Boxing Roundup : Duran, 36, Decisions Claudio in Latest Comeback Attempt

Roberto Duran, the former world champion making yet another comeback attempt, won a unanimous decision over Victor Claudio of Puerto Rico Saturday night in a 10-round middleweight fight at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

The 36-year-old Duran (80-7) was fighting for the first time since losing a split decision to Robbie Sims on June 23, 1986. He opened a cut over Claudio’s left eye in the third round and scored the bout’s only knockdown with a left hook in the ninth.

In his time away from boxing, Duran ballooned over 200 pounds, and he had to diet and train extremely hard to come down to 164 pounds for the fight against Claudio (14-4).

The judges’ cards favored Duran, 98-91, 99-91 and 98-92.

An overweight Earnie Shavers, 42, ducked frequently and punched sparingly for a second-round knockout of Larry Simms at Cincinnati in what he hopes is the first step toward a heavyweight title shot.

“Bad, man,” Shavers said, appraising his effort. “I need some work. I need a lot of work. The jab wasn’t working, nothing was working.”

Shavers floored Simms, 36, with a body blow and an uppercut at 1:30 of the second round. He improved his record to 68-15-1 with his 65th career knockout.