Floyd bounced back and won two in a row over Sanchez to secure his spot in Atlanta. [53], Many were surprised that Hagler, a natural southpaw, opened the fight boxing out of an orthodox stance. I know how Hagler felt now."[70]. The team also included Leon and Michael Spinks, Howard Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney, and John Tate. He was also named "Athlete of the Year" by ABC's Wide World of Sports and "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated. Robert Durn's hair flies as Sugar Ray Leonard throws a punch in the early rounds of their welterwight fight on 25 November 1980. Hosted (yes, there was a host) by Mario Lopez,. The Panamanian seized the evening and gave it what shape and momentum it had. On March 28, 1981, Leonard defended his title against Larry Bonds, the WBC sixth-ranked contender, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. In his later years, Robinson worked in show business, even doing some television acting. "It took this fight to show me it is no longer my time", Leonard said. Hagler buckled Leonard's knees with a right uppercut near the end of the round, which finished with Leonard on the ropes. Leonard led by scores of 6866, 6866 and 6766.[35]. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million, and Hagler was guaranteed $12 million. [6][7] Leonard was also the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, and was named "Boxer of the Decade" in the 1980s. Paternity Suit". Robinson's birth certificate lists his place of birth as Ailey, Georgia, while the boxer stated in his autobiography that he was born in Detroit, Michigan. Jacobs had quit in 1980, disagreeing with Leonard's decision to have an immediate rematch with Durn. Veteran ringside commentator Don Dunphy said "They're stopping the fight. . It's less revisionist and says right up front, in the first sentence of the prologue, what Sugar Ray won't confess to: "On the night of April 6, 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard stole a fight. After the bout Hagler stated it may be his last fight. But the TV show came about and made my decision a lot easier. Unable to get away, unable to counter and unable to slide away to open up the ring, Leonard seemed almost helpless under the assault. Leonard fired back and hurt Lalonde with a right. Correa was instructed not to spare the whip. Later, when he made . Eventually, Leonard admitted that Hearns deserved the decision[citation needed]. On March 10, 1986, Marvin Hagler knocked out John Mugabi in eleven rounds to retain the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship for the twelfth time and advance his record to 6222. Leonard had no answer for the skillful, younger, faster man. Many felt that Hagler deserved the decision because he was the aggressor and landed the harder punches. "That's it", he said. Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and by 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. When they fought again a . Camacho, a light-hitting southpaw, was a three-time world champion with a record of 6231. After that, Leonard decided to box Hagler. "[56], Many others felt that Leonard deservedly got the decision, arguing that Leonard landed more punches and showed better defense and ring generalship. [76], Leonard has worked as a boxing analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, HBO and EPIX. In the first round, Leonard rocked Benitez with a left hook that came off a jab and right cross. Former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard acknowledged today that he took cocaine and drank heavily during the early 1980's when his career was jeopardized by an eye injury.. Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials. "I felt weaker and weaker in my body and arms." Yet the book is not really about boxing. 1 revealed", "BoxRec ratings: world, pound-for-pound, active and inactive", "One USA Boxing team stands above the rest by Kevin Iole", "On This Day: Sugar Ray Leonard knocked out Floyd Mayweather - Boxing News", "Lewiston Evening Journal, October 7, 1978", "Leonard Knocks Out Lalonde to Win Two Titles", "Sugar Ray Leonard regains welterweight title", "The 12 Greatest Rounds of Boxing: The Untold Stories", "Leonard announces comeback; Holmes gives up title", "Leonard knocked down, victories, then retires", "After A Year's Prefight, Bell Tolls For These", "Leonard's memories the stuff of legends", "SPORTS OF THE TIMES; No Hoosegow for JoJo Guerra", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4_LR7s-Ui4, "Parting of the Ways: Leonard and Dundee Split Over Money", "Sports of The Times; Leonard's Missing Voice", "Leonard is getting old, but it's hard to tell", "Nobody Wins the War - Second fight is a draw", "Leonard and Duran in Rematch in November", "BOXING; Leonard Has Norris at Hand, but Hearns on the Mind", "Leonard's Corner Keeps Game Plan Draped in Secrecy", "Before the First Bell Rings, the Jabbing Begins", "The Victoria Advocate, January 15, 1997", "The Idaho Spokesman-Review, January 12, 1998", "Sugar Ray Leonard Back in the Ring with ESPN Friday Night Fights", "Leonard's promotion business down for count", "Dancing with the Stars Elimination - Sugar Ray Leonard", "Cocaine days were 'childish, stupid,' Sugar Ray says", "Sugar Ray Leonard's Testimony before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs", "In Book, Sugar Ray Leonard Says Coach Sexually Abused Him", "Sugar Ray Leonard proves himself a beacon of strength in the fight against child sex abuse", Sugar Ray Leonard's Amateur Boxing Record, Sugar Ray Leonard in-depth interview about alcohol, cocaine, and being a champion, Olympic boxing champions men's light welterweight, Pan American Champions in Boxing Men's Light Welterweight, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sugar_Ray_Leonard&oldid=1141441164, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States, Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing, Participants in American reality television series, Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers, Sportspeople from Wilmington, North Carolina, World light-middleweight boxing champions, World super-middleweight boxing champions, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 1973 National Golden Gloves Lightweight Champion, defeating, 1973 National AAU Light Welterweight Championship runner-up, losing to Randy Shields, 1974 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Jeff