Roberto Duran believes his manager forced him into an unfavorable fight shortly after he was seriously injured in a car accident.

The Hall of Famer is perhaps best known for his encounters with Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns, whom he fought above his natural weight class of 135 pounds.

Against Leonard, he captured the WBC welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory in 1980, before losing the rematch by eighth-round stoppage later that year.

Duran next faced Hagler and Hearns at middleweight and super welterweight respectively, but suffered back-to-back losses to his fellow champions in 1983 and 1984.

However, the Panamanian particularly excelled at lightweight, winning his first world title with a controversial 13th-round stoppage of Ken Buchanan in 1972.

Duran then defended the WBA title twice he suffered his first defeat against Esteban de Jesuswho went down and passed “Hands of Stone” the same year he won the belt.

While talking to One-on-one boxingHowever, Duran explained that his manager Carlos Eleta was to blame for the unanimous decision loss.

“It was wrong – I’ll tell you why. Carlos Eleta shouldn’t have taken that fight because I had a car accident. I broke my spine [arm] and my mouth was broken.

“I believe Carlos Eleta just wanted money from Roberto Duran. I still had swelling and bleeding in my mouth and my elbow was broken. I still have a hole there [points to right elbow].

“The only good thing Esteban de Jesus did was throw me. When he threw me, I got up and won the fight.

“They gave it to him because then and even today [Madison Square Garden, New York]Puerto Ricans are in power.”

While Duran’s notion of the Puerto Rican’s superiority in Up-to-date York is perhaps far-fetched, he is nevertheless correct that Esteban was unable to defeat a fully functional version of himself.

This was confirmed by an 11th-round rematch victory two years later, and further evidence was Duran’s triumph over Esteban in the 12th round in 1978.

Gervonta Davis is running out of chances to get back into the lineup 135-140 while their opponents are doing without him.

As the days passed, the former pound-for-pound star remained hushed on the WBA’s order to negotiate a fight with mandatory challenger Floyd Schofield, while other names previously linked to a return to the ring gradually faded from the equation.

Davis was once expected to face Lamont Roach in an immediate rematch after a controversial majority draw in March 2025.

This opportunity is already gone.

The return route is starting to close

Roach secured a shot at the vacant WBC lightweight title against William Zepeda on August 1 in Las Vegas after a rematch with Davis was stalled.

The athlete from Washington did not want to idly wait for explanations and instead got another chance at the world champion title.

At the same time, reports indicate that Isaac Cruz is heading towards a fight with Gary Antuanne Russell for the WBA super lightweight championship.

These changes remove two of the most obvious opponents Davis had at his disposal just a few months ago.

The lightweight and super lightweight divisions continue to change as uncertainty continues to surround Davis.

Only one fight on the table

Currently, Schofield is the only realistic option on the table.

As World Boxing News previously reported when examining why Davis has greater concerns than the WBA, Schofield remains the only specific opponent currently linked to the Baltimore star.

Schofield has publicly confirmed the June 22 deadline and has been consistently posting about it on social media.

Davis has given no public indication that the order takes up most of his attention.

The undefeated challenger has repeatedly referenced the ticking clock on social media, questioning how Davis’ current legal situation could impact the trial.

As the endpoint continues to draw closer, there is little sign that the fight is progressing.

Lomachenko’s wild card

Vasily Lomachenko’s potential return could revive a fight that faltered in 2024 when the Ukrainian retired from boxing.

However, such a scenario depends entirely on Lomachenko’s decision to return and remains more theory than reality for now.

Problems outside the ring

The bigger problem for Davis is that boxing isn’t his biggest concern right now.

Reports of Davis returning to training gained momentum after comments were accidentally leaked during Adrien Broner’s Kick stream, but returning to the gym does not automatically solve the growing problem of available opponents.

Davis remains linked to warrants reportedly issued for alleged probation violations stemming from an incident at a Miami strip club that previously scuttled his proposed fight with Jake Paul.

These problems haven’t gone away, nor has the uncertainty about his future.

Roach has moved on to fight for the WBC title against Zepeda, while Cruz is reportedly heading towards a clash with Russell. Schofield remains the only concrete option unless Lomachenko decides to come out of retirement and return to unfinished business.

For the fighter around whom the lightweight division once revolved, the situation now looks completely different.

The longer uncertainty persists, the fewer routes remain open to the threat of prison.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

Brown, WBC USA Silver super welterweight champion, and undefeated southpaw Vieira engaged in a competitive fight that featured contrasting styles. Vieira consistently pressed the action and dictated the pace, while Brown looked to employ counter-attacks and keen combinations.

Vieira found success early on, outworking Brown and keeping him defensive. Brown responded in the middle rounds, finding openings on counters as the fight turned into a tactical battle between aggression and precision.

The fight was fierce until the final rounds. Vieira continued to apply pressure and appeared to be finishing strongly, with Brown counter-attacking effectively enough to put the match into question.

After eight rounds, the judges scored it 77-75 for Brown, 80-72 for Vieira and 76-76, resulting in a split draw.

In their co-fight, undefeated Shea “Showtime” Willcox improved to 8-0 with a dominant six-round unanimous decision over Salvatore Pugliares.

Willcox controlled the action from the opening bell and scored three knockdowns, including two in the fourth round. Pugliares spent most of the fight moving around the ring trying to avoid exchanges, but Willcox remained patient and consistently landed cleaner punches. All three judges scored the fight 60-51.

Former heavyweight Cassius Chaney returned to the win column with a third-round stoppage of Harold Roy.

After controlling the first two rounds, Chaney hurt Roy with a right uppercut midway through the third and scored a knockdown. Moments later, a left uppercut sent Roy to the ground again, prompting the referee to wave his hand and dismiss the fight.

Among the local fighters in action, Giovanni Daley remained undefeated after a six-round unanimous decision over Stephen Davis, while Bobby Laing improved to 4-0 after being dropped in the fourth round en route to a unanimous decision victory over Jayson Colon.

Peter Campbell needed less than one round to stop Zachary Calmus, dropping him twice before the referee stopped the fight. Michael McIntosh won his professional debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Steven Farrar.

Elsewhere, Robinson Perez stopped Ayo Martins in the first round of their heavyweight fight, and Billy Cosgrove scored a unanimous decision victory over Nicholas Locantore in his professional debut.