Hearns, with too much faith in his powerful right hand, lost to Sugar Ray Leonard in their first match. The fight with Camacho took place on March 1, 1997, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After the verdict was announced, Leonard announced his retirement. "I did the best I could", Leonard said. Hearns was the WBA champion while Leonard held the WBC title. 19522000: 6063.5 kg, 20042012: 6064 kg. "[91] In 2011, Leonard revealed in an NPR interview that he had been free of alcohol since July 2006. He requested a contract for the Lalonde fight and Leonard refused. The Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring named Leonard "Fighter of the Year" for 1979. Leonard's most memorable punch came late in the round. He lost it to Roberto Durn by a close decision in June 1980 and regained it five months later in the infamous No Ms Fight, in which Duran quit in the eighth round. He knocked Leonard down with a left hook in the second round, and in the seventh, he dropped Leonard again with a short right. Hearns was leading by scores of 124122, 125122, and 125121. His mother said: "He never did talk too much. Promoted as "The Showdown", Leonard fought Thomas Hearns on September 16, 1981, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to unify the World Welterweight Championship in a scheduled fifteen-rounder. Together, Leonard and ESPN would produce and promote "Sugar Ray Leonard and ESPN II Presents Friday Night Fights", which would air the first Friday of every month for twelve months. Leonard married his high school sweetheart, Juanita Wilkinson, in January 1980. Every time Hagler scored, Leonard came back with something flashier and more eye-catching, if not as effective. In his last years Robinson battled Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. "It took this fight to show me it is no longer my time", Leonard said. His then wife . Leonard also won a light welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. After the Los Angeles Times broke the story, Leonard held a press conference and publicly acknowledged that the accusations were true. Leonard landed several good left hooks in the first round. With too much money to be lost by cancelling the fight, the matchmaker for the bout, Ron Katz, found a . [17] Leonard won his first four Olympic bouts by 50 decisions. If he had scored it 109, as his two colleagues did, Hearns would have won by a split decision. The fight ended in a split draw, meaning both fighters retained their respective titles. He had a career record of 79-6-3 and was a showman in the ring, chanting 'It . himself. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years. His speech, entitled "Power" (Prepare, Overcome and Win Every Round), is consistently booked with major Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and abroad. Jim Murray, long-time sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, wrote, "It wasn't even closeHe didn't just outpoint Hagler, he exposed him. In the final, Leonard boxed the great Cuban knockout artist Andrs Aldama, who scored five straight knockouts to reach the final. By the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. Terry Norris battered Leonard all around the ring in Madison Square Garden on his way to a one-sided decision that convinced Leonard his day in the sun had ended. It was a fascinating fight in which a determined Leonard roared back from the brink of defea. He blamed his loss on a torn right calf muscle. He rose but was soon down again, and the fight was stopped. Best Known For: 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. Sugar Ray Leonard, byname of Ray Charles Leonard, (born May 17, 1956, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S.), American boxer, known for his agility and finesse, who won 36 of 40 professional matches and various titles. I know this. He quit because he was embarrassed. "I was ringside", Leonard said. "This is different. Leonard got hit by sparring partner Quincy Taylor and was badly buckled. In Poland, local fighter Jan Kwacz was given a disqualification victory over Leonard after being knocked down three times in the first round but the referee ruled that Leonard had punched after the bell.[16]. But I never had any problems with him. Afterward, Leonard retired again, saying, "For sure, my career is definitely over for me in the ring." Leonard dropped him again in the tenth. [42] Some also considered the stoppage premature. In October 1996, the 40-year-old Leonard announced that he was coming out of retirement to fight 34-year-old Hctor Camacho for the lightly regarded International Boxing Council (IBC) Middleweight Championship. 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.. [34], After the Montreal fight Durn went on a partying binge and ballooned in weight. He would also choose Leonard's opponents. Judge Stuart Kirshenbaum had Lalonde ahead 7675. N o classic. He hit more oftenHe made Hagler into what he perceived him to be throughout his careera brawler, a swarmer, a man who could club you to death only if you stood there and let him. This is terrible. In the semifinals, he faced Kazimierz Szczerba and won a 50 decision. "No one, I mean no one, can make me miss punches like that", Leonard said. March 13, 2021. by Larry Brown. In a career that spanned 25 years, Robinson amassed 175 wins, 110 knockouts and just 19 losses. 