Sugar Ray Leonard

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Ray Charles Leonard
Ray Charles Leonard
Statistics
Real name	Ray Charles Leonard
Nickname(s)	Sugar
Rated at	Welterweight / Middleweight
Nationality	American
Birth date	May 17, 1956 (1956-05-17) (age 52)
Birth place	Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	40
Wins	36
Wins by KO	25
Losses	3
Draws	1
No contests	0

Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956) is a retired American professional boxer. Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s, he is widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time, winning world titles at multiple weights and engaging in contests with such celebrated opponents as Wilfred Benitez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. He was named after the singing legend Ray Charles. Leonard was given the nickname "Sugar" by one of his amateur coaches in his hometown of Palmer Park, Maryland.

[edit] Amateur career

In 1973 a boxing promoter noticed Leonard's natural talent and offered him $5,000 to fight in a commercial bout. Leonard dismissed the offer because he wanted to qualify for the 1976 Olympics team. Before he was 20, he won three National Golden Gloves titles, two AAU championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. Leonard earned a spot on the 1976 Olympic U.S. team, which included future heavyweight champions Michael Spinks and his brother Leon. Leonard up to that point in his amateur career had lost only five fights, among them a contested bout in 1974 against Kazimierz Szczerba of Poland.

[edit] 1976 Olympic Games

In the Montreal Olympics Leonard fought with photos of his high school sweetheart Juanita Wilkinson and their three-year-old son taped to his shoe. It made good copy, but he was not favored to win the gold. Leonard faced a rematch against Kazimierz Szczerba in the Olympic semifinals and defeated the Pole with a resounding knockout.

A lot of amateur boxing observers thought that the great Cuban left hook artist Andres Aldama would defeat the 20 year old Leonard in the Olympic final. Aldama was virtually a pro and had scored 5 straight knockouts to reach the finals. Ray Leonard proved that he was a great boxer by winning with an impressive 5-0 decision. Leonard brought Aldama to his knees with a left hook to the chin. Twice during the final bout, the referee had required Aldama to take a standing eight-count to prove that he was able to continue the fight. Although Aldama persisted in the match, Leonard emerged the victor and won the gold medal for the United States. It was Leonard's 145th victory as an amateur boxer.

After winning the Olympic gold Leonard announced to the press, “The journey is over, the dream fulfilled” and he retired from boxing, telling the public it was because he had a disease. Leonard had hoped to cash in on endorsements but they never came. With the bills piling up and sickness in his family he decided to turn professional.

[edit] Turning professional

After this success, Leonard wanted to attend the University of Maryland. However, his father became ill and his family needed money. With no endorsement contracts coming his way, Leonard announced his intention to become a pro boxer.

Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's trainer, was brought in to be Leonard's co-trainer. Long-time coaches Janks Morton, Dave Jacobs and lawyer Mike Trainer made up the rest of Leonard's team. Promoted by ABC TV as their replacement for the aging Ali, Leonard made $40,000 for his first professional fight (then a record) against Puerto Rican Luis Vega. The fight was televised nationally on CBS-TV, and the novice Leonard won by a 6 round unanimous decision.

Leonard won his first 25 pro fights. In Sugar Ray's most impressive performance to date, he knocked out Pete Ranzany in four rounds to win the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) welterweight championship. This bout took place in August 1979. A month later, a 1st round KO of respected contender Andy Price followed. Price had won his last four bouts, three of them in 1979, but was decisively beaten by Leonard. Leonard then signed to meet Wilfred Benitez for the WBC welterweight title in November.

[edit] WBC World Champion

In a highly competitive battle, Leonard became world champion with a technical knockout in round 15, with the referee stopping the fight in Leonard's favor with six seconds left. Leonard led by 2, 4, and 7 points on the three judges' scorecard at the time of the stoppage.

In March 1980, Leonard won his first defense by easily beating British challenger Dave "Boy" Green in four rounds in Otho, Iowa. Green had been a very busy fighter, having fought 6 times in 1979, winning 5 of them.

