Sugar Ray Leonard

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Sugar Ray Leonard bigraphy, stories - American boxer

Sugar Ray Leonard : biography

May 17, 1956 –

Sugar Ray Leonard (born May 17, 1956) is an American retired professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother’s favorite singer, Ray Charles. Leonard was the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, won world titles in five weight divisions and defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Wilfred Benítez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Durán, and Marvin Hagler. Leonard was named "Boxer of the Decade" for the 1980s.

Early life

Leonard, the fifth of seven children, was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Cicero and Getha Leonard. He grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina. The family moved to Washington, D.C. when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. His father worked as a supermarket night manager, and his mother was a nurse.

Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a Seat Pleasant flood, his childhood was uneventful. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. "He never did talk too much," his mother said. "We never could tell what he was thinking. But I never had any problems with him. I never had to go to school once because of him."

Amateur career

Leonard started boxing at the Palmer Park Recreation Center in 1969. His older brother, Roger, started boxing first. Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center’s director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team. Dave Jacobs, a former boxer, and Janks Morton volunteered as boxing coaches. Roger won some trophies and showed them off in front of Ray, goading him to start boxing.

In 1972, Leonard boxed in the featherweight quarterfinals of the National AAU Tournament, losing by decision to Jerome Artis. It was his first defeat. Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials. The rules stated that a boxer had to be seventeen to box in international competition, so Leonard, only sixteen, lied about his age.see page 1, Sugar Ray Leonard and Other Noble Warriors by Sam Toperoff, ISBN 0-07-065003-9 He made it to the lightweight semifinals, losing a disputed decision to Greg Whaley, who took such a beating that he wasn’t allowed to continue in the trials and never boxed again.

Sarge Johnson, assistant coach of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, said to Dave Jacobs, "That kid you got is sweet as sugar." The nickname stuck. However, given his style and first name, it was probably only a matter of time before people started calling him Sugar Ray, after the man many consider to be the best boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson.see pages 7 & 8, Sugar Ray Leonard and Other Noble Warriors by Sam Toperoff, ISBN 0-07-065003-9

In 1973, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves Lightweight Championship, but lost to Randy Shields in the lightweight final of the National AAU Tournament. The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships.

Leonard suffered his last two losses as an amateur in 1974. He lost a disputed decision to Anatoli Kamnev in Moscow, after which, Kamnev gave the winner’s trophy to Leonard. In Poland, Kazimier Szczerba was given a decision victory over Leonard, even though he was dominated in the first two rounds and dropped three times in the third.

Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Light Welterweight Championships in 1974. The following year, he again won the National AAU Light Welterweight Championship, as well as the Light Welterweight Championship at the Pan American Games.

In 1976, Leonard made the U.S. Olympic Team as the light welterweight representative. The team also included Leon and Michael Spinks, Howard Davis, Jr., Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney and John Tate. Many consider the 1976 U.S. team to be the greatest boxing team in the history of the Olympics.

Leonard won his first four Olympic bouts by 5–0 decisions. He faced Kazimier Szczerba in the semifinals and won by a 5–0 decision, avenging his last amateur loss. In the final, he boxed the great Cuban knockout artist Andrés Aldama, who scored five straight knockouts to reach the final.