Frankie Duarte, the thrill-seeking bantamweight and super-bantamweight contender from the 1970s and 80s, has passed away at the age of 71 from a brain tumor.
“A raging warrior in the ring and the most lovable person outside of it,” wrote his great friend Rich Marotta while paying tribute to Duarte. “The SoCal boxing community will miss him dearly.”
Duarte, from Santa Monica in California, started boxing at the age of 13 hoping that the sport would keep him on the straight and narrow. But Duarte, despite turning professional at 18, would frequently find himself battling his taste for fast living.