Roberto Duran vs. Esteban De Jesus (1st meeting)
Roberto Duran 138 lbs lost to Esteban De Jesus 138 lbs by UD in round 10 of 10
- Date: 1972-11-17
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Referee: Arthur Mercante 4-5
- Judge: Harold Lederman 3-6
- Judge: Bill Recht 2-6
- See also: Duran vs. De Jesus II
- See also: Duran vs. De Jesus III
"The crowd of almost 10,000 had hardly calmed down from the introductions when Esteban DeJesus smashed lightweight champion Roberto Duran with a left hook, depositing Roberto on the seat of his pants in their non-title 10-rounder. Roberto never was able to shake off the effects of that left hook and DeJesus was in solid control of the fight throughout. Esteban's combinations, highlighted by his left hook, kept Duran off-balance and unsure of himself, although Roberto did land a few solid whacks himself. However, his punches lacked steam and he never did get an opportunity to launch into his street-fighting style. In fact, only in the 8th round, when a right to the eye made DeJesus clinch, did Roberto seem to be going anywhere." - World Boxing, March 1973
- Attendance - 9,144
- Gate - $62,339
Unofficial scorecards (all for DeJesus)
- World Boxing: 6-2-2
- UPI: 7-2-1
- AP: 5-4-1