Durán was known as a versatile, technical brawler and pressure fighter, which earned him the nickname "Manos de Piedra" ("Hands of Stone") for his formidable punching power and excellent defense.

Durán retired for good in January 2002 at age 50, following a car crash in Argentina in October 2001, after which he had required life saving surgery.

His mother, Clara Samaniego, was a native of Guararé and his father, Margarito Duran, an American of Mexican heritage was stationed in Panama for the U.S. Army at the time of Roberto’s birth.

[7] He was raised in the slums of El Chorrillo in the district "La Casa de Piedra" (The House of Stone), in Panama City.

[11] Durán won his first 31 consecutive professional fights, and scored knockout victories over future Featherweight Champion Ernesto Marcel and former Super Featherweight Champion Hiroshi Kobayashi, culminating in his first title bout in June 1972, where he defeated Ken Buchanan at Madison Square Garden for the WBA Lightweight Championship.

Durán, as a 2-to-1 underdog, scored a knockdown against the defending champion just fifteen seconds into the opening round and battered him throughout the bout.

[13] Columnist Red Smith of The New York Times wrote that LoBianco had to award the victory to Durán, even if the punch was a low blow, as "anything short of pulling a knife is regarded indulgently" in American boxing.

Durán got back on track with successful title defenses against Jimmy Robertson, Hector Thompson and future Lightweight Champion Guts Ishimatsu.

During the seventh round, after Leonard had gained a slight lead on the scorecards, he began taunting and mocking Durán.

For a brief time after the "No más" debacle, Durán retired from boxing, but soon changed his mind, not wanting to end his career on such a bad note.

[20] He took some time to recover from that fight and gained even more weight to contend for the WBC Light Middleweight title, but losing in his first attempt at a championship in that division on January 30, 1982, against Wilfred Benítez by a 15-round unanimous decision, this after having defeated Nino Gonzalez and Luigi Minchillo, two rated Light Middleweights, both by ten-round decisions in non-title bouts.

After being relegated to a 10-round walk out win over Englishman Jimmy Batten at The Battle of The Champions in Miami, Durán signed with promoter Bob Arum.

The WBA title bout took place at Madison Square Garden on June 16, 1983, which also happened to be Durán's 32nd birthday.

Finally the fight was stopped in the eighth round as Moore was taking a horrific beating and Durán won his third world title.

[22] Durán later fought for the World Middleweight Championship, meeting Marvelous Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas on November 10, 1983.

The fight is considered one of Durán's greatest achievements, as the 37-year-old former lightweight champion took the middleweight crown, his fourth title.

In June 2000, Durán avenged a previous loss to Pat Lawlor from 9 years before and won the NBA Super Middleweight Championship on his 49th birthday.

"[23] Durán's five world title belts, which he won in four different divisions, were stolen from his house in Panama in 1993 during a robbery allegedly staged by his brother-in-law, who gave them to memorabilia seller Luis González Báez, who stood trial for trying to sell stolen goods.

[25] Coincidentally, the diagnosis came on the 48th anniversary of Durán's first world title victory against Ken Buchanan, which took place on June 26, 1972.

Durán's life and boxing career are told in the documentary Los puños de una nación ("The Fists of a Nation") by Panamanian filmmaker Pituka Ortega-Heilbron.

In "Corporate Warriors", the fourth episode of the second season of the hit American crime drama CSI: NY, Durán is mentioned by the medical examiner while discussing a dead man found to have bone grafts put in his hands to boost his punching power.

The song "The Eyes of Roberto Durán" by Tom Russell, from the album The Long Way Around, contains the lyric, "Panama City – it's three in the morning; they're talking 'bout the Hands of Stone."

"[33] The musician Jackie Leven recorded a song ("Museum of Childhood") that explores the events of the second world title fight between Durán and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Jazz musician Miles Davis, an avid boxing fan, recorded a tribute to Roberto Durán titled "Duran".

Durán is mentioned in the salsa song "Pa'l Bailador" by Colombian singer Joe Arroyo in 1989, "A Roberto Duran, Aya en Panama, Mano de Piedra!"

Durán is referenced multiple times in the song "Uno Mas" by Alex Soria's band Chino.

Durán's 1983 fight with Davey Moore is referenced in the 2014 single, "The Possum," by American songwriter, Sun Kil Moon (i.e. Mark Kozelek), who often writes about boxers.

Kozelek sings: "They threw hard vicious guttural B-flats that shook their opponent / Like a tough Roberto "Hands of Stone" Durán, in the seventh round / Davey Moore, June 16, 1983..." [34] Durán himself was a Salsa singer once, leading an orchestra named "Felicidad" after his wife.