Sugar Ray Leonard

1956-

American boxer

Olympic gold medallist Sugar Ray Leonard generated broad interest in the sport of boxing during the 1970s and into the 1980s. In 1981 he beat Thomas Hearns for the unification of the WBC and WBA world welterweight titles, winning a prize purse of more than $10 million. It was an unprecedented sum for a welter-weight bout, in a sport where the spoils of fame rested traditionally with heavyweight fighters, to the exclusion of most others.

Sugar Ray Leonard was born Ray Charles Leonard in Wilmington, North Carolina, on May 17, 1956. The fifth of seven children of Cicero and Getha Leonard, he was named for singer Ray Charles. In Wilmington, Leonard's father worked in a soda pop plant, and his mother was a nursing assistant. When Leonard was four the family

moved to Washington, D.C., where they rented an apartment on Avenue L. Seven years later they moved to Seat Pleasant, Maryland, and in 1968 Leonard's parents purchased a home on Barlowe Road in nearby Palmer Park. Ray, the youngest of the five Leonard boys, was also the least aggressive. He seemed shy by nature, a fact that was perhaps aggravated by the family's frequent moves during his formative years.

When in 1970 the community of Palmer Park built a youth recreation center, Leonard frequented the new facility after school. There, under the guidance of a volunteer coach, David Jacobs, Leonard and other neighborhood boys learned the fine points of pugilism (boxing). Although the program lacked funding, Jacobs marked off an imaginary boxing ring with colored tape in the middle of the gymnasium at the recreation center. He assembled his would-be amateur boxing squad at five a.m. daily for a conditioning run, and worked with the boys in the imaginary boxing ring after school.

Leonard overall had little interest in athletics or in any other pursuit prior to joining Jacobs's boxing group. Aside from a brief foray with the wrestling squad at his junior high school, he had participated minimally in cross-country and in track and field. By the time his voice dropped at age fourteen, Leonard had abandoned even his participation in the church choir. To the surprise of many who knew the shy boy, he had a natural flair for boxing. After becoming involved with Jacobs, Leonard focused squarely on boxing to the exclusion of all else during his four years at Parkdale High School in Palmer Park.

With guidance from Jacobs, Leonard participated in amateur boxing matches sponsored by the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). He gained twenty-five pounds during his first year of competition. After winning a bout against the top amateur boxer in his region, Leonard entered competition at the national level, winning the Golden Gloves lightweight title at age sixteen in 1972. He appeared in the AAU national quarterfinals that year, and competed internationally with that group.

Chronology

Olympic Glory

In 1973 a boxing promoter noticed Leonard's natural talent and offered him $5,000 to fight in a commercial bout. Leonard dismissed the offer because he wanted to qualify for the 1976 Olympics—and qualify he did. Leonard earned a spot on the 1976 U.S. team, which included future heavyweight champions Michael Spinks and his brother Leon.

After spring training in Burlington, Vermont, the team headed for the Olympic Village in Montreal, Quebec, where Leonard performed superbly in the three-round Olympic bouts. He won his first match against Ulf Carlson of Sweden and a second match against left-hander Valery Limasov of the former Soviet Union. After taking England's Clinton McKenzie in the third match, Leonard entered the quarterfinals where he beat Ulrich Beyer of Germany.

Leonard up to that point in his amateur career had lost only five fights, among them a contested bout in 1974 against Kazimier Szczerba of Poland. In a subtle irony, Leonard faced Szczerba in the Olympic semifinals and defeated the Pole with a resounding knockout.

It was a fine day for Leonard and the United States when in the Olympic finals Leonard brought the Cuban fighter Andres Aldama to his knees with a left hook to the chin. Twice during the final bout, the referee had required Aldama to take a standing eight-count to prove that he was able to continue the fight. Although Aldama persisted in the match, Leonard emerged the victor and won the gold medal for the United States. It was Leonard's one hundred and forty-fifth victory as an amateur boxer.

Even as he basked in the glory of the moment, Leonard was quick to assure interviewers that he would never turn to boxing as a profession. He returned home to the United States, bent on majoring in communications in college. With his handsome features and photogenic smile, it was Leonard's intention to become a television sports journalist. Upon his return to the United States, however, financial concerns soon took precedence over his educational plans, causing him to rethink his decision about professional boxing. Both of his parents had became seriously ill around the time of the Olympics. What was more, his high school sweetheart, Juanita Wilkinson, filed a paternity suit against him, for money to support their child, Ray Jr., born on November 22, 1973.

With assistance from a group of supporters, Leonard secured front money totaling approximately $24,000 in loans and used the funds to assemble a professional boxing team. To lead the entourage he hired Muhammad Ali 's popular cornerman, Angelo Dundee, as a trainer and ringside coach. Leonard's long-time coach and friend, David Jacobs remained with Leonard and his team, to serve as head coach for the young champion.

