Right now, of people who scored the fight on Boxrec, I believe it's 3-2 for Viruet.
Witherspoon, scored the fight and gave it a much more thorough report than I did
Roberto Duran v Edwin Viruet, 30th September 1975. Nassau Coliseum , New York. 10 round non-title bout.
It's interesting to see Duran at the peak of his LW title reign looking a little bit like the thicker man who would fight from WW to MW in the '80's. Not that he looks chubby, he looks fit, just bigger than a LW.
It seems that it was common for lighter weight champions to engage in overweight non-title fights well into the '70's. I guess nobody stays in one weight division long enough these days for overweight non-title fights to be significant. One more side-effect of the proliferation of weight classes and titles.
Round 1. 10-9 Duran
Duran takes the first on effective aggression. He hurts Viruet on two occassions, and is constantly forcing his opponent to retreat. But Viruet is far from gun shy, he does his best to clinch when Duran gets inside, but he is willing to trade punches when he is cornered.
Round 2. 10-9 Viruet
Duran starts more aggressively this round, he's got the look of a man just warmed up to a familiar routine. But Viruet matches Duran's increased intensity with increased confidence in his evasive ability. He takes chances to land accurate, fast combos before dancing gracefully out of range of retaliation. The first signs of showboating manifest themselves as he risks an Ali shuffle while Duran charges angrily towards him and he spends much time with his arms held loosely by his sides while tantalisingly close to Duran's punching range.
19-19
Round 3. 10-9 Duran
Duran's intensity level increases again, now he shows signs of what makes him great. He is like a man-shaped tornado, but his wild fists always know exactly where to be. He is on top of Viruet like lightening and hurting him to head and body, he initiates the clinches now, just to keep Viruet close enough to hurt. And that seems to be his only objective. He's not boxing, he's fighting to hurt this man as much as possible, and the gloves are an obstacle to be overcome, not tools of his trade.
BUT, it's Viruet who really impresses me here. In the face of this force of nature, committed to his destruction, he maintains his composure elegently. He keeps throwing (and landing) hard punches against the incoming deluge of aggression, he keeps his balance and moves about the ring gracefully under fire and most impressively of all, he shows no signs of being discouraged. Ali shuffle at the bell
29-28 Duran
Round 4 10-10
It's very tempting to give this round to Viruet, I almost succumbed to his showboating tactics. But Duran continues to press forward with determination, always landing punches. It's difficult to know if Duran has eased off or if Viruet's tactics are negating his work, but Viruet is definately moving more effectively, he is giving Duran a wider berth and using his jab alot more, snapping it out as long as he possibly can to keep Duran away from him.
39-38 Duran
Round 5 10-9 Viruet
Close round, very difficult to score. Duran's pace has definately slowed, but Viruet seems to have renewed energy, he moves constantly to keep Duran from setting himself and he lands his jab freely. Durans punches are more damaging, and more effective, but Viruet uses his movement and jab to keep Duran away for most of the round. His showboating rises to a new level as he bounds around the ring raising his knees, waves his left hand in front of Duran's face and smiles to the crowd when Duran connects.
48-48
Round 6 10-9 Duran
Viruet starts well, circling wide and using the whole ring to put distance between himself and Duran. But it's not long before Duran catches up, and most of the round is fought in Duran's territory. Viruet fights bravely on the inside, he trades punches willingly with Duran, but he can't match Duran for power and is bullied around the ring.
58-57 Duran
Round 7 10-9 Duran
Duran picks up exactly where he left off at the end of round 6, and this round follows pretty much the same pattern, if anything Duran is landing more cleanly now and more frequently. But for all his attempts to run, mock and evade, Viruet is right there with Duran all the way. He is taking some hard punches but he never stops fighting back.
68-66 Duran
Round 8 10-9 Viruet
Close round, but Viruet much more dedicated to his jab in this round, and actually seems to hurt Duran with a long right hand.
76-77 Duran
Round 9 10-9 Viruet
Another close round, Duran is still doing damage but it's Viruet who controls the action, he keeps Duran out of range for most of the round and scores effectively with his jab.
86-86
Round 10 10-9 Viruet
Viruet starts purposefully, he stays as close as possible to Duran and scores effectively with combinations of straight punches. He manages to outscore Duran in the first half of the round, even resumes his showboating, sticking his chin out at Duran. The second half of the round is more evenly fought, but duran doesn't do enough to overcome Viruet's solid start.
96-95 Viruet
Very exciting fight, thoroughly enjoyed watching this. I'm not 100% sure about my scoring, and won't argue with anyone who says that Duran deserved the decision. But I was really impressed with Viruet, took some heavy punches and weathered some really intense moments without ever losing his cool. And the showboating that probably led me to dislike him when I first watched this fight actually makes me respect his confidence to even dare to do that to Duran in his prime (he had defended his LW title 7 times with 7 KO's at this point).