10 great moments in the career of Roberto Duran

Unfortunately, fame got to Duran's head, and while that was happening, those in his camp were making deals without him. One of those deals was a rubber match against Leonard way before Duran was ready. He went into training 40 lbs. overweight, and by the time he made it to the bout—the highest paying of his career—he was in no shape to win. In the eighth round, Duran turned his back to Leonard and quit the match, saying "No Mas" (spanish for No More). To this day, Duran denies he ever said this.

5. Duran vs. Hagler, November 10, 1983

It took time and he suffered some losses along the way, but Duran made it back to the spotlight, earning a huge match against the formidable and undefeated "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler in a fight every bit as big as the first Leonard bout. Duran was on a high after winning the WBA Light Middleweight championship earlier in the year, and decided moving up to Middleweight would be the right challenge. Although Hagler won the unanimous 15-round decision, Duran accomplished something no boxer to date had been able to do: he went the distance and proved that Hagler wasn't invincible.

4. Duran vs. Barkley, February 24, 1989

Duran's career would slow, but he wasn't completely out of gas as his quest to be a champion as a Middleweight would finally pay off in his bout against Iran Barkley—considered by many as one of Duran's greatest moments in the ring—as the aging, but still tough 37-year-old won his fourth title in an absolute brawl. The decision was close, but Duran came out on top, with Ring Magazine dubbing it the "Fight of the Year" for 1989.

3. Duran vs. Leonard III, December 7, 1989

Duran's surprise victory set the stage for his final bout against his friend and boxing nemesis, Sugar Ray Leonard. Dubbed "Uno Mas" as an allusion to their controversial rematch almost a decade earlier, the two rivals faced off for the WBC Super Middleweight title (even though both boxers still weighed in as middleweights). Unlike his 1980 match, Duran would go the distance with Leonard, but in the end, the scorecards were against him, giving Leonard the title and final bragging rights in their decade-long war.

2. Duran vs. Camacho I, June 22, 1996

In 1996, the IBC Middleweight crown was vacant and in a surprise move, Hector "Macho" Camacho challenged Duran in what would be a close, yet very controversial, match. Although the now 45-year old boxer seemed to be no match for the younger Camacho, he held his own and went the distance until the scorecards unanimously gave the bout and the championship to Camacho. There were protests, but Camacho's win was upheld. Coincidentally, Camacho would be the victor in both Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard's final bouts, effectively ending both legends' careers.

1. Duran vs. Lawlor, June 16, 2000

Before his final match with Macho Camacho, Duran got one more chance at glory as he faced Pat Lawlor, a boxer who previously defeated him in 1991, leaving him with a badly injured shoulder. This time out, the 49-year-old was not only set on revenge, but also leaving a legacy as a champion with one more shot at a title. Duran got his wish with a 12-round unanimous decision in front of a Panamanian audience, who saw him come away with the NBA Super Middleweight title. While he would lose that title to Camacho in his final match a year later at the age of 50, Roberto Duran's career ended with all the honor and dignity that some said he would never regain after walking away from Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980.