Leonard's professional debut, against Luis "the Bull" Vega of Pennsylvania, was a six-round bout at the Baltimore Civic Center in February of 1977. A victory for Leonard, the bout netted him enough money to repay his start-up loans. Following his next match in April—also a victory—against Willie Rodriguez, Leonard signed a lucrative contract giving ABC Sports the rights to televise future fights. There followed a technical knockout (TKO) of Vinnie De Barros on June 19 in Hartford, Connecticut, and a series of bouts in such small East Coast venues as Springfield, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine. Within a year of his debut, Leonard was regularly scheduled for ten-round bouts with his opponents. He went on to defeat Javier Muniz on March 19, 1978, by a knockout (KO), just two minutes and forty-five seconds into the fight. The next month in Landover, Maryland, on April 13 he knocked out Bobby Haymon in three. One month later in Utica, New York, he toppled Randy Milton in eight.

Awards and Accomplishments

'Everything I Did Worked'

"I went against history, and now they'll have to rewrite the books. …Someone said before the fight, 'Two things will not happen this year: Oliver North will not be back in the White House, and Sugar Ray Leonard will not beat Marvin Hagler.' I think they better check the White House." —Sugar Ray Leonard

… Leonard had beaten Marvelous Marvin Hagler to pull off the most extraordinary comeback in recent sports history….

What Leonard had passed through was so physically and emotionally draining that it left him groping to fathom what he had done. What he had done … was emerge out of a virtual five-year retirement and lift the title from Hagler, a man who had held it for nearly seven years, since Sept. 27, 1980, and through 12 defenses.

Source: Nack, William. Sports Illustrated, (April 20, 1987): 50.

Despite the limited audience for welterweight boxing, Leonard's appeal grew. ABC renewed his contract, and the fighter did not disappoint. In March 1979 he defeated Daniel Gonzalez with a KO after two minutes and three seconds. In April in Las Vegas, Leonard won a decision against Adolfo Viruet. In another decision on May 20 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Leonard beat Marcos Geraldo. Leonard finished off Pete Ranzany and Tony Chiaverini with TKOs and in September downed Andy Price in the first round of their bout.

When Leonard went against world welterweight champion Wilfredo Benitez on November 30, 1979, the purse—which guaranteed each fighter more than $1 million—was the first seven-figure purse in welterweight history. The fight went only six seconds shy of the full 15 rounds before the referee stopped the fight. In the end Leonard, at age twenty-three, won the World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight championship. Both fighters earned their pay that day, and spectators got their money's worth on the cost of admission.

Amid the lingering glow of Leonard's championship win, he and Wilkinson were married on January 19, 1980, in Landover, Maryland. It was a marriage that was long overdue—their courtship had lasted since high school, and their son, Ray Jr., was by then seven years old and served as a ring bearer for his parents.

Ringside Politics

Because of the existence of two prominent worldwide boxing organizations, a subsequent bout between Leonard and another world welterweight champion, Pipino Cuevo, was anticipated. Cuevo at that time was the sanctioned champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA), and representatives for the two fighters went into negotiations almost immediately. As talks convened to schedule a two-way championship fight, WBA officials inexplicably refused to sanction the bout what-soever—even the notion of a non-title bout between the two title holders was diffused, for reasons never stated.

When negotiations for the Cuevo fight stalled, an interim bout was scheduled, pitting Leonard against Davey "Boy" Green of Britain. The fight nearly ended in tragedy when Leonard in the fourth round dealt a KO punch that dropped Green onto the mat where he remained motionless for many seconds. Green regained consciousness after some minutes and left the ring with assistance.

As an alternative to the Cuevo fight, a contest was set for June 20, 1980, in Montreal, between Leonard and a prominent Panamanian fighter, Roberto Duran. Duran's reputation as a vicious street fighter was well founded. He had boxed in amateur matches since the age of ten and had entered professional competition at age seventeen. Originally classified as a lightweight, Duran lacked the self-discipline to maintain the weight requirement and was forced to fight against men much larger than him in stature. Duran was notorious for his wild, aggressive, and animal-like boxing style by which he cornered his opponents into serious jeopardy, forcing them against the ropes with no chance for escape.

In preparation for the bout with Duran, Leonard went into training at his personal facility in New Carrolton, Maryland. Bookmakers set odds at 9-5 in favor of Leonard, but fate was to side with the underdog. Duran pummeled Leonard, winning the fight by a unanimous decision and taking the world welterweight title in the process. The loss was the first of Leonard's professional career.

The Leonard camp pressed Duran representatives for a rematch, and a second meeting was set for the New Orleans Superdome on November 25. Bookmakers were more cautious for the second encounter, laying odds at 3-2, albeit still in Leonard's favor.

