Although there was no world title at stake, the scheduled 12-round catchweight contest was of great importance. The winner will get a shot at WBA junior middleweight champion Davey Moore. Duran weighed 152 pounds, while Cuevas weighed 149. Both fighters were guaranteed $50,000 and a share of the closed television revenue, and the event generated a live gate of $408,000.
From the opening bell, Duran delivered a precision punch that has made him one of the sport's all-time greats. He built a sharp left jab, controlled the distance and hit Cuevas repeatedly, preventing the hard-hitting Mexican from getting to his feet.
Cuevas tried to force an exchange, but Duran calmly slipped the punches, responded with cool combinations and showed little concern for his opponent's feared power. By the end of the second round, it was clear that Duran meant every aspect of the fight.
Duran took complete control in the third round. A broken left hook rocked Cuevas, and a right uppercut later left the former champion badly shaken. Cuevas continued to press forward, but his punches lacked the usual authority as Duran picked him apart with great timing, precision and regularity.
The finish came at 2:26 of the fourth round. A powerful right hand hurt Cuevas badly and drove him to the ropes. Duran destroyed the attack, scoring the first goal and forcing referee James Jen Kin to intervene. When the action resumed, Duran wasted little time, peppering Cuevas with a right-left combination that sent him to the canvas a second time.
Cuevas rose to his feet, but manager Lupe Suarez immediately threw in the towel to not wash his star. The official result was a fourth-round technical knockout, the 56th win of Duran's impressive career.
The victory answered lingering questions about whether Duran remains a top player after the struggles of Leonard and Laing. Rather than being remembered as just another faded former champion, “Hands of Stone” reminded the boxing world why he was considered one of the sport's greatest rivals.
Duran improved to 75-4 and got the opportunity he was looking for. Later that year, he challenged the undefeated Davey Moore for the WBA junior middleweight championship and stopped him in eight rounds to capture the world title in the third weight division, completing one of boxing's greatest revisions.
Cuevas dropped to 29-8. Once one of the most feared boxers in the sport, he never reached the championship level again, fighting only occasionally before retiring in 1989.
Today, Duran's destruction of Cuevas is remembered as the play that dominated his Hall of Fame career. It removed many doubts about his future and set the stage for his unforgettable championship victory over Moore later that year.
