Sugar Ray Leonard: The Essence of a Champion
Published June 2, 2009 by Boxing Capital
As long as records are kept Sugar Ray Leonard will be boxing news; he was named after great Ray Charles but soon made his own name a legend.
He was an all time champion and fought the best of his era, amassing an astonishing array of world titles. Hearns, Hagler and Duran decorated his career resulting in:
- WBC Welterweight Champion – 1971
- WBA Junior Middleweight Champion – 1981
- WBA Welterweight Champion - 1981
- Undisputed Welterweight Champion – 1981
- WBC Middleweight Champion – 1987
- WBC Light Heavyweight Champion – 1988
- WBC Super Middleweight Champion – 1988
- Just reading through this glorious list takes the breath away.
The Reluctant Warrior
At 17 he turned down a purse in order to preserve his amateur status. His focus was the 1976 Olympics where he won gold. He then announced “the dream is fulfilled” and retired with a view to attending college. Ironically Sugar Ray was to “retire” 5 times and yet each time he resumed boxing training and collected more titles.
Dogged by drug abuse and a damaged eye he continually re-invented himself to the delight of his fans. There have been “Sugars” before in boxing but none so adept at the sweet science.
When under duress he was always able to dig deep and blitz the opposition. On meeting the monstrous and magnificent Tommy Hearns in a unification bout, in 1981, he was almost certainly losing. Hearns was head on points and had closed Sugar Ray’s eye. On being told he was losing it, Sugar Ray stormed into the 13th and gave Hearns a boxing lesson. By the 14th it was all over and the referee stopped the fight in Leonard’s favour.
By 1986, on one of his many returns, he faced the powerhouse Marvin Hagler. Once again he demonstrated the determination of a champion. At the time Hagler was the world middleweight champion and Leonard was the underdog. He was ring-rusty, had never been tried at middleweight and had his continuing eye problems. After gruelling and intense boxing training Leonard claimed the fight.
The Sweat of Gladiators
Quite simply Leonard had proved he was indomitable. He was the very essence of what makes a champion. The knack of facing overwhelming odds and prevailing is what makes us admire sporting giants. They rise above common humanity and show us what man can achieve. In ancient Rome the gladiators would be worshipped in a similar way and the matrons would actually buy their sweat. Sugar Ray Leonard is clearly a modern day gladiator.
It’s not surprising that when he visited Stoke City F.C in 2008 to watch a match he was prevailed upon to sign one of their shirts. Signed sports memorabilia fulfils the ancient urge to touch the legend. How close is owning, say, Sugar Ray Leonard's gloves or some other Sugar Ray Leonard memorabilia to buying gladiators sweat?
Leonard’s record speaks for itself, 40 fights, 36 wins, 3 losses and one draw. He faced the best of his day and some of his wins were controversial but wherever there’s two men and a pint his fight will be re-lived. Why did Duran quit in the 1980 re-match and did he say “no mas”? What was the controversy surrounding the 1986 Hagler fight and was it justified? Read the round by round accounts to be intrigued and transported back to those contentious fights.
Whatever your conclusions you will agree that these men burst their hearts and in so doing taught us something about the human condition. They illustrate the power of inner strength and when we discuss their feats they once again become current boxing news.
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