I Am Duran: The Autobiography of Roberto Duran

by Roberto Duran

update

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Sports, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 8, 2016

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good first-person narrative of Los Manos de Piedras, Hands of Stone. This was a true and honest story about boxer Roberto Duran. This Panamanian fighter was born into poverty and grew up a street kid, a palao, a quick-witted, quick-handed, and street smart kid in and out of jail who was fortunate enough to work his way into boxing. The story was a fast one with alcohol, celebrity, and a hero in Panama. There was a lot of insightful moments, nostalgia, and stoic "take life as it comes" tones throughout the story.

It was written from the heart by a great boxer. I would recommend this anyone interested in sports biographies/autobiographies and boxing. Thanks!

[Colby Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Duran’s life is truly inspirational. He has uncanny self confidence and doesn’t lighten up on his imperfections. He embraces everything that life has shown him.

I’d recommend this book to anyone as it depicts all the glamour fame brings, and all the adversity that comes with poverty and falling from grace.

[César (pronounced with a Polish accent) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Party, party, drink, drink, fight, fight, fight. Tough guy, lots of huge character flaws. Fortunate for him, he had boxing skills.

[Muhtasim Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young man from Panama became one of the greatest boxer of all time. Though his young life was filled with adversity and poverty,began boxing at the age of 8.He made his way through to become 4 times world champion.
Habitat forms a man.He was a inspiring tough guy but not a man of great character.
Out of 119 fights he won 103 and 70 of them were knockouts.Surely a aggressive boxer,nicknamed "Hands of Stone".This autobiography depicts his life,inspiration and career.

[Lea Worrall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest account of one of the best boxers in history. Duran came from a poor background, leaving school early to make money to look after his mum & siblings. He was a shoe shiner, sold newspapers, sang and danced in the streets and stole mangoes to make ends meet.

He found fame as a boxer, winning world titles in the lightweight, welterweight, light-middleweight & middleweight divisions. He was the first man to defeat Ray Leonard and the first middleweight challenger to take Marvin Hagler the full 15 round distance.

And yes, he knocked over a horse with a single punch. Even though ‘Hands of Stone’ went on too long, his legacy will never be tarnished.

If you’re a fan of Duran and boxing, this book will take you into his personal life and boxing career in great detail. A must read.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so desperately wanted to love this book because Roberto Duran is a hero in Panama, where I lived for many years.

Unfortunately this was written on a fifth grade level and seemed to go nowhere…. Slowly.

[Alexander Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of boxing autobiographies, you will enjoy this book. If you're just a fan of sports biographies, there are better ones out there.

This was clearly made for the boxing purists. If you love the stories of a hard-fighting and harder partying boxer who would take on anyone for a paycheck, you will love what you read here. If you're looking for nuanced sports psychology or strategic breakdowns of fights, you will need to look elsewhere.

I enjoyed it, for what it's worth. It was a fun listen on Audible. The narrator they get is hilarious, bringing Roberto Duran's words to life.

Recommended for a boxing fan.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars but I'm rounding up instead of down in case I ever run into him and he gets mad at me for not giving it 5 stars.

A very honest and no-holds-barred look at not only the fighter, but the man as well. Everything is covered. The good, the bad, the ugly.
Duran definitely doesn't hide who he is.

Quick and very solid and entertaining read. Quite a page-turner for a work of non-fiction.
My kind of read. Stories are quick and to-the-point. Nothing long and drawn out.
Tell a story quickly and move on to the next one.
And with his life, he could have easily added quite a bit more.

[Derick Parsons · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

Not all that. More a recital of all his fights than anything else. Gave glimpses into his life but the man revealed is nothing special outside the ring. Not over-bright, a drunken selfish womaniser who lived to indulge his appetites and seemed to care nothing for anyone else. A base, coarse, undisciplined, openly animal man. A great fighter, though. Had the ego to go with his talent and always had an excuse for his defeats...while mocking rivals who made excuses for losing to him!

[M Pau · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like autobiographies and boxing you will enjoy this book.

Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran was an all time fighter., with 119 fights, 103 wins and only 16 losses.

You will learn how he began sparring with experienced boxers since he was 8 years old. You will learn all about his life and boxing career.

[Pedro · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story. A detailed account of his life which the movie fails to deliver. I recommend this book to lovers of boxing or simply - anybody who has an interest in a true fighter of the 'ring' and life itself. It made me - and still does - want to visit his Cafe in Panama and see some living history.

[Cruz Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good look into the life of Roberto Duran.

[Jude Ripin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands Of Stone, enough said..!!!

[avahardyam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on the life of Duran; from poverty in El Chorillo to being a legend. One can imagine how savage this guy is, being the idol of Mike Tyson himself.

[Sergio Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recuerdo que hace como tres o cuatro años que leí este libro no pude dejar de leerlo, me resulto muy emocionante.

[Gaspar Olea · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Manos De Piedra" Duran is awesome Panamanian boxer. Hilarious dude. Latino Mike Tyson.