[edit] Roberto Duran

Next, Leonard went back to the Olympic Stadium in Montreal to defend his title against former lightweight champion Roberto Duran, in the first superfight of the 1980s. In a long, grueling contest, mostly fought against the ropes or in corners, the more experienced Duran outmauled Leonard in a very close fight and captured a majority decision. Leonard surprised many observers by standing flat-footed with the Panamanian slugger.

Their rematch was held in New Orleans on November 25, 1980. This time around, Leonard used far more lateral movement and jabs, staying off the ropes whenever possible. In round 7, Leonard taunted Duran, dropping his arms and winding up with a bolo punch. Neither fighter had absorbed much punishment, but Leonard had a narrow lead on all three scorecards after 7 rounds. In round 8, Duran turned around, walked to his corner and gave up. Although Duran is widely remembered for the now famous words, "no más," he never actually said them. It was actually commentator Howard Cosell who uttered the phrase. Regardless, the sports world was stunned by Duran's actions. The controversy regarding this bout and Duran's motivation for quitting continues to this day. However, in an interview with ESPN, Duran had stated that he had started to get stomach cramps and felt it better to quit now than suffer through it. In an episode of FOX Sports's Behind The Glory, Duran's trainer said that Duran had turned to him and said "I won't fight anymore with this clown." [1]

But Leonard was a world champion again and, after avenging his only defeat, once more was on top of the boxing world.

In March 1981, Leonard scored a routine 10th round TKO of unheralded Larry Bonds in a welterweight title defense.

[edit] A second world title, and "The Showdown" with Thomas Hearns

On June 25, 1981, Leonard fought undefeated Ayub Kalule, world junior middleweight champion. Kalule gave Leonard a tough fight, but Sugar Ray won via a 9th round TKO.

Undefeated arch-rival Thomas Hearns, meanwhile, was tearing apart the welterweight division and had won the WBA world title by knocking out Pipino Cuevas. Hearns seemed unbeatable, having scored 30 KO's in 32 fights with no losses. A unification bout was set for September 16, 1981, once again at Caesar's Palace.

Hearns unexpectedly weighed in at a very light 145 pounds, causing many to speculate he over-trained. "The Showdown" was televised on closed-circuit and pay-per-view outlets throughout the world.

Hearns (32-0) controlled the early rounds with his jab, keeping Leonard (30-1) off-balance. In the middle rounds, Leonard got inside and seriously hurt Hearns with left hooks. From rounds 8-12, Hearns rebounded and took charge by becoming the boxer, using side-to-side movement, steady jabs and occasional right crosses. Leonard's left eye, injured during a sparring session two weeks earlier, began to swell up. By the end of round 12 it was almost completely closed.

Warned by trainer Angelo Dundee that he was "blowing it," Leonard roared out in the 13th round and seriously hurt Hearns with a barrage of punches and knocked him down. Hearns barely survived the round. In the 14th, a combination of blows prompted the referee to stop the fight. At the time of the stoppage, all 3 judges had Hearns ahead on points. Leonard was now the undisputed welterweight champion, and had greatly increased his popularity and respect among some sports fans. Another group of boxing fans however, thought the fight was stopped prematurely, as Hearns was not seriously hurt. Leonard's frequent punch flurries, using his blinding hand speed, was not only used as tactic to hurt and disorient his opponents, but also served to confuse judges and referees into thinking that the other fighter was in greater peril than they actually were.

Sugar Ray was later named Fighter of the Year by Ring Magazine for 1981, and they also tabbed his fight with Hearns as Fight of the Year. In addition, Ray was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.

[edit] Eye Injury

In February 1982 Leonard KO'd Bruce Finch in the 3rd round to retain his undisputed title. However, Leonard's next defense against Roger Stafford in May had to be canceled. A few days before the bout, doctors discovered Leonard had suffered a detached retina in his left eye, and he underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins hospital to repair the problem. The boxing world had to wait 6 months for Leonard to announce his future boxing plans. His future plans generated much speculation.

[edit] Retirement and 1st comeback

In November 1982, after consulting with doctors, friends and family, Sugar Ray invited Hagler and other boxing dignitaries to a charity event in Baltimore, Maryland. Standing in a boxing ring with ABC's Howard Cosell nearby, Leonard announced his retirement, saying a bout with Hagler would unfortunately never happen. Leonard maintained his eye was fully healed, but that he just didn't want to box anymore. In retirement, Leonard continued to be a commentator on HBO & CBS boxing contests, and performed other assignments for them. He also did more endorsements.

