Boxing great Roberto Durán receives pacemaker after heart issues

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — Boxing great Roberto Durán received a pacemaker on Monday after he was hospitalized on the weekend, his family said.

“The Durán family is pleased to inform that thanks to God the surgery in our champion, a pacemaker implant, was totally successful,” his family posted on Durán’s Instagram account.

The 72-year-old Durán suffered health issues on Saturday due to an atrioventricular blockage. One of his sons, Robin Durán, 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 Durán said his father was well when he arrived at the Panama City hospital, where exams detected the blockage.

Durán was a world champion at four different weights and retired in 2002 at age 50. The boxer nicknamed ‘Hands of Stone’ was scheduled to be in Chicago last weekend. He constantly travels abroad to sign autographs and promote boxing events.

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