DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) - He’s got a winner’s name, and now Roberto Duran Jr. is ready to go toe-to-toe in the boxing ring as he follows in his father’s footsteps.
The younger Duran knows he has some pretty big shoes to fill. His dad, Panamanian former boxer Roberto Duran, is a world champion with lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight and middleweight titles under his belt.
“My dad had power. I also have power,” he said. “To be honest, I think I can hit harder than him.”
Of the four-time champion’s 103 wins, 70 were by knockout.
Duran Jr. aspired from a young age to be a champ like his dad.
“Just watching him train was amazing,” he said. “The things he did, especially performing in the ring, it was a blessing to watch him as a fighter perform the way he did, and especially knowing that that’s my dad doing that.”
The younger Duran continues to pave his own path. In July, he will fight in only his second professional bout of his career.
A fourth-round knockout win back in March was just the start.
“People are going to expect me to perform like my father, and accomplish things that he accomplished,” he said. “In all reality, I’m not going to have that long of a career like him, or maybe not even accomplish as much as he did.”
Duran Jr. got a very late start playing pro — at the age of 29. He said personal reasons held him back until now.
“I’m here for me now. My dad did what he did, and at the end of the day, I’m following in his footsteps but creating my own name,” he said. “I knew there are going to be doubters, people that want to see me fail, and I said, ‘You know what? I know I can never match up to his career standards in boxing,’ so what I’m gonna do is, I’m gonna train hard. I’m gonna prove those doubters wrong, and I’m gonna do my best.”
Living and training in South Florida means a lot of family and friends — and possibly his dad — will be at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood when Duran Jr. fights next month.
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