Durán had captured the WBA and Ring lightweight titles from Ken Buchanan five months earlier at the same arena. Two quick stoppages followed, and the 10-round meeting with De Jesús may have looked like another chance to stay active in New York.
His preparation was far from ideal. Durán had suffered an injured elbow and cuts to his lip in a car accident. Reports also described a young champion enjoying the rewards of his new position and treating the fight less seriously than De Jesús did.
Both boxers came in above the lightweight limit, with Durán at 137½ pounds and De Jesús at 138. That kept the championship belts out of reach, but the absence of titles did nothing to reduce the importance of what followed.
De Jesús was 22 years old and carried only one defeat on a record listed around 32-1 or 33-1. The former Puerto Rican lightweight champion possessed the timing, composure and left hook needed to punish Durán’s aggression.
Protecting his early advantage, De Jesús worked from range, used his jab and combinations, then caught Durán with the left hook when the champion tried to force his way inside.
The usual Durán pressure never fully arrived. He landed enough hard punches to remain dangerous, including a right hand during the eighth that forced De Jesús to clinch, but his attacks lacked their normal volume. Frustration showed in the fifth when referee Arthur Mercante warned him for hitting after the break and delivering a low blow. Both men continued punching after the bell in the eighth.
Ten rounds later, all three officials favored De Jesús before 9,144 spectators. Mercante gave him five rounds to Durán’s four, with one even. Harold Lederman scored six rounds for De Jesús and three for Durán, with one even, while Bill Recht gave De Jesús six rounds, Durán two, and scored two even. The $62,339 gate reflected the interest surrounding Durán’s New York return, but the night belonged to the Puerto Rican contender.
The defeat did not diminish Durán for long. It gave him a target.
Their second fight came in Panama in March 1974, this time with the WBA lightweight title at stake. De Jesús floored Durán again in the opening round, but the champion recovered and stopped him in the 11th.
The deciding meeting followed four years later in Las Vegas with the WBA and WBC championships on the line. Durán ended their rivalry by stopping De Jesús in the 12th round, completing his domination of the lightweight division before moving up in weight.
Competition eventually gave way to something deeper. In 1989, Durán visited De Jesús as his former opponent was dying from AIDS. He embraced and kissed him publicly during a period when fear and stigma surrounded the disease.
That 1972 upset remains one of the defining results of the decade. De Jesús did not catch an unknown prospect before his prime. He defeated the reigning lightweight champion, then forced one of boxing’s greatest fighters to spend the next six years proving that night would never happen again.
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