| Fight Date: | August 28, 1998 |
| Fight Name: | Legendary History |
| Location: | Las Vegas Hilton in Winchester, Nevada |
| Fighter1: | William Joppy |
| Record1: | 25–1–1 |
| Height1: | 5 ft 9 in |
| Weight1: | 160 lb |
| Purse1: | $270,000 |
| Style1: | Orthodox |
| Hometown1: | Lincoln Park, Rockville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Recognition1: | WBA middleweight champion |
| Fighter2: | Roberto Durán |
| Nickname2: | Manos de Piedra ("Hands of Stone") |
| Record2: | 101–13 |
| Hometown2: | Panama City, Panama |
| Height2: | 5 ft 7+1/2 in |
| Weight2: | 159 lb |
| Purse2: | $250,000 |
| Style2: | Orthodox |
| Recognition2: | 4-division world champion |
| Titles: | WBA middleweight title |
| Result: | Joppy wins via 3rd-round TKO |
William Joppy vs. Roberto Durán, billed as Legendary History was a professional boxing match contested on August 28, 1998, for the WBA middleweight title.
In his previous fight, William Joppy had regained the WBA middleweight title after defeating Julio César Green, whom had upset him the previous year to take the title, in a rematch. For the first defense of his second reign, 28-year old Joppy was matched up against former 4-division world champion Roberto Durán, whom at 47-years old was two decades older than his opponent and had turned professional in 1967, 3 years prior to Joppy's birth. Durán had not fought for a major world title since challenging Sugar Ray Leonard for WBC super middleweight title in December 1989 and had had limited success since then, only defeating unknown journeymen and losing the three big fights (two against Vinny Paz and one against Héctor Camacho) he did have.
Durán, who had been experiencing financial troubles, excepted Joppy's promoter Don King's offer of a $250,000 purse. After his payday became public knowledge, a Florida judge issued an injunction against King and Showtime (whom was to broadcast the fight), claiming Durán owed $41,000 in child support to the mother of his 10-year-old son,[1] while the IRS looked to seize part of the purse due to Durán owing $300,000 in unpaid taxes.[2]
When the fight was first announced, it was to take place on June 6 as the featured undercard bout on an event headlined by an Evander Holyfield–Henry Akinwande heavyweight title bout. However, when Akinwande tested positive for Hepatitis B the day before the fight, the entire card was cancelled.[3] The Joppy–Durán fight was then rescheduled for August 29 (and then subsequently moved up a day to August 28) with a Bernard Hopkins–Robert Allen IBF middleweight championship as the co-headliner.[4]
Durán, looking every bit his age, was dominated by Joppy who landed punches nearly at will. After easily winning the first two rounds on the scorecards, Joppy wobbled Durán early in the third round and proceeded to continue to brutalize Durán, who offered little offensively or defensively, for the remainder of the round until referee Joe Cortez stopped the fight with six seconds left in the round and awarded Joppy the victory by technical knockout.
After the fight Durán all but officially announced his retirement stating simply "I am finished.", though he would return the following year and fight until 2001. Said Joppy of the victory "This was kind of a sad victory for me, Roberto Duran is a great legend. I've watched him fight since I was a kid. But it's my time now. He's had his years. I want to have mine."[5]
| Weight Class | Weight | vs. | Method | Round | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | William Joppy (c) | def. | Roberto Durán | TKO | 3/12 | |
| Middleweight | 160 lbs. | Bernard Hopkins (c) | vs. | Robert Allen | NC | 4/12 | |
| Cruiserweight | 190 lbs. | Saúl Montana (c) | def. | Tiwon Taylor | TKO | 1/12 | |
| Light Heavyweight | 168 lbs. | Julio César Green | def. | Joaquin Velasquez | TKO | 6/10 |