The fight is the only non-heavyweight bout on the card, with the other 6 fights involving the big men of the sport, capped off by the main event between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

“The opportunity knocked on my door,” said an ecstatic Duran Jr. to The Final Bell podcast two weeks before the fight.  “It was God’s gift to me.  I’m very excited for this fight. It’s huge.”

Indeed, 2023 has been a massive year for Duran Jr., in large part because of key steps he took to get his career on track.  In March, the son of the legendary “Hands of Stone” joined Pedro Diaz’s Mundo Boxing Gym in Florida, where he trains under the tutelage of Diaz and David Peña.

“Ever since my transition to those guys, it’s been a complete 100% turn around,” explains Duran Jr. of his improvement under the new training team. “The training regimen is completely different.  It’s how you’re supposed to train a fighter, so ever since then, I’ve been in the zone.  We go through hell in the gym so that when we get in the ring, we can execute on all possibilities.  It’s how you build world champions. I love every minute of it.”

A month later, the Miami native signed a promotional pact with Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing. The pair were initially introduced by Vinny Paz, a mentor to Robert who is also his father’s former opponent, but a deal didn’t materialize until a while later.

“The agreement with Jimmy came about after my wife and I sat down and contacted different promotional companies to try to stay busy,” says Duran Jr.  “We spoke with Jimmy and established a game plan and here we are now.”

That game plan includes lots of activity on the road to a title shot.  The result has been a year in which Duran has had 3 bouts, with 3 wins and a fight on one of the most high-profile cards of the year.  Given the activity and new training regime, it’s an opportunity that Duran feels more than ready for.

“I’ve been preparing since May 20th,” says Duran, referencing his last fight, a 6-round unanimous decision win over veteran Luis Florez at The Park Theater in Cranston, Rhode Island. “I’ve been in training camp ever since, so when I got the news for this fight, I just turned it up a few notches.  I’m focused and ready to go.”

In his way stands Jack McGann, a 30-year-old Brit who is undefeated in 8 professional bouts. 

“He’s an ex-MMA fighter turned boxer,” says Duran of ‘The Pilgrim,’ who is 11-5 in mixed martial arts. “He’s a good fighter, but at the end of the day, I’m a good fighter too and I have a vision and goals that I need to accomplish. I’m gonna set the tone, take my time, and look for opportunities.”

Regardless of how McGann elects to fight him, Duran Jr. believes that he will be able to adapt.

“I’m just gonna go in there and box, but I can switch styles,” elaborates Duran.  “I can brawl, I can box, I can switch to southpaw. It really depends on my opponent and what I’m seeing in the ring.  I’m going to look for weaknesses and patterns and take it from there.  Every fight is different.”

Asked whether his famous father will be present at the biggest fight of his career, Duran feels indifferent.   

“I heard he was gonna be at my fight, but that doesn’t change anything,” admits Duran Jr., who grew up in Miami and upstate New York with his grandparents, seldomly seeing his father. “I’m there for one reason only.  I’m there to win and that’s it.”

Growing up apart from his legendary father meant that while Robert Jr. studied Roberto’s fights from afar, he didn’t feel an obligation to be like his father.

“There are a few of his fights that I’ve watched and learned from,” says Duran Jr., citing his father’s first fight with ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard and his bouts against Esteban de Jesus, Pepino Cuevas, and Iran Barkley. “Those are great performances. His comeback fight against Davie Moore was incredible. I respect my father in and out of the ring.  As a fighter, he was second to none.”

While Robert is unsure of whether his father keeps tabs on his career, the younger Duran is not counting on him being by his side on October 28th.

“I don’t expect my Dad to be in my corner if he wasn’t in my corner before, and I actually prefer it this way,” explains Duran Jr.  “My Dad already established his career and his legacy.  At the end of the day, I’m not following in his footsteps. I’m keeping the name alive, but I’m doing my own thing. All the pressure really came off my shoulders a long time ago once I realized that I didn’t have to prove anything to my father.  Everything I gotta prove is to myself, nobody else.”

Given the amount of undue pressure that children of famous boxers often feel, this is a wise way in which to deal with the lofty expectations put on them by critics who expect the sons to achieve the same level of success as their fathers.

“Even if your father’s a legend in the sport, you’re doing it alone,” agrees Duran Jr. “It’s your career.  It’s your path – you’re walking it alone. You’re doing everything with your team, your family, whoever is behind you. They have to respect that whether they like it or not, because that’s how it is.”

That’s not to say that Robert Duran Jr. doesn’t have ambitious goals of his own. 

“My goal is to stay active and get a title shot down the line,” says the 34-year-old, who got a late start in boxing at the age of 25.  “My vision is to win at least one world title.  Two would be great, but I’m aiming for one.  Right now, I’m just focused on building my career up to that level so that when I get there, I’m ready for whoever is the champion at that time.”

An impressive win on the biggest of stages on October 28th would go a long way into making that vision a reality.   

For more information, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING.INFORMATIONCES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast.  Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”.

Ken Griffey Jr. did it. So did the Mannings, Peyton and Eli. In boxing, middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh is facing the scrutiny that comes with being the grandson of Muhammad Ali.

Now, CES Boxing is banking on the relatives of two all-time greats to carry the torch in 2023 and beyond.

The world-renowned promotion recently signed long-term deals with southpaw light heavyweight James Hagler Jr., the grandson of the late “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler, and super welterweight Alcibiade Duran – a.k.a. Robert Duran Jr. – the son of “Hands of Stone” Roberto Duran.

