Sugar Ray Leonard
Titles: World welterweight champion 1979-1980 and 1981-1982, WBA jr middleweight
champion 1981, WBC middleweight champion 1987, WBC super middleweight champion 1988-
1990, WBC light heavyweight champion 1988.
Record: 36-3-1
Born: May 17, 1956 in Wilmington, South Carolina, USA
Years active: 1911-1932
Nickname: Sugar
Ray Leonard was the pioneer for many a American fighter. He was the first to really
use the Gold Medal that he won in the Olympics as a launching pad to the pros. He
signed deals to endorse products like 7-UP and McGregor athletic wear and most
importantly he demanded to be in charge of his career. Only his trainer Angelo
Dundee was let into decision making when it came to who Ray would fight. It was
Sugar Ray's way or now way.... boxers like Roy Jones and Oscar DeLaHoya owe Ray
Leonard a lot for destroying the way the boxer was only thought of as the product
who had no say in his future. In the ring Ray Leonard was spectacular with his
controlled aggression and knack for timely flurries. It is the sudden flurry of
punches that the fans came to know Leonard for as he would patiently look for a
opening, not to land one punch but 3 or 4 in a row before moving on to set the trap
again. Speedy and imaginative fists took Leonard to the top where he would fight
and defeat the best of his time and indeed anytime. Outside of the ring some say
Leonard was arrogant, manipulative towards the media and that he did not want to
fight seemingly deserving contenders instead insisting that he would want to fight
"big name" opponents. Thus in a way dismissing them as inferior not to mention
having them sign unfavorable contracts in order to fight him. Still even his most
ardent critics must accept and respect his genius in the ring, winning titles at
5 weights is almost unheard of. Ray Leonard will never be thought of as popular
as the original Sugar Ray but in terms of talent it is a close call. Maybe the
best summation of Leonard was given by English writer Harry Mullan who said "His
ego matched his genius". Ray Leonard (Named after famed R&B singer Ray Charles)
was one of 7 children who followed his older brother to a gym at the age of 14
and found his calling. In a remarkable amateur career he only lost 5 fights and
culminated his amateur career with a Gold Medal in the 1976 Montreal Olympic
games. After he won that Gold Medal Ray Leonard announced to the world that he
would retire from the sport.......... it would not be the last time. He changed
his mind when his father became ill to help pay mounting bills. Showing the first
signs of his outside of the ring skills he formed Sugar Ray Leonard Inc. to help
in business dealing and sought the guidance of famed trainer Angelo Dundee in the
ring. Leonard had earned many fans during the Olympics and was featured on national
T.V for his first pro performance and earned more in his first pro fight than any
fighter had ever received for his pro debut. His career progressed smoothly taking
on the usual journeyman before stepping up in competition, it was obvious no one
at that level could deal with his fast hands. On his way to a title shot he defeated
well regarded Floyd Mayweather, Randy Shields, Armando Muniz, Adolfo Viruet and
Pete Ranzany all very competent pros who could not match Leonard in any way. Ray
Leonard was the first non-heavyweight to be paid 1 millions dollars to challenge
for a title when he faced another boxing prodigy in Wilfred Benitez. The fight was
a near classic and did feature some great exchanges, Leonard set the pace early
and floored Benitez in the 3rd round. It was the bursts of punches to the body which
slowly sapped the energy of Benitez that would enable Leonard to stop him in the
last round. They battled evenly through the middle rounds before Leonard began to
pull away. It was in the 15th that Leonard floored Benitez again to seal a victory
before the referee stopped the fight with seconds remaining. Benitez and Leonard
had done the impossible..... they made a chess match of a fight look exciting. The
bout proved Leonard could go the distance against anyone in a fast paced bout. The
first defense of his title against Davy "Boy" Green of England was only notable
for the stunning left hook knock out which Leonard called the most vicious punch
he ever landed. It might have gave him to much confidence as his next fight would
be his first loss in a epic battle against Roberto Duran where he thought he could
out punch the Panamanian legend. In the fight Leonard tried to counter punch the
almost maniacal advances of Duran but he could not stop Duran from getting on the
inside and ripping shots to his body and head. It was by no means one sided as both
men threw punches in bunches, yet it seemed as it was always Duran who was coming
