It’s a Show of Strength for Duran : Victory Could Give 36-Year-Old Title Shot; Breland, Starling Win

Marlon Starling, the World Boxing Assn. welterweight champion, and Mark Breland both won to set up a rematch, but the star of the show Friday night was 36-year-old Roberto Duran.

Duran, a former champion in three divisions, knocked down Ricky Stackhouse twice and won a unanimous 10-round decision to remain in the middleweight title picture.

If Mike McCallum can win the WBA middleweight title from Sumbu Kalambay March 5 in Italy, plans call for him to defend the title against Duran at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Duran said he hurt his right hand in the fifth round, but the injury is believed not serious. Duran said he would like to fight again in April, rather than just wait for a championship bid.

Starling scored one-sided 12-round decision over Fujio Ozaki of Japan in a fight that often drew boos from the Convention Center crowd for its lack of action.

“I was kind of sluggish,” Starling said. “I came in a little bit too light but we got away with the W.”

Breland, who lost his title to Starling on an 11th-round knockout last Aug. 27, knocked down Juan Alonso Villa of Mexico and stopped him in the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder.

Starling and Breland are scheduled to meet April 16 in Las Vegas.

Starling, 145, of Hartford, Conn., scored well with his left jab and short left hooks and rights to the head throughout the bout, but never had the challenger in serious trouble--much to the annoyance of a crowd of about 4,000.

Ozaki, 146, kept throwing punches, but most were caught by Starling on his arms and gloves. However, in the 12th round, the challenger did manage to knock out Starling’s mouthpiece.

Judge Wiso Hernandez of Puerto Rico scored the bout 118-110. Carlos Sucra of Venezuela had it 117-112, and Rudolfo Maldonado of Panama scored it 117-114 for Starling, who has a 43-4 record with 26 knockouts.

Ozaki, fighting for the first time outside Japan, is 21-5 with 14 KOs.

Breland knocked down Villa in the second round with a left hook after missing with a right hand. The Mexican got up at eight and then went toe to toe with Breland.

After the bell, Villa, 147, hit Breland in the back, and when he turned to go to his corner, fell down. Breland, 146, had landed several hard punches during the round.

In the third round, Breland drove Villa into the ropes with a left-right to the head. After a flurry of Breland punches, referee Joe O’Neill gave Villa a standing eight-count. After being waved back in, Breland hit Villa with a light left hook that sent him staggering into a corner.

O’Neill then stopped it at 2:03 of the round.

The 24-year-old Breland has a 20-1 record with 13 knockouts. Villa is 25-14 with 21 knockouts.

Duran, who made his pro debut in March 1967, had too much experience and too much power for Stackhouse. Duran, digging hooks to the body and right hands and short left hooks to the head, dominated from the outset.

In the sixth round, as Stackhouse came in, Duran, with his back to the ropes, caught him with two right hands to the chin. Stackhouse, badly hurt, tried to hold onto Duran, but couldn’t and fell to the canvas. He got up at the count of four and took the mandatory eight count.

In the eighth round, Duran (82-7) landed a five-punch combination, which was climaxed by a left hook to the head that dropped Stackhouse (19-6) with more than two minutes left.

Stackhouse struggled up at five and managed to last the round, although he was shaken twice more by right hands to the head.

Duran, who weighed 162 pounds--two pounds over the middleweight limit-- also hurt Stackhouse, 163, in several other rounds. Stackhouse was on the defensive most of the fight.