Leonard appeared for the rematch dressed in black trunks and shoes, in a stark and pointed contrast from the signature white outfits that he habitually wore. As the match got underway, Leonard assumed a menacing posture. It was a rare attitude for Leonard—he mimicked Duran's own aggressive boxing style and used it against him, besting Duran at his own game. In a surprise conclusion, Duran threw in the towel. Ceding the fight in the eighth round, he begged, "No more," and Leonard was proclaimed welterweight champion for the second time.

Duran returned to his native Panama in disgrace, with no explanation for his apparent cowardice. The fight was Duran's final appearance in the ring. He was ordered by the WBC to pay a $7,500 fine for failing to perform in compliance with council standards. No further explanation was ever given for the curious fight.

Where Is He Now?

Leonard's later attempts to recapture the titles were vainglorious but served as a testament to his love of the sport and to his indefatigable spirit. In 1989, a rematch with Hearns ended in a draw. Two years later, in February 1991 at age thirty-five, Leonard challenged WBC junior middleweight champion Terry Norris to a title bout. After losing to Norris, Leonard announced his retirement for the third time.

In Atlantic City on March 1, 1997, lured by the agony of defeat, Leonard endured a final, ill-fated comeback. In a title challenge bout, against Hector "Macho" Camacho for the middleweight championship of the International Boxing Council (IBC, formerly WBC), Leonard was bested by TKO in the fifth round of the contest.

Leonard was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame on June 15, 1997. In 2001 he embarked on a venture as a television-based impresario, with the establishment of Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing, Incorporated.

Leonard's personal life upended in 1990 when his marriage to Wilkinson ended in divorce after ten years and two children. At that time he moved to a house in Pacific Palisades. On August 20, 1993, he married model Bernadette Robi.

Growing and Gaining

Still growing taller, at age twenty-five Leonard considered a move into the junior middleweight class, where the weight limits ranged over 147 pounds. After a bout with Harry Bonds of Denver in Syracuse, New York, in March 1981 Leonard went against Ajub Kalube, who at 154 pounds was the WBA junior middleweight champion. On June 21 Kalube lost his title to Leonard by a TKO in the ninth round at the Houston Astrodome.

Leonard's next fight was a two-way title bout against Thomas Hearns. The contenders—Leonard and Hearns—were long-time rivals, with Hearns holding claim to the WBA welterweight title and Leonard wearing the WBC belt. Leonard was rated the favorite, with 8-5 odds when the contract was signed. At age twenty-two, however, Hearns was three inches taller and three years younger than the 5-foot-10-inch Leonard. By fight night, Hearns went into the arena as a 7-5 favorite.

Before a capacity crowd of 25,000 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, on September 16, 1981, the two boxers battled through thirteen full rounds. Leonard went into the fight with one sore eye, only to have it throttled by Hearns until it was swollen shut. Miraculously, Leonard summoned an untapped reserve in the final rounds. Fourteen seconds into the fourteenth round, he wore down Hearns and won the fight in a TKO. In accomplishing the defeat, Leonard successfully unified the welterweight championship belts and earned a prize purse of more than $10 million. Indeed, the loser's share alone topped more than $5 million, which combined with Leonard's take totaled the richest purse in prize-fight history at that time.

Retirement and Return

In 1982 Leonard was diagnosed with a detached retina and underwent surgery to repair the injury. He announced his retirement from boxing at that time, turning his attention to broadcast journalism. After some years as a commentator for the Home Box Office cable network, he returned to the ring with aspirations of fighting Marvin Hagler for the middleweight championship.

A much-publicized contest came about in 1987, when Leonard issued a challenge to Hagler, whose hold on the middleweight title was by then entering its seventh year—since September 27, 1980. Twelve times Hagler had fought in defense of his title, and twelve times he had won. With the challenge accepted, Leonard returned to the ring in April 1987 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, to fight what would be the fight of the year, according to Ring magazine.

Leonard took the middleweight title from the aging Hagler by TKO in the ninth round and used the surge of momentum to issue another challenge. He returned to training and defeated double-title holder Donny Lalonde, for the WBC super middleweight and light heavyweight championships in November 1988. After the victory Leonard retired holding both world titles.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: c/o IMG New York, 825 7th Avenue, New York, NY 10019. Fax: (310) 471-1410. Phone: (310) 471-3100. Email: [email protected]. Online: sugar-rayleonard.com.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Goldstein, Alan. Fistful of Sugar: The Sugar Ray Leonard Story. New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1981.

Haskins, James. Sugar Ray Leonard. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1982.

Markoe, Arnold, and Kenneth T. Jackson. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: Sports Figures. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002.

Periodicals

Sports Illustrated (April 20, 1987): 50.

Sketch by G. Cooksey