Despite taking different journeys to reach their current destination, the two are now fighting under the watchful eye of promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. and will make their promotional debut May 20, 2023 at the Historic Park Theatre & Event Center – 40 years since Hagler’s grandfather fought Duran’s father at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for the IBF, WBA, and WBC world middleweight titles.

“This is an exciting time for our promotion,” Burchfield said. “Boxing has evolved in many ways since the pandemic and building champions is more important than ever. There are no greater bloodlines in professional boxing than the Haglers and Durans. Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran are two of the best to ever lace up the gloves and I’m excited to see what the next generation can accomplish beginning on May 20.”

Hagler (@jameshaglerjr), 32, is the son of James Hagler Sr., the president of the American Boxing Association, whose father established a legacy as one the hardest-hitting middleweights of all time. Marvin Hagler, a Brockton, MA, native, finished his illustrious 62 wins – a staggering 52 by knockout – and holds the record for the highest knockout percentage among all undisputed middleweight champions (78) in addition to the longest undisputed championship reign of the last century, which lasted six years and seven months.

Duran (@robert.duranjr), 34, is one of Roberto Duran’s eight children, five of whom he fathered with his first wife, Felicidad Iglesias, and three whom he admittedly fathered with three different women outside of his marriage. Robert Duran was born in Miami in 1988, where his father lived and trained frequently during the height of his super welterweight title run in the ‘80s.

Roberto is the second of Duran’s sons to box professionally; Roberto Armando Durán Iglesias boxed briefly in the early 2000s and finished his career 5-1. Robert, who also goes by the name Alcibiade Duran Galván after his mother, Natalie Galván, has 14 pro fights under his belt, but little to no contact with his famous father, who held world championships in four weight classes – lightweight, welterweight, super welterweight, and middleweight – fought 119 times until retiring at the age of 50. Like Hagler, Roberto Duran is a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and earned notoriety for allegedly muttering “No más” – Spanish for “No more” – in his 1985 loss to Sugar Ray Leonard.

Historical anecdotes aside, both up-and-comers are looking to carve their own legacies with CES.
Born in Atlanta, Hagler fondly remembers trying on his legendary grandfather’s boxing gloves when he was just four years old, but despite being a self-professed “student of the game” all his life, he grew up playing football, primarily because his grandfather didn’t want anyone else in the family to box.

AFTER PLAYING FOOTBALL at Alabama State University, Hagler immediately transitioned to boxing after college and turned pro in 2019 at the age of 29 after just 10 amateur bouts.

“At my age felt, I couldn’t fight much as an amateur,” Hagler said, “so I’m still learning each time I step in the ring.”

Hagler’s mother is from Roxbury, MA, so New England has always been his second home. He travels between Georgia and Massachusetts to prep for fights, training under Rhode Island’s Mike Veloz when he heads back north. His May 20 fight in Cranston will end a year-long layoff and begin a new chapter under the guidance of CES. Managerial disputes and politics will have kept him out of the ring for exactly 371 days by the time the bell rings May 20, but the time off gave him the opportunity to put his career in perspective.

The best advice his late grandfather gave him?: “Be careful who you trust. Get the right people around you.”

“I’m starting to see that with my name, I’m a big deal to some people, but they didn’t have my best interests at heart,” Hagler said. “When I ran into Jimmy, I realized there’s a lot more to this game. He’s a great man. We text every week. We’ve built a family relationship, just like my father and grandfather did with [managers Goody and Pat] Petronelli. They were family, and I consider CES my family.”

DURAN COMES FROM LEGENDARY roots, but has built his career mostly by himself, only recently getting much-needed help from his wife, Yessenia. He remembers being around the sport most of his life, even training as early as nine years old, but he spent most of his 20s running with the wrong crowds in and out of jail while living in upstate New York until his sister Dalia Duran encouraged him to put his God-given talent to use.

“It was only a matter of time,” he said. “I would’ve never made the move were it not for her. Boxing saved me. It saves a lot of lives.”

Like James Hagler, Robert Duran turned pro after a handful of amateur fights – five, to be exact – and is now 11-3 with nine knockouts heading into May 20, but the road hasn’t been easy. The Duran name only made things more difficult. Robert admits his father has never been in his corner and they only saw each other every now and then when he was growing up. The two spoke a year and a half ago with Roberto acknowledging his son’s growing career and haven’t talked since.

Along the way, Robert trained under Rhode Island legend and longtime Burchfield protégé Vinny Paz, who ironically had two epic battles with his father in 1994 and 1995. Four years later, he finally linked up with Burchfield, whom he says is an “honest man” who has helped alleviate the pressure of trying to build his career on his own.

“I worked my ass off for years doing everything I could. I was my own promoter, my own matchmaker – you name it,” Duran said. “God put Jimmy in my path. With the right promotion and guidance, I’m ready to take off.”

The clock is ticking as both Hagler and Duran enter their mid-30s, but if boxing has shown us anything it’s that it’s never too late to rewrite one’s story. The next chapter in the journey of two promising fighters looking to carve their own path beginning May 20.

For more information, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING.

INFORMATION

CES Boxing is one of the top promotions in the northeast and one of the few to successfully promote both mixed martial arts and professional boxing. Launched in 1992 by longtime boxing judge Jimmy Burchfield Sr., the promotion is the only in professional boxing to boast two reigning WBC Youth world champions in lightweight Jamaine Ortiz and featherweight Irvin Gonzalez. CES Boxing recently teamed with UFC FIGHT PASS, the world’s No. 1 streaming platform for combat sports, to showcase its events to a worldwide audience, and worked as a promotional consultant for the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view event in November of 2020.