[Nigel Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

He told his story that’s it but i will be reading a biography of Roberto Duran next to have a view of somebody else’s view on his career , worth the read but not the best of books

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: IN THE RING THERE IS AN ANIMAL INSIDE ME… THE STREETS TAUGHT ME WHAT I NEEDED IN LIFE & BOXING
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This is the autobiography of the infamous “MANOS DE PIEDRA”… “Hands of Stone… multi-world-boxing-champion… Roberto Duran. And as Duran likes to say…”Manos”… not “Mano”… both hands. This book… fortunately… just like the man himself in the ring… is unabashedly direct… with no defense provided or intended. Unfortunately… one or two times a little bit of civility… would have been better for all. I pride myself on being a type of “street-fighter” in life… having come from meager circumstances… but absolutely nothing like Roberto… who came straight… straight… straight… from the harshest impoverished streets of Panama. I warn any potential readers… that the writing… is just like he talks. In addition to my early background… I am also an Honorably Discharged Viet Nam Era Veteran… and as such… I unabashedly admit… that an extremely high percentage of my language… in the right circumstances… includes many four letter words. So when the book starts out… Duran (through the writing) talked to me like I’m used to talking and being talked to. But… I always try my best to be a perfect gentleman in front of women and others deserving of such courtesies. So… it was very disappointing… and offsetting… the way Duran would talk to people like Sugar Ray Leonard’s wife and others. As I’ve tried to attest to in the opening of my review… I’m not from a lot of culture and don’t drink with my pinkie in the air… but Duran’s language was totally out of place in the proximity of some.

Putting that aside… if you’re a big fan of boxing… and the time of Duran’s heyday was a golden age of boxing…. you can either relive your experience… or expand your historical perspective of the fight game. The championships he won… have truly earned him not only enshrinement in multiple boxing Halls of Fame… but rightful inclusion on many top ranking lists of all-time.

It is almost poetic… when I tell you that this book is written… exactly… I mean exactly… like Duran fought. When the bell rings… and the book is opened… there is no dancing around! “Manos de Piedra” comes right at you… he cuts off the ring… and starts battering you inside… and it doesn’t stop till the end of the book. In addition to the gamesmanship… and psychological manipulation… that went into every big fight… you’ll also get a grueling immersion into the pounds… YES LITERALLY POUNDS… of sweat… like blood dripping in a barrel… that was each and every training camp. I always knew… about his enormous… non-stop partying… and that quite frankly… was one of the things I loved about him… along with him… going inside and challenging the manhood… of ever guy he fought. But… until this book… I never truly knew… I don’t know of any… non-insider… who really knew… that at times he’d have to lose 60-70 pounds in a month! (Yes… a month!!). How could you possibly have any strength to go toe to toe with another boxer for the world title in that weakened state.

Additionally… his womanizing as a married man… a married man to a woman he says he’s always loved and cherished… is almost hard to fully comprehend… it was as unstoppable as his drinking and spending. There are numerous children out of wedlock… and the most amazing aspect of this book… at least to me… who has been a big boxing fan my whole life… and have gone to some of his fights… in addition to the astronomical amount of weight he would gain between fights… is how he threw millions and millions of dollars around… as if each dollar was radioactive… and would immediately kill him and his whole family. (I’m not sure he cared if it infected the sluts he constantly cheated on his wife with.)

Duran was bankrupt more than once… and his love-hate relationship with his native Panama… is the kind of thing “books-are-written-about”! From a penniless street urchin… to a World Boxing Champion that returns to Panama… and has more people greet his return (300,000 – 400,000) than turned out six weeks later for the Pope! Then after losses he felt Panama deserted him… and then after regaining a championship once again… the love chimes are playing loud and clear.

This book… like the great fighter… pulls no freakin punches. At times some of his bombast seems like it couldn’t quite be really true… but please read my footnote below:

Note: coincidentally… after I finished this book last night… I saw a new hour long interview of Sugar Ray Leonard… unfortunately… the interviewer was one of my most despised announcers of all time (I would like to use a four-letter-word here myself)… Joe Buck. And as Sugar Ray told his life story… everything Leonard said about Duran and their three fights for the ages… matched exactly what Duran said in this book. INCLUDING… he never heard Duran say “No mas!”

[Christopher Carver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a bit torn on this one. It was interesting and worth reading as a boxing fan, so I would like to give it 3 stars. However, Duran was not a likeable person for me (although I have the highest respect for his boxing accomplishments), so much of the book was not enjoyable to read. If you're a fan of Duran or the history of boxing, you'll probably enjoy it. If not, it's hard to look past the faults of Roberto Duran and enjoy this book completely.

[Dave B · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the all time greats who if he had led an athletes life away from boxing would have surely went down as possibly the greatest. The book is warts and all, and does not attempt to glorify the road he has lived, with the women, money wasted, hangers on.

[Diego Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his first hand account of his own career. You get to really dive into his thoughts and feelings about himself. He allows himself to be emotionally vulnerability in order to write this raw piece of self reflection.

[Mansour · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would recommend to my classmate

[Meakin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is Manos de Piedra

[Aranka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid book that sums up Duran's life. It's repetitive because thats just how his life was. I enjoyed it.

[mat · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read

What a life he has lived. Well paced book and interesting to hear his perspective

Recommend this to any boxing fan

[Diego Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply personal and intimate telling of Panamas greatest pugilist. His rise to the top, his fall from grace and all the demons in between. Roberto Duran was a once in a lifetime fighter, from the streets of his hometown to the biggest fights of the 80s. His life is enriching as is his resume.

[Christine Jasica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough, gritty, tell it like it is kind of book. I really enjoyed this book.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and at no point did it ever get bogged down.