Kirkland 'The Gifted One' Laing was, and will always be seen as a fighter that never quite fulfilled his potential. He overindulged in women, booze and drugs, and this showed in many of his performances. However, on 4th September 1982, the boxing world saw what he was truly capable of, as he put a tremendous shift in against the respected Roberto Duran.
As opposed to Laing, Duran not only fulfilled his potential, but arguably overachieved. 'Hands Of Stone' was a great fighter, with a ton of heart, and up until the Laing fight he'd only lost three times, and two of those defeats were to the outstanding 'Sugar' Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez. Duran was a top level fighter for sure.
Laing vs. Duran Round-by-Round
The fight started with Laing (149 1/4lbs) circling the ring, and seemingly doing his best to stay away from Duran (155lbs), who was plowing forward and looking for opportunities. Laing's unwillingness to engage in the first and second rounds contributed to a very slow start to the bout.
Laing's corner told him that he couldn't win by running away before they started the third, and when he came out for this stanza, he was a different fighter. He had some success with the left hook and was getting through with more generally.
In round four, the confidence of Laing grew yet again, although this meant that he took a few more right straights than he'd have wanted to. To be fair though, Laing was now getting a vast number of good punches off, and even stunned Duran with a left hook.
The fifth was slower, but Laing was equally successful. He kept Duran at range with his extra height, and used long combinations. 'Hands Of Stone' was really struggling to get through.
In the sixth, Duran had more success though. He upped his work-rate, taking the fight to Laing, and for his efforts, he hurt his foe quite badly with a straight right. Laing held on, but Duran was really trying to take him into the trenches now.
Unfortunately for the idolised Panama native, he couldn't sustain this, and Laing took over again in round seven. Duran was on shaky legs after he ate a big right straight, and Laing was really letting the punches fly. Nonetheless, Duran kept coming forward and trying his hardest.
Duran signalled his intentions at the start of round eight with a booming right hand. This took Laing out of his rhythm, and the Brit was looking disorganised.
As opposed to engaging in a tear up with Duran though, Laing got back to his skilled, quick counter punching in the ninth.
For all his heart, Duran was starting to look tired himself now, and his punch volume went down dramatically. This showed when Laing went in for the kill in the tenth and final round. A left-right combination really stunned Duran, who despite his best efforts, couldn't impose himself. This round was a great finish to an excellent performance by Laing.
Result & Implications Of Laing vs. Duran
In the end, the judges were split on the verdict. While Bernard Humphrey scored the bout 96-94 in favour of Duran, Nate McAlpine and Stuart Kirshenbaum both gave the bout to the deserving winner Laing by the same verdict.
This was an excellent win for Laing. Before this fight, he'd never really been past British Title standard, but this fight showed that when he wanted to, he could turn everything in his arsenal on. The rest of Laing's career was to be filled with disappointments though, including failed attempts at Commonwealth and British gold.
Roberto Duran may have had an off night against Laing, but he managed to put himself in big fights in the future, against the likes of Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. By the time he retired aged 50, Duran had fought 119 times, which is a huge number for someone at the highest level. 'Hands Of Stone' is now a highly regarded figure, and the Laing loss didn't really dent his legacy at all.
How To Watch Duran vs. Laing
Duran vs. Laing was this week's 'Classic Fight of the Week'. Please visit my profile page for details on how to watch this, or any of the fights previously covered in this column.
