Читать книгу Sporting Blood. Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing онлайн

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De Jesús defended his WBC title three times in Bayamon, turning back Hector Julio Medina, Buzzsaw Yamabe, and Vincent Mijares—all by stoppage. Finally, nearly four years after their last meeting, the scene was set for de Jesús and Durán to renew their hostilities, this time for the undisputed lightweight championship. A few months after beating de Jesús in Panama City, Durán spoke to the Miami Herald about his toughest foe: “I would not like to step into the ring again with Esteban,” Durán said, “but if it comes to it, I will knock him out again.” According to promoter Don King, staging the rubber match was just short of hard labor. “It was a job just to get the two managers of the fighters to even think about a match,” King told Sports Illustrated. “They had fought twice and neither wanted to fight a third time. First I convinced de Jesús. But the hard part was convincing Eleta. Then, when we did agree, trying to find a site that pleased him was almost impossible. One place was too cold; the next too hot. A third place, somewhere in Africa, was OK, but then Eleta didn't think he could get Durán's money out. He finally said yes to Las Vegas.”