When we hear the name Duran in boxing, we think of hands of stone. We reminisce over epic battles that spanned over five decades, one in particular against the then undefeated Ray Sugar Leonard more so the famous classic ‘No Mas’ which Duran openly said overshadowed the four weight world champion’s achievements.

It’s now 2020. A new Duran is in town. He’s been around for some time but has silently been working on his craft behind closed doors.

No living in his famous father’s shadow. Robert Duran Jr has had it tough and is carving a path for his own destiny.

“Growing up watching my dad box,i use to see him in the gym here and there when i did see him and I thought i was already getting into fights so why not use that and get into boxing.”

From a young age, Duran Jr had always felt an underlying aggression due to his father not being around so much; it is from that he decided to channel that aggression into something positive.

“Growing up with my mum’s side of the family and in that situation area, I just felt resentment and anger and I wanted to use that anger to control my emotions. As soon as I hit my teens I just learnt to let go and stop looking for my father. The older I got, the more the anger grew and I started questioning what I was going to do with my life. It’s from that I decided I wanted to start boxing.”

After a brief conversation with his sister, Duran JR moved from New York to Florida to start training.

“My sister has links in boxing and made the call. It happened almost instantly and before you knew it I was leaving New York for Florida. I trained with a guy who actually fought Mike Tyson. I literally had one training session with him but left him shortly afterwards as word got out that I had been training at his house for two weeks when the truth was I had only done one day at his gym in Miami. So the trust went.”

After leaving the gym, Vinny Paz who fought and beat his father and to whom Robert refers to as his godfather stepped in and trained him for a while.

Although they have parted ways Paz remains a dominant figure in his life and is on hand for support and guidance.

“Vinny is such a positive role model in my life.He is such an important person in my life and i love him. He has a lot going on so I thought best to find someone else to train me so that he can focus on what he needs to do. I am being trained by Jeff who lives in the same area as me. I am currently a free agent and that is how I want to stay as I feel I am in control of my career.”

After coming back from defeat on his last professional fight in the states on a star boxing prmomtion,Duran Jr decided to come to London to fight in December on a charity boxing event organised by former light-heavyweight champion Mark Prince OBE.

The event was held to raise money for Mark’s foundation – The Kiyan Prince Foundation. The charity was set up in memory of his son who was tragically murdered outside his school.

“When I saw what mark was doing was like I need to be a part of this. I want to support as I have seen a lot growing up on the streets. I have lost friends to gun and knife violence. I also have a lot of support from the UK.Jab Apparel have been with me from early and they are based in London. I reached out to Mark and ended up headlining his event which was an honour. I took the fight seriously like any bout and got the win.”

Carrying the name of such a prolific and well respected world champion can be a Burdon and huge responsibility for anyone. Duran JR has made it perfectly clear he carries the name with pride but ultimately he is creating his own path.

“I carry the name not just because of my father but my brother too, who also boxed. I am proud of the name and am fully aware of the responsibility and comparisons it creates. But I am here to create my own legacy inside and outside that boxing ring. I have big plans for 2020 with a fight scheduled for Febuary.By the end of this year I want to be a position to be fighting for a world title and would love to fight in London again. At the moment I am focused on myself and providing the best of what I can for my family.”