Roberto Duran vs Guts Ishimatsu

Panamanian Roberto Duran made the third defence of his World Boxing Association lightweight championship against Japan’s Guts Ishimatsu at the Gimnasio Nuevo Panama in Panama City on September 8, 1973. Duran was 22 years old and entered with a record of 37 victories and one defeat, which came on points against Esteban De Jesus in a non-title contest. The champion weighed 133½ pounds, while Ishimatsu was close to the lightweight limit. The challenger, whose birth name was Yuji Suzuki and who had boxed under several names, brought a record of 25 wins, 10 defeats and five draws. He had previously challenged Ismael Laguna for the championship in Panama and had won six successive contests before receiving this second opportunity.

Duran did not begin with an uncontrolled rush. He worked behind a stiff left jab, used feints to make Ishimatsu commit himself and countered when the Japanese boxer attempted to lead. Ishimatsu adopted a cautious method, keeping his guard compact and looking for openings as Duran moved into range. The champion nevertheless controlled the ground, stepping close enough to strike without remaining square in front of his opponent. His body punching was already evident, but he mixed it with straight blows and short hooks rather than relying upon a continuous assault.

Ishimatsu produced his best moment in the third round. A right uppercut reached Duran near the eyebrow and opened a cut which continued to bleed during the remainder of the contest. Duran later maintained that a clash of heads had caused the wound, but the contemporary ringside account credited the challenger’s uppercut. The injury did not disturb Duran’s composure. He continued to press behind the jab, making Ishimatsu miss and answering with compact counters. The challenger had shown that he could find the target, but he could not repeat the success often enough to alter the course of the fight.

The fourth round brought a further setback for Ishimatsu. Referee Nicasio Lorenzo Drake deducted two points after the challenger twice struck Duran while the men were being separated. The offences did not result in a disqualification, but they left Ishimatsu with a serious disadvantage in a contest he was already losing. Duran remained the more orderly boxer through the middle rounds. He varied his attack between head and body, used small movements to avoid the challenger’s counters and gradually forced Ishimatsu to spend more time in retreat. The champion’s work was forceful without being wasteful, and his pressure increased as the challenger’s responses became slower.

By the seventh round, the difference between the men had become pronounced. Ishimatsu was still willing, but he found fewer opportunities to counter and struggled to keep Duran outside. The champion’s jab brought the hands up, his feints drew uncertain reactions, and his hooks and right hands followed through the openings. Duran was particularly effective when Ishimatsu attempted to move away, cutting off his escape and striking before the challenger could regain his balance. There was no immediate finish, but the accumulated work to the body and head had reduced Ishimatsu’s resistance.

Duran broke the contest open in the ninth round. He increased his pace, drove Ishimatsu backwards and put him down twice under sustained punching. The challenger rose each time and survived the round, but his legs and defensive reactions had clearly deteriorated. Duran recognised the change and attacked with greater urgency, although his punches remained short and accurately placed. Ishimatsu no longer possessed the movement or strength to keep the champion from setting himself at close and middle distance.

The punishment continued in the tenth. Duran sent Ishimatsu to the canvas three more times as the challenger’s defence came apart. Each recovery brought another attack from the champion, who allowed Ishimatsu little time to establish himself before resuming with hooks and right hands. After the fifth knockdown in two rounds, Drake stopped the contest at 2 minutes 10 seconds of the tenth. Duran retained the championship by technical knockout and advanced his record to 38 victories against one defeat. His purse was guaranteed at $60,000, while Ishimatsu received $10,000.

The result appeared decisive, but Ishimatsu was not an unworthy challenger. The following year he won the World Boxing Council lightweight championship and subsequently made five successful defences, one of them against former champion Ken Buchanan. Against Duran, however, his careful counterpunching had been neutralised by a champion who combined pressure with a jab, sound defence and precise judgment of distance. The five late knockdowns were the result of a measured wearing-down process rather than a single fortunate blow.

To this day, I still watch Duran’s lightweight title fights. I got hooked on him young, not simply because of the aggression, but because of the skill underneath it. Most people remember the welterweight, light-middleweight and middleweight victories, yet the lightweight Duran was the complete article.

Ishimatsu was no mug. He later became WBC champion and made five defences, but Duran systematically took him apart. He worked from the jab, used feints to draw reactions, slipped punches at close range and countered without giving away ground. After being cut in the third, he never became reckless. He tightened the pressure until Ishimatsu’s resistance collapsed, flooring him five times across the ninth and tenth rounds.

That is what gets missed when Duran is described as merely savage. His aggression was organised by exceptional technique and ring intelligence. For me, he was the most devastating lightweight who ever lived.