“Sugar Ray Robinson is the best,” said Duran to ESNews.
Robinson fought professionally from 1940 to 1965 and finished his career with 174 wins and 109 knockouts across more than 200 professional fights. He held world titles at welterweight and middleweight and compiled a 91-fight unbeaten streak during his prime years.
At one stage of his career, Robinson had built a record of 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. He later became the first boxer in history to regain the world middleweight championship five different times.
Robinson defeated Hall of Fame opponents such as Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Rocky Graziano, and Kid Gavilan during his career.
Many fighters, including Muhammad Ali, also publicly described Robinson as the greatest fighter in boxing history. Robinson’s name is regularly connected to the origins of the “pound-for-pound” discussion because of his success across multiple divisions.
Duran built his own Hall of Fame career across five decades and became a four-division world champion at lightweight, welterweight, light middleweight, and middleweight. He finished his professional career with 103 victories in 119 fights.
The Panamanian legend is still closely associated with the “Four Kings” era after his fights against Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler during the 1980s.
Modern fighters such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are frequently included in greatest-of-all-time discussions, but Duran made it clear Robinson remains his choice.
