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Dundee: Duran brought out the best in Ray
ABC Sports Online
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Famed trainer Angelo Dundee worked with both Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard and helped each of them to win their respective boxing championships. In an excerpt from an interview conducted for the Wide World of Sports 40th Anniversary, Dundee talks about Leonard's first two epic bouts with Roberto Duran.
ABC Sports
Can you talk about the psychological warfare leading up to first Duran fight?
|  | | Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran provided fans with two memorable bouts. |
Angelo Dundee
If Roberto Duran could speak English, he'd be the best con job in boxing. He was tremendous. I mean, he would do more psychologically just with a movement or something. My wife Helen and I, and Ray and his Mrs., were walking in the streets of Montreal and who did we bump into? Duran. And Duran's doing all kinds of motions too ugly to repeat on TV, telling Ray what a nice fella he is, telling his wife that he's going to cut, you know, certain things off, you know, certain things like that. "I kill him," you know, was one of his expressions. Ray wanted to dogfight the guy. Now, Ray was prepared to out-box him, but he wanted to dogfight the guy. The interesting thing to me in Montreal was, the fans loved Duran. They loved the tough guy.
Duran personified everything they wanted. I thought Ray would be the hero. Good kid, nice kid. They liked Duran. Now, that fight could have gone my way. You know, but it happened. And it just shows you you fight the fight that beats the fighter. And we didn't fight that fight. It was a very close fight. I think if we scored the fight, my guy had a bit of an edge.
The showbiz stuff on Duran's part, with the running of the arms and everything, and, "I win! Get out of here!" That won the fight for him.
ABC Sports
What were you telling Ray, with all that going on?
Dundee
Well, "Box. Don't let the guy get under your skin. Forget about it. He's doing it on purpose. He abused you in front of your wife." I tried to explain that. But, you know, once it's in your craw that you want to kick this guy's butt because he abused you in front of his wife, how do you get that out of there? It takes time. So I think the reflection can be shown and say it's "I told you so," but the next fight, you saw a big difference.
ABC Sports
What did you change in your approach for the next time?
Dundee
I didn't change anything. He did what he was supposed to do the first time. And the first time, he was supposed to box. Ray was a premier boxer. What beats Duran, I knew, was a premier boxer. Not for anything, but when he trained in my gym, I had a Cuban kid -- great lightweight -- that was one of my fighters. He used to slap Duran around in the gym. How? Long left hand, movement, side to side. Used to frustrate Duran. Duran is a great counter-puncher. Great con artist in there. And he could bang on you, but Ray had the style and the talent to kick his butt, and he showed it the next time.
ABC Sports
Did Ray have a totally different mindset?
Dundee
Oh, he wanted to do a number on the guy. He was a little embarrassed that he lost the fight. He's a professional. Ray was so much better the next time.
ABC Sports
What was your reaction when Duran quit?
Dundee
I felt bad for Duran. Here's a living legend. There's no quit in a fighter. I think what happened to him, he didn't want to get knocked out, because he felt he was going to get knocked out. It would have been an embarrassment. And, you know, the way I answer that, what the heck? You know, you go to England, if a guy puts up his arm in defeat, they applaud him. No, no. Duran was frustrated completely, he was getting the heck kicked out of him. He would have gotten knocked out if they didn't stop the fight.
ABC Sports
Did you feel it tainted Ray's victory, by Duran quitting?
Dundee
No. I don't think so. I think what happened added to the interest of the fight. Here's a guy, a great, great fighter -- a living legend. A great, to me. I was such an admirer of Duran. When you mention Duran with the lightweights, you mention him with all the great lightweights of the past. He's a legend. You mention Bob Montgomery, you mention all the guys of the past who were great lightweights, and Duran fits in there.
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