forward and it impressed the judges to give him a points win. The fight is a classic
by any measure, Ray proved he had the heart and chin to take as well as he could
dish out. It was a close but unanimous decision win for Roberto. Five months later
in the rematch it was not even close as Ray Leonard humiliated the great Duran into
quitting with his footwork that would not allow him to be trapped anywhere in the
ring. Leonard stayed at distance with a crisp jab and moved smoothly around the
charges of Duran this time having learned his lesson from the last encounter. Duran
was simply left swinging at the air. Next Leonard scored a very impressive win over
southpaw Ayub Kalule with a 9th round kayo win, Kalule is underrated in the annals
of boxing in my opinion and Leonard's domination of him was complete. Now Leonard
concentrated on his greatest foe Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns in another super
showdown! The bout was incredible, a classic that will live forever be retold when
boxing fans gather to talk of the all time greatest fights. Everyone was surprised
when Leonard became the stalker of a moving and boxing Hearns, their roles had
become reversed and Hearns was winning the bout......but tiring. Leonard moved his
head well to slip the long armed punches of Hearns as he worked his way in to get
off shots to Hearns side and face. It took it's toll as Leonard's eye began to
swell badly limiting his sight. In the 13th round first signs of Leonard's work
became apparent when he rocked Hearns for a standing eight count. In the 14th round
Leonard was sure of the victory as he stalked Hearns looking to land only big power
shots, he had finally caught up to Hearns who had taken a lead on the scorecards
with his precision punches. Leonard punished a wobbly Hearns along the ropes with
a flurry of punches which forced the referee to halt the fight and giving Leonard a
incredible come from behind victory. Leonard made one defense of this title against
Bruce Finch before a detached retina was found on his left eye and he retired.
It took 2 years before Leonard made his comeback after corrective eye surgery to
face Kevin Howard. It was not pretty as Leonard won but did not look his usual self
and was even knocked down before he won the fight with a 9th round stoppage. Ray
Leonard retired again until 2 years later he challenged legendary middleweight
Marvin Hagler. In what is one of the most disputed outcomes of all time Leonard
was awarded a close decision win. It was a very good fight and difficult to score
as Hagler landed more punches but Leonard landed the more noticeable punches almost
always towards the end of each round. It was a great performance by Leonard however
as almost no one thought he could win in the first place, it was a return to the
dancing Ray we saw in the Benitez bout. Once again Ray announced his retirement
after the bout. A year and half later Ray returned to the ring and once again won
as he defeated Donny LaLonde in a good bout that saw the hand speed of Leonard
frustrate the slower LaLonde into making mistakes. LaLonde was not able to with-
stand the fast pace set by Leonard and wilted in the mid rounds before being
stopped in the 9th round. A rematch with Thomas Hearns was a fight Leonard could
not turn down..... perhaps he should have. The two aging warriors fought a good
fight but it could of course not compare to their first battle. Leonard was floored
twice in the bout and a late rally in the last round reminiscent of their first
bout almost pulled out a victory for Ray Leonard. The decision was a roundly booed
draw......most everyone thinks Hearns won this bout. Another regrettable rematch
with Roberto Duran was made, it was as dissappointing as their first match was
great. Both fighters posed to much and hit to little, it was Duran who was the
lazier of the two losing a 12 round decision. The only action came in the form
of frequent headbutts. Two more years would go by before Leonard would again make
a comeback, this time however he did not challenge one of his older companions
but a young Terry Norris. It was one of the few miscalculations of Ray's career
as the younger and more importantly faster Terry Norris battered Leonard for 12
one sided rounds. The fight only proved that Leonard could take a beating, get
knocked down and not quit when the going got tough. Still it was not over yet for
Leonard as he was goaded out of retirement by Hector Camacho the way Leonard could
not goat Marvin Hagler out of retirement. Leonard was now 40 years old and it
showed as he could not take the normally weak punches of Camacho and slouched to
a 5th round TKO loss. Writers commented that he looked like a 6 round novice.....