Missing the limelight, and the big purses of boxing, Leonard announced in December 1983 that he was returning to the ring. This was the first of what would be several boxing comebacks during his career. Leonard boasted that he would re-claim his welterweight titles, and then take on Aaron Pryor, Donald Curry, Milton McCrory, Duran, Hearns and finally Hagler. This decision was met with a torrent of criticism from fans and the media, who felt Leonard was taking unnecessary risks with his surgically repaired eye.

A bout with Philadelphia's Kevin Howard was scheduled for February 1984 in Worcester, Massachusetts. This was postponed until May 11th when Leonard had minor corrrective surgery on his right eye. This latest eye injury further fueled the flames of those who opposed Leonard's comeback.

The Leonard-Howard bout was televised live on HBO. Howard knocked Leonard flat on his back in the 4th round. The fight had a disputed ending, with the referee stopping the fight later in Leonard's favor even though Howard had not been knocked down. At the post-fight press conference, Leonard surprised everyone by announcing his retirement again, saying he just didn't have it anymore.

[edit] Waiting to fight Marvin Hagler

In May 1986, Leonard shocked the sports world once again when he announced he would return to the ring for one more fight: against middleweight champion Marvin Hagler. This announcement generated a lot of controversy because of Leonard's inactivity and eye injuries. Yet it also excited many sports fans, who had wanted to see this match for years. Hagler took a few months to decide, then agreed to the match, scheduled for April 6, 1987 at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

Leonard had a very long training camp for the Hagler fight it came to light after the fight.

After the Hagler fight it was also revealed that Leonard had had a number of full 12 round fights behind closed doors. These were officially sparring sessions, but with a few major differences. There were no headgaurds used, small gloves and the sparring partners were told to try their best to win over the full 12 rounds. They were basically REAL fights.

Two of the sparring were Quincy Taylor and Anthony Fletcher (who was a southpaw). Taylor floored Leonard during one of these 'fights'.

The bout against Hagler was marketed by the promoters as "The Superfight". In exchange for more money, an over-confident Hagler agreed to a 12 round limit (which guaranteed WBC sanction) and 10-ounce gloves. The 12-round limit would haunt Hagler later on. Leonard-Hagler was broadcast on pay-per-view TV and closed-circuit outlets all over the world and was a huge money maker.

Hagler was a heavy favorite, the odds starting at 4-1, then settling at 3-1. Leonard had only fought once in five years, and had never fought as a middleweight. It was only Hagler's third fight in two & a half years as he entered the twilight of a glittering career. Leonard used the same tactics as he did in the 2nd Duran match, lateral movement, jabs and clenching when he was in trouble. Hagler had trouble keeping up with the fleet-footed Leonard. Leonard's strategy of waiting to fight Hagler until Marvin as older and not able to keep up worked to his advantage. In general, Hagler landed the harder blows, Leonard landed more and the flashier ones, and neither fighter was cut or knocked down. Leonard was warned repeatedly for holding by the referee, but no points were deducted. The decision went to Leonard via split decision. Hagler bitterly protested the result, and many boxing fans and writers have argued about the decision since.

Despite pleas from Hagler's camp for a rematch, Leonard announced his retirement a month later.

[edit] Past his prime, but still fighting

On November 7, 1988 Leonard came back and fought Don Lalonde. In a tough, brusing battle, Sugar Ray suffered a 4th round knockdown and was cut on the nose. Yet he recovered and knocked out Lalonde in the ninth round to win two world titles in one fight, the newly created WBC super middleweight championship, and Lalonde's WBC light heavyweight championship. This arrangement was somewhat controversial because light-heavyweight LaLonde had to weigh-in at or below the super-middleweight limit of 168 pounds.

