Remembered: De Jesús ended Durán’s unbeaten run in 1972 boxing

Esteban De Jesús ended Roberto Durán’s unbeaten professional record on 17 November 1972, winning a 10-round decision at Madison Square Garden. A left hook put Durán down before the opening minute had passed, giving the reigning lightweight champion the first knockdown of his career.

Durán entered the fight at 31-0 and was 21 years old. Five months earlier, at the same venue, he had taken the WBA and Ring lightweight titles from Ken Buchanan, then added two quick stoppage wins. The meeting with De Jesús was not a title contest because both men came in above the lightweight limit: Durán weighed 137½ pounds and De Jesús 138.

De Jesús, 22, had one defeat on a record listed at around 32-1 or 33-1. The former Puerto Rican lightweight champion kept the fight at range, relying on his jab and combinations before using the left hook when Durán tried to close the distance. Durán’s usual sustained pressure did not develop, allowing De Jesús to protect the advantage gained in the first round.

Durán remained dangerous and landed a hard right in the eighth round that forced De Jesús to clinch. His frustration was also evident in the fifth, when referee Arthur Mercante warned him for striking after the break and for a low blow. The fighters continued exchanging punches after the eighth-round bell.

The officials all scored the fight for De Jesús. Mercante had it 5-4 with one even round, Harold Lederman scored it 6-3 with one even, and Bill Recht gave De Jesús six rounds against two for Durán, with two level. A crowd of 9,144 attended, producing a gate of $62,339.

Durán’s defeat became the start of a longer rivalry rather than a lasting setback. In their March 1974 rematch in Panama, De Jesús again dropped him in the first round, but Durán recovered to stop him in the 11th while defending the WBA lightweight title. Four years later in Las Vegas, Durán stopped De Jesús in the 12th round of their deciding fight, with the WBA and WBC championships at stake. In 1989, Durán visited De Jesús while he was dying from AIDS and publicly embraced and kissed his former rival.