Duarte Will Fight Pinango for Title Feb. 3 at Forum

Frankie Duarte, fighting out of the Ten Goose Boxing Club of North Hollywood, signed Wednesday to fight Bernardo Pinango, the World Boxing Assn. bantamweight champion, in a 15-round title fight at the Forum Feb. 3.

At one point, alcoholism nearly ended Duarte’s career, which began in 1973. Starting in 1979, he was out of action for most of five years.

In 1983, Duarte quit drinking. In 1984, he put himself in the hands of Ten Goose and since has won 9 of 11 fights. Overall, Duarte, 32 and ranked ninth by the WBA, is 41-6-1 with 31 knockouts.

Pinango, 26, of Caracas, Venezuela, is 20-2-2 with 14 knockouts. He won the title in June of this year with a unanimous 15-round decision over Gaby Canizalez in New Jersey. Pinango has defended his title twice, the most-recent being a 15th-round TKO over Simon Skosana in South Africa last month.