In 1989, Leonard fought two old rivals. In June, he battled Hearns again at Caesar's Palace. In an exciting battle, Leonard was knocked down twice, but the decision by the officials was a twelve round draw. Most onlookers thought the draw decision unfair since Hearns knocked Leonard down twice. In fact, most astute boxing fans saw this as Leonard's personality and television appeal as being the deciding factor. Those who watched the fight had no doubt that Hearns was the aggressor and Hearns landed many more power shots. Years later, Leonard himself would admit this to Hearns on ESPN's Ringside TV program. Nevertheless, the draw decision enabled Leonard to retain his WBC Super-Middleweight title. Six months later, in December 1989, Sugar Ray fought Roberto Duran for a third time. This matchup took place at the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Leonard used constant lateral movement and won by a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision over a listless Duran. In a fight that many considered to be very boring, both fighters were booed often by the fans and many left the arena before the decision was announced.

[edit] Failed comebacks and post-boxing life

Leonard was inactive in 1990, but came back in February 1991 to fight world junior H middleweight champion Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden. Norris knocked Leonard down twice and won a lopsided unanimous decision. After the verdict was announced, a battered Leonard took the microphone and once again announced his retirement.

Around this time, Leonard's job as a boxing commentator with HBO came to an end. His association with CBS had ended a few years earlier.

Ahead were very difficult times: after the fight, Leonard admitted to a stint with cocaine that lasted from 1982 to 1986. 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 and Juanita divorced, and in 1993, he married Bernadette Robi, the daughter of Paul Robi, a member of the original Platters.

In 1997, at age 40, Leonard launched what has so far been his final boxing comeback against former lightweight champion Hector 'Macho' Camacho. Years past his prime, Leonard was easily stopped by the smaller, usually light-hitting Camacho in 5 rounds. After this humiliating defeat, it was finally enough for Leonard, 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 was a recurring cast member of the American action television series, L.A. Heat in the role of Det. Benny Lewis.

He is currently involved in the TV reality boxing series, The Contender and has served as host and boxing mentor to the aspiring fighters. His former co-host Sylvester Stallone was one of the executive producers, along with Mark Burnett.

[edit] Personal

Ray's older brother, Roger Leonard, was also a professional boxer, as well as an amateur standout. He frequently fought on the undercard of Ray's bouts [2].

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Ray Leonard was named after Ray Charles, whose real name is Ray Robinson. This is also the name of the original Sugar Ray, Sugar Ray Robinson (born Walker Smith, Jr.), from whom Leonard gets his nickname. Ray Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson, but shortened it to "Ray Charles" so as not to be confused with Sugar Ray Robinson.

• Sugar Ray instructed Juanita, the 16-year-old mother of his newborn baby, to say that the father's whereabouts were unknown so that she could collect welfare benefits (Sugar Ray admitted this on an ESPN special).

• He and Contender co-host Sylvester Stallone were among the pallbearers at Najai Turpin's funeral. Turpin was a contestant who later committed suicide in 2005.

• Alternative band Sugar Ray was named after Leonard.

• He is also the subject of a joke in The Diplomat's Club, an episode of the popular TV series Seinfeld in which George's boss appears very much like Sugar Ray, though neither he nor anyone else will admit it.

[edit] Amateur Achievements

• 1972 National Golden Gloves Lightweight champion
• 1973 National Golden Gloves Lightweight champion, defeating Hilmer Kenty
• 1973 Runner-up in National AAU Light Welterweight championships, losing to Randy Shields
• 1974 National AAU Light Welterweight champion
• 1974 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight champion
• 1975 National AAU Light Welterweight champion
• Won the Light Welterweight gold medal for the United States at the 1975 Pan American Games
• Won the Light Welterweight gold medal for the United States at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada

Olympic Results

• Defeated Ulf Carlsson (Sweden) points
• Defeated Valery Limassov (Soviet Union) points
• Defeated Clinton McKenzie (Great Britain) points
• Defeated Ulrich Beyer (East Germany) points
• Defeated Kazimierz Szczerba (Poland) points
• Defeated Andres Aldama (Cuba) 5-0

[edit] See also

• List of male boxers
• List of WBC world champions
• The No Más Fight
• Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns
• List of boxing triple champions‎
• List of boxing quadruple champions
• List of boxing quintuple champions

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Sugar Ray Leonard

• Professional boxing record for Sugar Ray Leonard from Boxrec
• Sugar Ray Leonard's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Ian Palmer's TigerBoxing article on Leonard vs Duran I