PANAMA CITY — Boxing great Roberto Duran received a pacemaker Monday after he was hospitalized on the weekend, his family said.
“The Duran family is pleased to inform that thanks to God the surgery in our champion, a pacemaker implant, was totally successful,” his family posted on Duran’s Instagram account.
The 72-year-old Duran suffered health issues Saturday because of an atrioventricular blockage. One of his sons, Robin Duran, said his father needed the pacemaker because his heartbeats were “a bit irregular due to the obstruction of the artery.”
Asked whether Roberto suffered a heart attack or faced any risk of death, Robin Duran said his father was well when he arrived at the Panama City hospital, where exams detected the blockage.
Duran was a world champion at four different weights and retired in 2002 at age 50. The boxer nicknamed “Hands of Stone” had been scheduled to be in Chicago last weekend. He constantly travels abroad to sign autographs and promote boxing events.