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. However, Hagler's moments were more spectacular and one of Hagler's cornermen: Roger Perron (in an interview that took place on an episode of HBO's Legendary Nights episode segments in 2003) later stated that: "the ninth round was probably Marvin (Hagler)'s, best round". "It was a crutch, something that enabled me to forget." Sugar Ray Leonard is one of the fastest boxers in history and his speed was just otherworldly. [47], Missing the limelight and the competition, Leonard announced in December 1983 that he was returning to the ring. Leonard was the winner by a technical knockout at 2:44 of round eight, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship. [14]:1 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. For three rounds Durn drove at Sugar Ray with a fury, and there were moments when it seemed the fight could not last five. [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. There was a capacity crowd of about 4,600. Leonard moved up to the junior middleweight division and faced Kalule on June 25, 1981, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. After Foreman's thrilling challenge of Holyfield-Don King asked Tyson to fight him. They decided to have the baby but marriage would be put off until after the Olympics in 1976. She also said he was an occasional cocaine user. When they fought again a . The decision was read. Hagler's punches lacked snap and, although he was scoring solidly to the body, he looked nothing like the powerful fighter who had dominated the middleweight division for the previous five years. But the TV show came about and made my decision a lot easier. Which boxers did sugar ray Leonard lose to? His father worked as a supermarket night manager and his mother was a nurse. Sugar Ray Leonard (def. For his services, Dundee would get 15% of Leonard's purse. I took great pride in it. Between rounds twelve and thirteen, Angelo Dundee told Leonard, "You're blowing it, son! He continued to score well in the fourth and opened a cut above Leonard's right eye. When Leonard left the show, he was replaced as host by Tony Danza for the final season. The fight billed as a classic showdown between a powerful knockout artist and the best boxer/puncher the welterweight division had seen in decades devolved into a slow, tactical fight. Paternity Suit". Leonard's observation that the Hagler who beat John Mugabi was older and slower proved to be spot on. He then announced, "I am retiring from boxing right now." Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center's director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team. The 'Super Fight' between Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard sparked a brawl between Bob Arum and Don King, generated $78m and produced one of boxing's biggest controversies Joe Coleman. The fight was a classic match between a slugger in Marvin Hagler, left, and a boxer in Sugar Ray Leonard. Robinson's ability to cross weight classes caused boxing fans and writers to dub him "pound for pound, the best," a sentiment that has not faded over the years. With little money Robinson helped his mother save for an apartment by earning change dancing for strangers in Times Square the Smiths built their new life in a section of Harlem dominated by flophouses and gangsters. Leonard was also the subject of a Seinfeld episode (season 6, episode 22) where George tries to flatter his boss by saying he looks like Sugar Ray Leonard. [12] The family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor.Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between 1977 and 1997, winning world titles in five weight classes; the lineal championship in three weight classes; as well as the undisputed . Even though Leonard dominated, hurting Hearns and battering him, all three judges gave both rounds to Leonard by a 109 margin. Leonard is also the godfather of Khlo Kardashian and has appeared on many episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. [18] He planned to study business administration and communications. Hagler did better, but Leonard's superior speed and boxing skill still allowed him to control the fight. Leonard was undefeated (12-0) going . The young boxer quickly moved up the ranks. Before the fight, he was given a shot of novocaine. A strange night, a boring fight. Jacobs had quit in 1980, disagreeing with Leonard's decision to have an immediate rematch with Durn. Then his friends came to help. On December 7, 1989, Leonard defended the title against Roberto Durn, who was the reigning WBC Middleweight Champion. Leonard fought Wilfred Bentez for the WBC Welterweight Championship on November 30, 1979, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight, promoted as "The Super Fight" and "The King of the Ring", was scheduled for April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships. Their six-year-old son, Ray Jr., served as the ring bearer. Leonard, becoming more aggressive, hurt Hearns in the sixth with a left hook to the chin. The Panamanian seized the evening and gave it what shape and momentum it had. Death Year: 1989, Death date: April 12, 1989, Death State: California, Death City: Culver City, Death Country: United States, Article Title: Sugar Ray Robinson Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/sugar-ray-robinson, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: April 13, 2021, Original Published Date: April 2, 2014. Some also considered the stoppage premature me in the sixth with a left hook to the middleweight... That spanned 25 years, Robinson amassed 175 wins, 110 knockouts and just 19 losses,! As his two colleagues did, hearns would have won by a 109 margin and has on. ] Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships eye-catching, if not effective! 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