how the mighty had fallen. But outside of the ring Leonard never lost as he amassed
a small fortune from his ring earnings and invested it wisely. Like Ali who Leonard
has been compared to he made to many comeback fights but those losses could never
take away those shining moments early and indeed late in his career. When all is
said Leonard should be considered one of the greatest men to ever lace up the
gloves and a role model for boxers to follow outside of the ring.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Career Record: 36 W, 3 L, 1 D, (25 KO's)
1977
5 Feb Luis Vega Las Vegas, NV W6
14 May Willie Rodriguez Baltimore, MD W6
10 Jun Vinnie DeBarros Hartford, CT KO3
24 Sep Frank Santore Baltimore, MD KO5
5 Nov Augustin Estrada Las Vegas, NV KO5
17 Dec Hector Diaz Washington, DC KO2
1978
4 Feb Rocky Ramon Baltimore, MD W8
1 Mar Art McKnight Dayton, OH KO7
19 Mar Javier Muniz New Haven, CT KO1
13 Apr Bobby Haymon Landover, MD KO3
13 May Randy Milton Utica, NY KO8
3 Jun Rafael Rodriguez Baltimore, MD W10
18 Jul Dick Eckland Boston, MA W10
9 Sep Floyd Mayweather Providence, RI KO10
6 Oct Randy Shields Baltimore, MD W10
3 Nov Bernardo Prada Portland, ME W10
9 Dec Armando Muniz Springfield, IL KO6
1979
11 Jan Johnny Gant Landover, MD KO8
11 Feb Fernand Marcotte Miami Beach, FL KO8
24 Mar Daniel Gonzales Tucson, AZ KO1
21 Apr Adolfo Viruet Las Vegas, NV W10
20 May Marcos Geraldo New Orleans, LA W10
24 Jun Tony Chiaverini Las Vegas, NV KO4
12 Aug Pete Ranzany Las Vegas, NV KO4
28 Sep Andy Price Las Vegas, NV KO1
30 Nov Wilfredo Benitez Las Vegas, NV KO15
(Won World & WBC Welterweight Title)
1980
31 Mar Dave Green Landover, MD KO4
(Retained World & WBC Welterweight Title)
20 Jun Roberto Duran Montreal, Canada L15
(Lost World & WBC Welterweight Title)
25 Nov Roberto Duran New Orleans, LA KO8
(Won World & WBC Welterweight Title)
1981
28 Mar Larry Bonds Syracuse, NY KO10
(Retained World & WBC Welterweight Title)
25 Jun Ayub Kalule Houston, TX KO9
(Won World & WBA Jr. Middleweight Title; vacated 7/91)
16 Sep Thomas Hearns Las Vegas, NV KO14
(Won WBA, Retained World & WBC Welterweight Titles)
1982
15 Feb Bruce Finch Reno, NV KO3
(Retained World Welterweight Title)
1984
11 May Kevin Howard MA KO9
1987
6 Apr Marvelous Marvin Hagler Las Vegas, NV W12
(Won World & WBC Middleweight Title)
1988
7 Nov Don Lalonde Las Vegas, NV KO9
(Won WBC Light Heavyweight and Super Middleweight Titles)
1989
12 Jun Thomas Hearns Las Vegas, NV D12
(Retained WBC Super Middleweight Title)
7 Dec Roberto Duran Las Vegas, NV W12
(Retained WBC Super Middleweight Title)
1991
9 Feb Terry Norris Las Vegas, NV L12
1997
1 Mar Hector "Macho" Camacho KO by 5