BoxRec

I have seen this fight plenty of times, and the more I see it, I cannot believe my eyes how brutal and savage this fight was. Both fighters were INCREDIBLE. On a cold Friday night of Feb 24, 1989 in Atlantic City, the great Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley gave us the last great champioship title fight of the decade... A CLASSIC!

Duran was considered FINISHED and WASHED UP by almost every boxing expert, but, won his fourth world crown in his fourth different weight class in amazing display of guts and COJONES. Was 37 years old, and almost was knocked out in round 6 (I believe) from a Barkley hook that spun him by almost 360 degrees.

Barkley was younger, stronger, taller, and was coming from his title winning performance against the great Thomas Hearns in 3 rounds.

If Duran was critized as a "coward" in the second fight with the great Sugar Ray Leonard, then his victory over Barkley was clearly his gutsiest performance.

This was greatness folks. No matter how you flip it or flop it, the Hands of Stone cemented his legend as one of the top 5 greatest fighters of all time on that unforgettable night of an unforgettable decade.

An awesome performance by the aging Duran.
About as exciting a 12-round affair as you can find.
Demonstrated his toughness and skills at 37, against a powerful badass in Barkley.
Still remains one of my favorite classic fights to watch.

It was indeed a great fight.

Does anyone know Iran's status and condition these days?

25 years that makes me feel old ... i remember watching the fight and jumping up when duran dropped barkley and breaking my sofa as i landed ...what a fight and duran was just a beast my favourite duran fight along with the davey moore fight

I remember watching it on grandstand on Saturday afternoon,me and my mate were convinced duran was going to take a beating,barkley at the time was a beast,we were going mental when duran dropped barkley in the 11th,it was kind of his last hurrah that took every last bit of spirit out of him,he was terrible when he fought leonard later in the year

I just watched it again, thanks for reminding me. It's a great example of a performance that etches Duran as one of the greatest ever.

The pace of this fight was incredible. Duran looked quicker at this weight than other times. Barkley also fought his heart out. That four punch combo SEALED IT for the Hands of Stone

I've only seen clips of Duran vs Barkley, but yes. It was a huge win for an aging Roberto and against a formidable opponent. Not many aged legends would take a chance on a foe like that, especially if they were fighting at this day and age.

drunkenpiper36 wrote:I've only seen clips of Duran vs Barkley, but yes. It was a huge win for an aging Roberto and against a formidable opponent. Not many aged legends would take a chance on a foe like that, especially if they were fighting at this day and age.

You got that right.