Roberto Duran was one of the most revered and popular fighters in boxing history. The Panamanian icon established himself as one of the greatest Lightweight champions of all time in the seventies and then jumped two weight divisions to become the first man to beat Sugar Ray Leonard. He won world championships in four different weights and tangled with the likes of Leonard, Hearns, Hagler, Palomino, Cuevas, Buchanan and Barkley. When he fought the whole of Panama held its breath. This book, by Christian Guidice, is the first biography ever written about the boxer who became known as 'Hands Of Stone'.

The book begins with a prologue. Duran is fighting Sugar Ray Leonard for the second time but all is not going well. Leonard, after unwisely brawling with Duran in the first fight, is now boxing on the outside and taunting Duran, throwing 'Bolo' punches and clowning about. In the eighth round Duran, who isn't hurt at all, turns his back on Leonard and says "No mas" ("No more.") It's one of the most infamous incidents in boxing history. What was Duran thinking? With this thought the reader moves onto the start of the book proper.

Hands Of Stone begins with some background detail about Panama and its complicated relationship to the United States. Panama is depicted as a place where poverty is widespread. The young Duran grows up on these streets and is a sort of juvenile hustler, doing little dead end jobs and getting into trouble. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone, his father a US soldier (who he never really got to know) and his mother a pretty local girl from whom he inherited his dark good looks. Guidice sketches in his family background and explains that Roberto was full of energy and always hungry. Food was scarce in the Duran house and the young Roberto would spend most of the day looking for a relative or friend who could supply a meal. This 'hunger' is a key theme of the book. It explains the fury of the young Duran in the ring, his desperation to escape the poverty of his youth and help his family. It also explains his later battles with his weight and inability to curb his spending habits. His reckless eating and drinking during stages of his boxing career. Duran never forgot where he came from and this was both a weakness and a strength. He begins fighting in the street and his natural strength and ferocity soon lead to the boxing ring.

Guidice uses quotes from Duran throughout the book from his own conversations with the boxer and while these are entertaining they don't delve too deep or demystify. Duran comes across as someone who never really grew up. Someone who has blown several fortunes but doesn't really have any regrets. He wouldn't have swapped being Roberto Duran for anything else. After a fight he would drink champagne and throw money around. He had female groupies turning up to his training sessions at the height of his fame. You get the impression that it never really hit home to Duran that one day he would get older and the big fights - or boxing altogether - would no longer be there to wipe out debts. Duran comes across as likeable though. Guidice tells us that he had a pet lion in Panama that he used to do impressions of and always did his best to help those who were less fortunate than himself. He was an uncomplicated man who did his best in the role of a national hero.

Guidice does a good job overall and the book is very well researched. He isn't too flashy a writer, - he's no Norman Mailer or Nick Tosches - but a competent one who uses a simple structure to tell the story. I did find a couple of factual mistakes/misprints in the book but if I had to come up with one gripe it would be that Guidice sometimes doesn't spend quite enough time on individual fights. This is minor gripe but a fair one I think because this book is very boxing intensive. You won't gain a tremendous insight about Duran's wife for example. I can sometimes tune out of biographies that drone on about somebody's family history so the approach was fine by me but perhaps could have been more detailed at times in terms of big fights.

Guidice was wise enough to sprinkle dozens of quotes from boxing magazines and boxing writers through the book and this makes it much more interesting in my opinion. For example, Ray Arcel, a legendary trainer from the twenties who became a 'strategist' for Duran in the seventies is one of many voices from the past who adds to the book. Arcel's quotes concerning the 'No Mas' incident - and how it affected him - are particurly interesting and illuminating. Guidice rounds up several theories about the second Leonard fight - Duran had partied since the first fight and was in no shape or, and this is verified by a couple of insiders; simply ate a massive breakfast the day of the fight that he never recovered from! - and leaves you to decide which one is most plausible. It's a better approach than Nick Tosches took in 'Night Train' where he bombarded the reader with his view that Sonny Liston threw his fights agaisnt Ali and then failed to back this claim up with any evidence whatsoever!

It's very absorbing though to be taken back in time to the ferocious young Roberto tearing up the Lightweight division and a reminder of how vicious Duran was. When Ray Lampkin is hospitalized after a 1975 bout with 'Hands Of Stone' Duran tells the press that if he had trained properly Lampkin would be in the morgue. It's interesting to read about the erudite and polished Sugar Ray Leonard being totally thrown off kilter by Duran's insults and coldness prior to their first fight. His colourful and intense rivalries with Hispanic fighters like Esteban De Jesus are also fascinating to read about for any boxing fan. The author makes an excellent point when he explains that the stereotypical Panamanian boxer was a silky smooth artist whereas Duran fought more in the style of the great Mexican champions. It explained why he had such broad appeal across different cultural groups and nationalities.

Scottish fighter Kenny Buchanan, who Duran won the Lightweight title from in 1972, in a foul infested and unstoppable performance, provides some interesting quotes for this section.

The story/urban myth about Duran knocking out a horse is also touched on (!) and there is also a remarkable passage where Duran is ordered to train in seclusion for his fight agaisnt the great Wilfredo Benitez to make sure he is in top condition. Duran somehow ends up training on Panama's version of 'Alcatraz', surrounded by the most notorious murderers of the day!

The transition from the young vicious Roberto to the older Duran, now more reliant on guile, is interesting to follow. In 1983 at Madison Square Garden, Duran, now considered to be past it and his reputation and career at an all time low, is thrown in agaisnt the young power punching New Yorker Davey Moore for the WBA Junior Middleweight Championship. Moore is psychologically affected when the crowd - who are in his backyard afterall - all chant for Duran. Duran then destroys Moore in the ring. He's forgotten more about boxing than Moore will ever know. There are several moments and fights like this in the book that help you to understand why Duran is regarded as a legend and an icon.

Duran's relationship to Panama is depicted as a source of pride and motivation but also a burden. Today though Panama still reveres Duran and even put him on their stamps!

So all in all this is a book I would recommend. It isn't too long and is very readable. There is also a nice selection of photographs in the book that capture Duran at various points in his life and career. Guidice understandably rushes through the final stage of Duran's career where he fought on into his forties in nowhere towns purely for the money but he does a good job overall. He also brings you up to date to where Duran is now in his life at the end. His fondness for Duran - as a boxer and a person - is very apparent.

A must buy for any boxing fan.