No Mas
After the diagnosis he gave up
he didn’t stop drinking
didn’t quit smoking Rothman’s blue
didn’t start exercising
didn’t change his diet
didn’t change anything—
I guess he knew his fate
so he made like
Roberto Duran
and said
“no mas”
except
just because you stop fighting
it doesn’t mean the fight’s over
this isn’t boxing—
but if it was
the referee would have
stopped the fight
a long time ago—
instead
the disease continues to
punish him
everyday he wakes up to
more abuse
his brain’s communication to
his legs
lost in translation
he uses his arms to
move them now
each step more excruciating
than the next
and so
he waits—
for a cure?
unlikely
for death?
how lovely.
he didn’t stop drinking
didn’t quit smoking Rothman’s blue
didn’t start exercising
didn’t change his diet
didn’t change anything—
I guess he knew his fate
so he made like
Roberto Duran
and said
“no mas”
except
just because you stop fighting
it doesn’t mean the fight’s over
this isn’t boxing—
but if it was
the referee would have
stopped the fight
a long time ago—
instead
the disease continues to
punish him
everyday he wakes up to
more abuse
his brain’s communication to
his legs
lost in translation
he uses his arms to
move them now
each step more excruciating
than the next
and so
he waits—
for a cure?
unlikely
for death?
how lovely.
Roberto Durán Samaniego, "Manos de Piedra" (Hands of Stone), grew up in the "La Casa de Piedra" (The House of Stone) slums of Ciudad de Panamá. When he was 8 he began sparring and in 1968, at 16, he fought his 1st professional match. He won his 1st 31 consecutive fights and became the World Boxing Association lightweight champion in 1972. He successfully defended the title 12 times, though he lost 1 non-title bout, and added the World Boxing Council title as well. After surrendering the title in 1979 he challenged WBC welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard in June 1980, beating him in a 15-round unanimous decision. Immediately after the bout, Durán pointed to his crotch and called Leonard a "pussy" in Spanish. In response, Leonard's brother charged across the ring but was felled by Durán. "I knew I was going to beat him," Durán told the press. "I'm more of a man than he is." By then, Durán had a 72-1 record. He proceeded to celebrate, partying nonstop and gaining a lot of weight. Leonard managed to have an immediate rematch, scheduled in November. Unlike in the 1st bout, when Leonard tried to out-punch his opponent, Leonard used his superior footwork and movement to his advantage in the 2nd, tiring out his overweight foe. In the 7th round Leonard began taunting him, sticking his chin out and daring Durán to hit him. The crowd began taunting Durán's ineptitude in the ring. Midway in the 8th round, Durán suddenly stopped fighting, repeatedly saying, "No más" ("no more"). Durán moved into the light middleweight division but lost a series of comeback tries before taking the WBA title on his 32nd birthday in 1983. That year he attempted to take the middleweight title but lost in a unanimous decision, having broken his hand during the bout. In June 1984 he was knocked out for the 1st time in his career, and he retired briefly. But he made his comeback in 1989 when he became the WBC middleweight champion, his 4th title. Late in the year he took on Leonard again in a super middleweight fight but lost in another unanimous decision. He lost International Boxing Council super middleweight and middleweight championship fights in 1994, 1995, and 1996. However, he won the NBA Super Middleweight championship on his 49th birthday, in 2000. In his final match, he lost the title a year later to Héctor Camacho. Of his 119 professional fights, he won 103 of them -- 70 by knockouts. In 1993 his 5 title belts were stolen by his brother-in-law, but they were restored to him in 2003.
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