attack.

The later rounds followed much the same course, although Viruet’s legs were carrying him away less readily. Duran was able to keep him near the ropes for longer periods and landed increasingly often with the right hand and short uppercut. Viruet remained defiant, continuing to taunt the champion and fire back whenever Duran closed upon him. He opened a slight cut beneath Duran’s left eye late in the fight, but the injury was not serious and did nothing to alter the balance of the contest.

Duran pressed hard in the fifteenth and subjected Viruet to his heaviest sustained punishment of the evening. The challenger completed the distance without going down, becoming the first man to survive 15 rounds with Duran in a world-title fight. His durability and evasive skill denied the champion an eleventh consecutive knockout defence, but they did not win him the championship. Duran’s cleaner power punches, body work and effective aggression had supplied the more substantial work throughout.

The decision advanced Duran’s record to 62–1 and confirmed his control of the lightweight division. Viruet complained about the verdict, as he had after their first meeting, but the official margins reflected a contest in which he had been elusive and competitive without doing enough offensive work to take the title. Duran had been forced to use patience and ringcraft rather than depend upon an early finish. Four months later, he defeated Esteban De Jesus in their third meeting, adding the WBC championship to his WBA title and completing his lightweight reign as the division’s undisputed champion.

I’ve heard Viruet claim he beat Duran twice, but I can’t give him the second fight. He made Roberto miss, frustrated him and survived the full 15 rounds, which was a serious achievement at lightweight. But surviving and winning are two different things.

Their first meeting had been close enough to cause an argument, and Viruet came into the rematch believing his movement could embarrass Duran. He circled, jabbed, shuffled his feet and stuck his chin out, trying to draw Roberto into reckless attacks. It worked in patches, but Viruet spent too much time performing and not enough time punching.

What people miss about Duran is how cleverly he applied pressure. He didn’t merely follow Viruet; he stepped across him, blocked his escape and turned his defensive movements into predictable patterns. Once close, Roberto worked the body, controlled Viruet’s arms and landed the heavier shots upstairs. Viruet was tough and brave, but he couldn’t hit hard enough to make Duran respect him.

The judges had it right. Duran won clearly because he dictated the geography and landed the meaningful punches. Viruet’s chin denied him an eleventh straight knockout defence, but it didn’t earn him the title. For me, this was another example of Duran proving he could solve a difficult style without needing the knockout.