Lemeir, 1974 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Paul Sherry, 1974 North American Championships Gold Medalist, defeating Robert Proulx, 1975 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion, defeating Milton Seward, 1975 North American Championships Gold Medalist, defeating Michel Briere, 1975 Pan American Games Light Welterweight Gold Medalist, defeating Victor Corona, 1976 Olympic Light Welterweight Gold Medalist, defeating, Baltimore Sun: 75 Leonard (115113 Leonard), Boston Globe (Ron Borges): 115113 Hagler, Boston Globe (Steve Marantz): 117111 Leonard, Chicago Tribune (1 - Bob Verdi): 115113 Hagler, Chicago Tribune (2 - Bernie Lincicome): 115113 Hagler, Chicago Tribune (3 - Sam Smith): 115113 Hagler, New York Daily News (2 - Michael Katz): 117112 Leonard, New York Post (2 - Jerry Lisker): 115113 Hagler, Philadelphia Daily News (1): 116112 Leonard, Philadelphia Daily News (2): 115113 Hagler, Ring Magazine (Nigel Collins): 115113 Leonard, Sports Illustrated (William Nack): 116114 Leonard, Sports Illustrated (Pat Putnam): 115113 Hagler, United Press International: 116112 Leonard, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 02:31. Leonard's most memorable punch came late in the round. [15], Sarge Johnson, assistant coach of the US Olympic Boxing Team, said to Dave Jacobs, "That kid you got is sweet as sugar". Hearns started to stick and move, and he started to pile up points again. The "Four Kings" created a wave of popularity in the lower weight classes that kept boxing relevant in the post-Muhammad Ali era, during which Leonard defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Hearns, Durn, Hagler, and Wilfred Bentez. . In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years. [60][61], Lalonde's size and awkwardness troubled Leonard. He had a career record of 79-6-3 and was a showman in the ring, chanting 'It . Leonard received $7 million and Durn received $8 million. The original fight plan for Leonard was to go toe-to-toe with Hagler and try to cut him, but the plan changed about five days before the fight. The fight took place at the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. [12] The family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. Leonard was aware of this, and in an interview for Beyond the Glory he said: "My intention was to fight Durn ASAP because I knew Durn's habits. For the Camacho fight, Leonard had a new trainer, Adrian Davis. My word is my bond", Leonard said. Leonard boasted that he would have a couple of ten-round bouts and then take on Milton McCrory, Donald Curry, Durn, Hearns and finally Hagler. . During a 20-year period, Sugar Ray Leonard was considered one of the greatest boxers. I snapped his head back with a jab. His then wife . On hand that . Boxing in Serenity Sugar Ray Leonard, the world welterweight champion, underwent two hours of surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore yesterday to repair a partially detached retina in his left eye. Tyson lost his first fight to Holyfield in 1996. The referee stopped the fight with Bonds taking punishment in a corner.[39]. Career Highlights Sugar Ray Leonard fought a total of 40 times during his professional career. Leonard started boxing at the Palmer Park Recreation Center in 1969. Shortly afterward, Leonard dropped him with a flurry of punches. Durn, the former Undisputed World Lightweight Champion for .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6+12 years, had a record of 711 and was the #1 welterweight contender and considered the best "Pound for Pound" fighter in the world. By the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns II, billed as " The War ", was a professional boxing match contested on June 12, 1989 for the WBC and WBO super middleweight titles. At the wedding ceremony, the grounds were converted into a garden with 10,000 roses and blossoms of other flowers flown in from the Netherlands.[92]. Foreman had an 84 inch reach. Outside of the ring, Robinson relished his celebrity, parading around Harlem with a pink Cadillac and making appearances at his high-profile Harlem nightclub. In 1976, Leonard made the U.S. Olympic Team as the light welterweight representative. Leonard was named "Fighter of the Year" by The Ring and The Boxing Writers Association of America. The two fought with great intensity throughout the fight. The cuts required a total of 60 stitches. Despite years away from the ring, Leonard defeated Hagler and secured his place as one of the best. Leonard competed on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on Monday, March 21, 2011, on ABC. Although Price landed multiple good blows, Leonard knocked him out in the first round, advancing his record to 250 with 16 knockouts.[28]. He also had the distinction of being the first boxer ever to earn $100 million in purses. Leonard is also the godfather of Khlo Kardashian and has appeared on many episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Trainer then made Leonard the sole stockholder in Sugar Ray Leonard, Inc. Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's trainer, was brought in to be Leonard's trainer and manager. By 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. Leonard blamed his poor performance against Norris on lack of motivation, a rib injury, moving down in weight, and divorce, which was being litigated while he was in training. The work greatly helped salvage his finances and was the reason he eventually settled in Southern California with his second wife, Millie. [68] He then offered Hearns a third fight, but Hearns said he could no longer make the weight and moved up to the light heavyweight division. Asked if Leonard was the best he ever fought, Durn thought for a moment and then answered, "Si, si." When the vote took place, Leonard had been retired for more than five years, therefore, he was eligible, even though he had a fight scheduled. [55], Leonard was awarded a controversial split-decision. The win over Barkley was in many ways the final memory of the old rampaging warrior. [44], On February 15, 1982, Leonard defended the unified title against Bruce Finch, the WBC fourth-ranked contender, in a bout at Reno, NV. Of 6866, 6866 and 6766. [ how many fights did sugar ray leonard lose ] of 6866, and. Leonard was the aggressor and landed the harder punches Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney, and was. 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