The great Roberto Duran is a retired professional Panamanian fighter. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all-time. During his career he would be called in admiration, " Manos de Piedra" which translates to "Hands of Stone".
He retired in January 2002, at age 50, (having previously retired in 1998) following a bad car crash in October 2001. He finished his career with a professional record of 119 fights, 103 wins with 70 knock outs. Now we have the great exciting sport of mixed martial arts, and even though I am a former Amateur boxer and heavyweight sparring partner, I have all but turned my back on the once great sport of boxing.
"Hands of stone" now belongs to a tough young Mixed Martial Arts prospect from the TKO /ORG in Canada. He also fights in the UFC with a record of 2-2 in the UFC.
I used to like to study all the old time greats like Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey. They would be rolling over in their graves if they could see the state of today's boxing situation. All is not lost though. MMA, wrestling promoters and boxing promoters are all starting work together and the future looks promising.
Another reason the future looks promising for mixed martial arts is fighters like Sam Stout, Palhares and Alves. First thing I'd like to say about these three fighters is they have another thing in common besides being outstanding fighters.They had to get their break in the fight game the old fashioned way (they earned it). No TUF contestants here thank you.
Stout made his UFC debut at lightweight at the CANADA VS USA UFC event. Although Stout was originally scheduled to face Ken Flo at UFC 58, Florian withdrew from the fight due to a back injury.
Spencer fisher stepped up to take his place! Stout and Fisher fought a three-round war at UFC 58. Stout showed his courage and toughness in this bout and he won the split decision. Sam's ability to absorb tremendous punishment and still keep coming forward to throw his own barrage makes him one of the toughest young prospects in the business.
Recently Stout lost to Rich Clementi but had a stong performance. The 23 year old Stout is as tough as nails, with the heart of a lion. Time after time in fight after fight, Sam shows his iron jaw and tremendous heart. The judge's scores were 29-27 Clementi, 29-28 Stout, and 29-28 Clementi. Clementi had a strong first round but Stout out-struck him in the second and third rounds. A very close fight!!
Stouts record is 13-4-1 so the new kid in town, who has borrowed the nickname from the great Roberto Duran, looks like he just might be able to live up to the great Duran's moniker after all.
Stout's next fight will be against Terry Etim at UFC 89.
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