Roberto Duran is one of the greatest fighters of all time. And maybe the toughest.
In the mid-1980s, I watched him train in Palm Springs, Calif., in a ring set up in an outdoor tent. It was 120 degrees inside and the steel ring posts were too hot to touch. The 95-degree day outside felt like air-conditioning.
Duran - with the "Hands of Stone" - was a tremendous champion, holding titles in four weight divisions.
The Panama native's record was an unbelievable 73-1 after he decisioned Sugar Ray Leonard for the WBC welterweight title in 1980.
But now he is 45 years old - maybe even older - and should have retired years ago. His record is only 24-11 in the last 16 years.
Despite being in good shape for his advanced boxing age, Duran lost to Hector Camacho in Atlantic City Saturday night in a 12-round middleweight bout.
The 34-year-old "Macho Man" was another outstanding fighter in his prime, but he is also on the long list of current boxing has-beens who refuse to hang up the gloves.
Camacho's wild lifestyle - especially in Las Vegas - was his downfall after a spectacular and flashy beginning to a promising career.
Camacho was running out of gas in the late rounds after building a big lead over Duran, but he still won the latest version of the pay-per-view Senior Boxing League.
Buster "Blubber" Douglas was also on the weak HBO card. He beat up a 5-foot-9 tomato can that they dug up from Chicago, some guy named Tony La Rosa.
Douglas, of course, pulled off the biggest upset in heavyweight boxing history by knocking out Mike Tyson in Japan - Tyson's only defeat to this day.
But Douglas had been out of the ring for 5-1/2 years and was battling weight problems, which even became life threatening.
Despite the mismatch victory, Douglas should get out of the ring before he fights a quality opponent and gets hurt.
Along the same lines, I hope Larry Holmes - a great and underrated former heavyweight champion - will stick to his decision to stay out of the ring for good after his last fight on June 16, which he won by knockout.
STUPID HUMAN TRICKS: I don't blame Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park for being upset after some of his teammates cut up his nice suit and replaced it with a disco outfit - and expected him to wear it as part of a ridiculous rookie tradition.
This is just another example of how so many sport stars are overpaid and immature.
And it also shows how Tommy Lasorda is a relic who still manages as if it were 20 years ago.
I know, I know. Sports are supposed to be fun and it was just a practical joke. But now that major-league baseball is finally giving foreign players a chance, everyone involved should be more conscious of the differences in cultures.
Park later said that the suit had sentimental value, something his prankster teammates never considered. He is the one who deserves an apology.
Hey, most big-leaguers - especially the pitchers - should get a pie in the face for their weak performances on the field this season.
Here's an example, which just happens to come from the game that preceded the Dodgers' clubhouse fiasco. Cubs' pitcher Terry Adams walked Park with the bases loaded to force in the winning run in the top of the 13th inning. That shouldn't happen beyond the Little League level.
WIMBLEDON PREDICTION: That most people who watch the two-week competition will yawn.
OK. OK. Settle down, racket-heads.
I like Pete Sampras to win the men's title against Boris Becker and Monica Seles in an upset over Steffi Graf.