Roberto Duran's knockout of Lampkin was often cited as a big deal when Duran was making the move up to welter, sort of as a fight that made him at lightweight. Aside from Duran's "if I had been in shape he'd have been in the morgue" instead of the hospital quote after the fight, I'm perplexed to understand how this particular fight was chosen as one that stood out on Duran's resume. Lampkin was certainly a deserving contender and had been in with DeJesus twice to establish his credentials, albeit losing both times. He wasn't a huge puncher and hadn't beaten anyone of high-enough caliber to warrant being considered a major threat to Duran at this point. So what was the big deal about this fight, or about Lampkin?
I don't remember it being that big a deal at all beside the brutality of the finish. Lets see what others say.
Lampkin was in over his head against Duran. It was an afternoon, home TV fight and was probably been built up for ratings purposes.