Sugar Ray Leonard
| Sugar Ray Leonard | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Sugar-ray-leonard.jpeg | ||
| Career Snapshot | ||
| Born | May 17, 1956 | |
| Died | ||
| Total Fights | 40 | |
| Won | 36 | |
| Lost | 3 | |
| Drew | 1 | |
| Knockouts | 25 | |
| Titles Won | Welterweight, Junior-
middleweight, Middleweight, Super-middleweight & Light- heavyweight. Olympic gold. | |
Sugar Ray Leonard (born 1956) is a former American boxer. He was one of the leading boxers in the world in the 1970s and 1980s, winning world titles at multiple weights and triumphing in contests with such celebrated opponents as Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. Born Ray Charles Leonard, named for the singing legend Ray Charles, Leonard later adopted the nickname used by Sugar Ray Robinson.
Early Career
Leonard won gold at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. He finished his amateur career with a record of 145-5. Sugar Ray wanted to go to college, but when his father became ill and his family needed money, he decided to turn professional. Leonard made $40,000 for his first professional fight against tough Puerto Rican Luis Vega. The fight was televised nationally, and Leonard won by a 6 round decision.
Leonard won his first 25 pro fights and then challenged for his first pro title. He knocked out Pete Ranzany in round 4 to win the North American Boxing Federation welterweight title. Three months later, he challenged world welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez. He and Benitez met at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on November 30, 1979 and after a brilliantly fought battle, Leonard was declared world champion with a technical knockout in round 15, with 6 seconds left in the fight.
World Champion
Leonard won his first defense by knocking out British challenger Dave Green in 4 rounds in Landover, Maryland. Green was knocked out with a devastating left hook to the chin. The fight was broadcast to a national audience in the United States. Next, Leonard went back to the Olympic Stadium in Montreal to defend his title against Roberto Duran, in the first superfight of the 1980s. Leonard abandoned his usual slick boxing style and brawled with Duran. It was a great fight, but Leonard lost by a 15 unanamous round decision. The scores were 148-147, 145-144, and 146-144.
Their rematch was in New Orleans on November 25, 1980. This time, Sugar Ray boxed Duran. Using speed and movement, he frustrated Duran from the opening bell. In round 7, he started to taunt Duran, and with 17 seconds to go in round 8, the unthinkable happened: Duran turned around, walked to his corner and gave up, saying the now famous words, "no más." Referee Octavio Meyran, perhaps as incredulous as was the rest of the world at what he was seeing, asked Duran if he was sure, and Duran repeated, "No más, no más." Duran, who gorged himself after the weigh-in, claimed he quit because he was having stomach cramps, but most felt he quit out of frustration.
Leonard was a world champion again and, after avenging his only defeat, once more was on top of the world.
On June 25, 1981, Leonard fought Ayub Kalule, world junior middleweight champion. Kalule gave Leonard a tough fight and it was closely contested, but in round 9, Leonard connected with a right to the chin that sent Kalule down. He was stopped in that round, and in celebration of his second world title, Leonard did a back flip.
Ring arch-rival Thomas Hearns, meanwhile, was tearing apart the Welterweight division and had won the WBA world title by knocking out the Hall Of Famer, Pipino Cuevas. A unification bout was set for September 16, 1981, once again at Caesar's Palace. In a bout showcased by HBO, Leonard and Hearns fought one for the ages. Hearns started at the aggressor and built an early lead, but after being hurt by Leonard in round 6, Hearns went from puncher to boxer, and Leonard went from boxer to puncher. After several tough rounds, Hearns was able to regroup, and he again started to pile up points. With an eye almost closed, trailing on all 3 score cards, Leonard dug deep and came on strong. Leonard floored Hearns in the 13th, and after a rain of punches caught Hearns against the ropes in round 14, referee David Pearl stopped the fight, making Leonard the undisputed world welterweight champion. For his performance, he also received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.
In 22 months, Leonard stopped Benitez, Duran, Kalule, and Hearns. All four were reigning world champions when he stopped them, and they had a combined record of 177-1-1.
A defense against Bruce Finch followed his win against Hearns, but his next defense, vs Roger Stafford, which was to be held in Buffalo, NY, had to be canceled. Doctors discovered Leonard had suffered a detached retina, and he underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins hospital to repair the problem. By then, many people were talking about a potential fight with world Middleweight champion Marvin Hagler.
Retirement and Comeback
Leonard decided to take a job as a commentator with HBO, and a few months after pondering his future, he invited Hagler and other boxing dignitaries to an event in Washington D.C., where he announced his retirement. Hagler left the conference disappointed, and Leonard, who said "Unfortunately, that fight (vs Hagler) will never happen," would later learn to never say never again.
In 1984, Sugar Ray made a comeback. With Hagler in attendance, Leonard was dropped for the first time in his career, by journeyman Kevin Howard, and although he got up and scored a 9th round technical knockout win, at the press conference after the fight, he announced that he would go back into retirement.
In 1987, Leonard came out of retirement to fight Marvin Hagler for the world middleweight title. Hagler was a heavy favorite. Leonard had only fought once in five years, and that one bout was three years earlier. Also, Leonard, who had never fought as a middleweight, was fighting a man who had been middleweight champion for seven years and had not lost a fight in eleven years. However, Leonard surprised the experts. On April 6, 1987, Sugar Ray won by a split decision to become the world's middleweight champion. The following month, Leonard once again retired.
On November 7, 1988 Leonard came back and fought Don Lalonde. He picked himself up off the canvas and knocked out Lalonde in the ninth round to win two world titles, the vacant world super middleweight championship, and Lalonde's world light heavyweight championship. In 1989, Leonard fought two old rivals. In June, he battled Hearns again at Caesar's Palace. Leonard was knocked down twice, but he came back and hurt Hearns after each trip to the canvas. A strong final round helped Leonard pull out a twelve round draw. Six months later, he fought Roberto Duran for a third time, at the The Mirage, also in Las Vegas, winning by a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision.
Déjà-Vu?
Leonard was inactive in 1990, but came back in 1991 to fight world junior middleweight champion Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden, Leonard's first outing there. Leonard suffered two knockdowns and lost by a lopsided unanamous decision. After the decision was announced, Leonard took the microphone and once again announced his retirement.
Ahead were very difficult times: after the fight, Leonard admitted to a stint with cocaine that lasted from 1984 to 1989. He fell victim to the drug, and reports surfaced of violence against his wife Juanita. Leonard admitted that his problems were caused by a need to be involved in the sport of boxing during the periods he was away from it, and immaturity. He kicked his habit for good after 1989.
He and Juanita divorced, and in 1993, he married Bernadette Robi, the daughter of Paul Robi, a member of the original Platters.
In 1997, Leonard tried to embark on another comeback. This time, his opponent, Hector 'Macho' Camacho was too fast and powerful for him. Camacho knocked him out in the 5th round. For Leonard, it was finally enough, and he has not fought since. Later that year, Leonard was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.
For a short time, Leonard headed a boxing promotion company that included world cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov and rising heavyweight Joe Mesi.
He is now involved in the TV reality boxing series, The Contender. He, along with Sylvester Stallone, serves as host and boxing mentor to the aspiring fighters.