Sugar Ray Leonard (born 1956) is an American former 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. Sugar
Ray wanted to go to Harvard and become a lawyer, but he was convinced
to do otherwise by boxing promoters, being offered $40,000 for his first
professional fight against tough Puerto Rican Luis Vega. The fight was
televised nationally, and Leonard could display his talents, winning
a 6 round decision.
Leonard built a string of wins until he was able to challenge world
welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez. Among his first opponents were
top contenders Andy Price and Marcos Gerardo. He and Benitez met in the
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on November 3, 1979 and after a brilliantly
fought battle, Leonard was declared world champion for the first time
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 frozen with a right
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 fell prey to Duran's courage, toughness and superior skills.
Duran punished and humiliated Leonard, inflicting his first loss.
Leonard came back for their rematch in New Orleans on November 25, 1980.
He ran from Duran, frustrating him from the opening bell, 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. It was later discovered that Duran was
suffering from food poisoning - a fact often downplayed or ignored by
the media.
Leonard was a world champion again and, after avenging his only defeat,
once more on top of the world.
Next came his fight with Ayub Kalule, world junior middleweight champion.
Kalule gave Leonard a tough fight and it was closely contested, but in
round 9, Leonard connected 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.
Friend and ring arch-rival Thomas Hearns, meanwhile, was tearing apart
the Welterweight division and had won the WBA world title knocking out
the Hall Of Famer, Pipino Cuevas. A unification bout was set for September
16, 1981, once again at the Caesar's Palace hotel. In a bout showcased
by HBO, Leonard and Hearns fought one for the ages. Superfight 1981,
was full of surprises, as after starting out banging, Hearns decided
to change from puncher to boxer from round 6 onward, with Leonard also
trading roles, from boxer to puncher. With an eye completely closed,
trailing on all 3 score cards, Leonard nonetheless started closing the
gap until he floored Hearns twice in round 13, the second one almost
causing Hearns to fall out of the ring. The spent Hearns could barely
get up for round 14, and after a rain of punches caught him against the
ropes, referee David Pearl had no choice but to stop the fight, making
Leonard the undisputed world welterweight champion. For his performance,
he also received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the
Year" award.
Defenses against Larry Bonds and Bruce Finch followed, but his next
defense, vs Roger Stafford, had to be postponed. Doctors discovered Leonard
had suffered a detached retina, and he underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins
hospital in July 1982 to repair the problem. By then people were constantly
talking about a 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, after media darling Leonard had spent part of 1983 announcing
such enterprises as Golden Skillet chicken and Franklin sporting goods,
he announced 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 9 round technical knockout win, in the press conference
after the fight, he announced that he would go back into retirement.
1983 saw the creation of the Sugar Ray Leonard network, a short-lived
TV station from Maryland commandeered by Leonard and dedicated to 24
hour boxing news, interviews and fights.
1986 came, and rumors surfaced that Leonard was training again and considering
a fight with Hagler. It was a given by many boxing fans that Hagler would
easily manage the laid off boxer, who had not been at his best in his
last fight 3 years before. But once again, Leonard surprised the experts
in their April 6, 1987 fight, hanging on to win a controversial split
decision to become the world's middleweight champion, and the boxer who
came back after the longest lay-off in history to win a world title in
his first fight back.
Leonard went up in weight again on November 7, 1988 and came off the
canvas to win two world titles the same night, the vacant world Super
Middleweight championship, and Don Lalonde's world light heavyweight
championship, knocking Lalonde out in the ninth round, and then in 1989
he embarked on a trip that would take him through two meetings with old
enemies. He met Hearns again at Caesar's Palace and had to endure two
falls and a rocky start to pull out a twelve round draw, and then five
months later, patiently fought Roberto Duran for a third time, at the
Mirage hotel, also in Las Vegas, winning a twelve round unanimous decision.
Déjà-Vu?
Leonard then retired, but true to his fashion, came back in 1991, to
try his fortune with world junior middleweight champion Terry Norris
at the Madison Square Garden, Leonard's first outing there. Leonard suffered
two knockdowns but lasted the distance and was respectful in defeat.
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 later divorced, and Leonard tried to embark on another
comeback. This time, his opponent, Hector 'Macho' Camacho was too fast
and powerful for him. Camacho beat Leonard to a bloody pulp and knocked
him out in the 5th round. For Leonard, it was finally enough, and he
has not fought since.
Leonard is now the head of a budding boxing promotion company that includes
the likes of Camacho's son, 'Macho' Camacho Jr., world cruiserweight
champion Vassiliy Jirov and former world middleweight champion James
Toney.
He is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. He is now involved
in the TV reality series on boxing The Contender. He along with Sylvester
Stallone serves as host and boxing mentor to the aspiring fighters.
