I was hoping they would show him in the movie. He was another arch-nemesis of Duran's. He was the first fighter to beat Duran. When de Jesus was dying of AIDS, Duran went to visit him on his death bed and in a compassionate gesture, he hugged and kissed him.
sharePretty moving story. He also wept bitterly at his funeral.
shareI actually think that's a much better story than Duran's rivalry with SRL and the whole "no mas" issue, which it looks like the writers/filmmakers took a lot of creative liberty with. Had they focused on Duran's rivalry with DeJesus, they could have stuck to the truth and delivered a very emotional and impactful story.
shareThe win over Leonard and then the second fight disaster were the biggest apex and valley of his career, that then led to the second act of his boxing life. Any Duran bio that doesn't focus on 1980 would be silly.
shareAs a complete bio, yes. For storytelling, while still telling the truth...
shareThe movie also drew out the SRL first fight's decision by making one of the judges give it a draw but on Boxrec it clearly says Roberto won by UD.
They also went on to show his last fight as a win, but in fact his very LAST fight was a loss. He lost quite a few fights after SRL.
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