BOXING / TIM KAWAKAMI : At 43, Duran Will Get Perhaps Last Rich Fight

They are swarming into this city to pay tribute to a legendary survivor, a man who has stayed fiercely true to himself while almost every one of his peers has fallen into retirement, irrelevance or both.

What other 43-year-old, in a nontitle bout against an opponent who has never excited boxing purists, could generate the pay-per-view sales and get the MGM Grand to spring for a $1.2-million site fee?

Only Roberto Duran.

He won his first major title 22 years ago, mumbled “No mas” against Sugar Ray Leonard in the final months of the Carter administration, made his first big comeback by beating Davey Moore in 1983, lost to Robbie Sims in 1986, beat Iran Barkley for his fourth world title and then lost to Leonard again in 1989, and lost what even the most charitable thought was his last fight, in 1991, to Pat Lawlor.

He was 71-1 after defeating Leonard in their first bout in 1980, has won four major belts and fought during the golden era of Hagler, Hearns and Leonard.

But, as always, Duran knew there was mas.

Three years and seven victories against journeyman fighters later, this town is being treated to vintage Duran theater: the roaring, the savage eyes, the no-longer puffy face and the newly trim stomach.

He is the underdog in tonight’s 12-round bout against Vinny Pazienza at the MGM Grand.

If he loses, Duran probably won’t get a big-time fight like this again. But whether he can unleash a vintage “hands of stone” performance against a younger, faster Pazienza is almost beyond the point.

The joy of following Duran, his camp suggests, is the unpredictability of the journey.

“It’s just part of his history--up and down,” said one of his handlers, Mike Acri. “And he’s ready to go back up again.

“He’s been fighting for 27 years--he’s had highs and lows, almost all of them high, and this is just another step.”

It’s a step that will earn Duran a guaranteed $500,000 and a cut of the pay-per-view sales. Pazienza has similar deals.

Said Duran’s manager, Luis DeCubas: “He wants to go down as one of the three greatest Latin athletes of all time. I think Roberto Clemente, Pele and Roberto are the three greatest.”

Duran seems particularly motivated by Pazienza’s apparent lack of respect. Pazienza has poked fun at Duran, at times saying Duran has lost to every good fighter he was ever matched against and that Duran is and always will be a quitter when the chips are down.

And, probably most enraging, Pazienza has suggested that Duran is hopelessly worn down, has no chance of winning, and that this is merely a last payday for a cash-poor Duran.

“This is a great opportunity to show the whole world what great shape I’m in, to show that I’m not shot,” Duran said.

“There is no question. I am taking better care of myself. This is going to be one of my great fights.”

Pazienza’s trainer, Kevin Rooney, doesn’t doubt that the Duran who fights tonight won’t be the same fighter who has looked so slow recently.

“I think Duran’s going to turn back the clock,” Rooney said. “Great fighters can do that. It was told to me by Cus D’Amato, and I’ve seen it.

“I’ve seen Duran do it, against Moore, against Barkley. Ali did it for a little bit. Larry Holmes did it against Mike Tyson. For a fleeting moment, they can recapture their youth.”

Said DeCubas: “There are certain fights that motivate Duran. He’s proven it. He’s lost to ordinary guys, (in 1982 to Kirkland) Laing, fights that didn’t mean anything. And he’s lost some of the bigger ones.

“But when Duran’s got to win, he’s always won. You go back in his history, he had to beat (Pipino) Cuevas (in 1983) to get to Davey Moore. He had to beat Moore to get to (Marvin) Hagler. He had to beat Barkley to get to Leonard.

“When the cards are down, there’s nobody better.”

So, what’s left for him to want? Beyond the cash, beyond the redemption, beyond the anger?

“I’ve got one more goal to reach,” Duran said. “And I’ll talk to you about it after I beat Pazienza.”

*

He has been fighting recently at the 165-pound limit contracted for this fight, but Duran weighed in at 163 1/2 Friday. Pazienza weighed 165.

The Duran camp got two key concessions. The fight will be in an 18-foot ring, giving the quicker Pazienza less space, and the fighters will wear eight-ounce gloves, lighter than usual for super-middleweights, giving the hard-hitting Duran another edge.

Duran lost decisively to Sugar Ray Leonard in their third and final fight in 1989 when Leonard moved easily around the slower Duran in a bigger ring.

“Pazienza can’t beat me running,” Duran said through an interpreter. “He has to stand sometime and fight, a little bit. With an 18-foot ring and eight-ounce gloves, he can run but he can’t hide that much.”

And the comparison to the Leonard fight?

“Pazienza and Leonard, that’s like comparing a Rolls-Royce to a Chevrolet,” Duran said.

*

Haugen the spotlight: Best moment of the last few days? Although it is not customary for the undercard fighters to insult the main-event performers, Greg Haugen, who is on the undercard against Tony Lopez, is no friend of Pazienza’s, having fought him three times and lost twice.

Asked to speak first at the final news conference, Haugen, peeved because someone told him that Pazienza had called him “a twerp,” took time to swipe at Pazienza.

“As I recall,” Haugen said, “I am not a twerp.”

Boxing Notes

As the MGM Grand stages the Roberto Duran-Vince Pazienza fight, its first as sole promoter, the hotel-casino’s relationship with Don King, the man who has promoted most of the MGM’s bouts, appears to be growing frosty. King has one fight left on his promotional contract with the MGM--a September bout matching Julio Cesar Chavez against an opponent to be determined. King is putting on the Orlin Norris-Arthur Williams World Boxing Assn. cruiserweight title bout July 2 at the Mirage, which has not been active in boxing recently. According to Dennis Finfrock, an MGM Grand vice president, the hotel plans to continue working with outside promoters--such as the July 29 Oscar De La Hoya-Jorge Paez bout promoted by Bob Arum, and a Nov. 5 heavyweight title fight between Michael Moorer and George Foreman promoted by Arum and Dan Duva, but hopes to stage many more of its own promotions.

When the July 15 Riddick Bowe card at Hollywood Park was canceled, it took International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Council light-flyweight champion Humberto (Chiquita) Gonzalez’s scheduled undercard bout down with it. Gonzalez will fight next July 8 vs. Carlos Eluaiza at the Forum. . . . The Forum is also planning two world title fights, an Aug. 15 card featuring a defense by International Boxing Federation super-flyweight champion Julio Cesar Borboa, and an Aug. 26 title defense by World Boxing Assn. junior-lightweight title holder Genaro Hernandez.

Angelo Nunez, who gave Oscar De La Hoya a relatively tough fight last August before De La Hoya stopped him in the fourth round on cuts, should provide a standard for measuring where undefeated lightweight Shane Mosley belongs on the list of up-and-comers. Their bout will be Thursday night at the Irvine Marriott. Mosley (11-0, 10 knockouts) was an amateur contemporary of De La Hoya and the Ruelas brothers but has had slower going as a professional.

Calendar

Thursday--Shane Mosley vs. Angelo Nunez, lightweights; Irvine Marriott, 7:30 p.m.