Robert Duran Jr. is heading back into the Trigon in front of his hometown crowd. The son of boxing icon Roberto Duran will meet England’s Ryan “The Bull From Hull” Spivey at BKB 58 on August 29 at Miami’s James L. Knight Center.
Duran Jr., 37, enters with a 3-2 BKB record and a 12-4 professional boxing mark. His last outing produced a fourth-round TKO of Austin Spivey at BKB 53 in April, a fight that ended 31 seconds into the round. BKB lists three stoppage victories among Duran Jr.’s five bouts with the promotion, including wins over Joshua Sikes and Javon Wright.
There is one detail fans should keep straight as Ryan Spivey is not Austin Spivey. Robert just beat Austin in April; Ryan is the Hull fighter coming in from the United Kingdom with momentum of his own. It gives Duran Jr. a quick return to the Spivey surname, although this one brings a very different opponent and a much different trip to Miami.
Spivey owns a 4-2 bare-knuckle record and is 1-0 since arriving in BKB after competing under the Bad to the Bone banner. He made a statement in May at BKB 54 in Manchester, stopping Sam Clarke by first-round knockout at the 47-second mark. He weighed 148 pounds for that welterweight contest, so the matchup with Duran Jr. may offer a size-and-style question once official BKB 58 weights and bout terms arrive.
Roberto Duran Jr. Looks to Build His Own Legacy in BKB 58 Miami Clash
Roberto Duran, known worldwide as “Manos de Piedra,” won recognized world championships at lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight during a Hall of Fame career. He retired with 103 wins and 70 knockouts from 119 professional fights. His son has spoken about establishing a name separate from that history, and Miami gives him the setting to do it with plenty of familiar faces in the building.
“This is my city, my home, and I’m bringing that energy into the Trigon,” Duran Jr. said. “My father sealed his envelope a long time ago, this is about my own legacy now. Spivey’s tough, but I’ve got business to finish and I’m going to finish it in front of my people in Miami.”
Spivey has said Roberto Duran was one of his boxing idols, giving the booking a personal hook. The Brit gets to test himself against the legend’s son. Duran Jr. gets a chance to protect home turf while adding another win to a run that has already produced three BKB finishes.
BKB 58 is shaping up as a crossover-heavy Miami card. Undefeated heavyweight champion Gustavo “The Cuban Assassin” Trujillo is set to defend against Mark O’Neil, while Olympic gold medalist and former boxing champion Yuriorkis Gamboa is scheduled to make his bare-knuckle debut against Yesner “Cuajadita” Talavera. Former UFC title challenger Aspen Ladd is also booked for her BKB debut against Bianca Daimoni.
