We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He knocked Leonard down with a left hook in the second round, and in the seventh, he dropped Leonard again with a short right. By the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. Dave Jacobs was one of the people let go, leaving Correa as the sole trainer. I'm in the best shape possible. The rules state that a boxer must be retired for five years before being eligible for induction. He went to a doctor and discovered that he had a detached retina. Between rounds twelve and thirteen, Angelo Dundee told Leonard, "You're blowing it, son! It was his first defeat. "I was shocked", Brown said. He made him look like a guy chasing a bus. In 2007 he was awarded The Ambassador Award of Excellence by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission at the Riviera Country Club for his continued community involvement. They fought before a live crowd of 23,618. Hearns (left) had not lost in his 32 fights before facing Leonard. If you moved, he was lost."[57]. Lalonde, 312 with 26 knockouts, was guaranteed at least $6 million and Leonard was guaranteed over $10 million. Leonard went the distance but lost by a lopsided decision. The decision was read. The British challenger had a record of 332. October 30, 1974 - Kinshasa, Zaire It was the way that Ali won which made it the defining moment of his career, shocking the world by defeating a supposedly unbeatable Foreman by spending a good. My journey has ended, my dream is fulfilled. [18] He planned to study business administration and communications. His older brother, Roger, started boxing first. "He's black, he's blind, and he's broke.". 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. Robinson, who was unapologetic for his lavish spending, is estimated to have earned more than $4 million as a fighter, all of which he burned through, forcing him to continue boxing much longer than he should have. When Robinson finally did get his shot at the belt in 1946, he took home the crown with a unanimous 15-round decision over Tommy Bell; Robinson would hold the welterweight title until 1951. He continued to taunt Durn mercilessly. He hit Leonard with a big left hand and backed him into a corner. "To make a man quit, to make Roberto Durn quit, was better than knocking him out."[35]. Leonard fought Wilfred Bentez for the WBC Welterweight Championship on November 30, 1979, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Leonard led by scores of 6866, 6866 and 6766.[35]. By 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. He had a falling out with partner Bjorn Rebney, whom he called "a cancer in my company. He actually scored it 148147. Durn was awarded a unanimous decision, although it was mistakenly read as a majority decision in the ring. The rules stated that a boxer had to be seventeen to box in international competition, so Leonard, only sixteen, lied about his age. Leonard was the winner by a technical knockout at 2:44 of round eight, regaining the WBC Welterweight Championship. It was the only time in Leonard's career that he was knocked out. Leonard would continue to pursue his Olympic dream while she and the baby, Ray Charles Leonard Jr., lived with her parents. Judges Chuck Giampa and Franz Marti had Leonard ahead by scores of 7774 and 7775, respectively. But even though it was bereft of some of the normal fight card touches, this show offered a fun presentation of boxing that never mocked the sport. Leonard won the fight in 12 rounds on a split decision. However, he was able to outpunch Hagler along the ropes and got the better of several bristling exchanges. The judges scored the fight a draw and Leonard retained the title. [4] Leonard was part of the "Four Kings",[5] a group of boxers who all fought each other throughout the 1980s, consisting of Leonard, Roberto Durn, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. The fight took place at the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Yet the book is not really about boxing. At the age of 20 (1977), Leonard won his first professional fight, only setting the stage for a collection of the most memorable fights in all of boxing history. The Camacho fight was Leonard's last. Kalule, who was 360, had been the WBA Light Middleweight Champion for two years. Afterward, Leonard announced, "I'm finishedI've fought my last fight. 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. The win over Barkley was in many ways the final memory of the old rampaging warrior. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. His then wife . The young boxer quickly moved up the ranks. "I think he won the fight with Durn, but I don't think it is healthy for him to be fighting Durn right away". [81], In 2001, Leonard launched Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing Inc., a boxing promotional company, and announced the company's strategic partnership with ESPN. [85] During his appearance on The Colbert Report in 2011, Leonard was defeated by host Stephen Colbert in a thumb wrestling contest. They decided to have the baby but marriage would be put off until after the Olympics in 1976. 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. Close Alert. The referee stopped the fight with Camacho teeing off on a defenseless Leonard on the ropes. [14]:6568, Leonard made his professional debut on February 5, 1977, before a crowd of 10,270 at the Civic Center in Baltimore. On May 1, 1986, Leonard announced on a Washington, D.C. talk show that he would return to the ring to fight Hagler. 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. In 1991 the brilliant career of Sugar Ray Leonard appeared to have finally come to an end. For his services, Dundee would get 15% of Leonard's purse. Leonard's most memorable punch came late in the round. The fight ended in a 12 . Three booming rights from Hearns sent Leonard down for the second time in the fight. Roberto Duran, known as one of the greatest boxers of all time, held world championships in four weight classes during his career and met Sugar Ray Leonard in the ring for the first time in June 1980. In 1984 The Ring magazine placed Robinson No. His opponent was Luis "The Bull" Vega, whom he defeated by a six-round unanimous decision. Leonard competed on season 12 of Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on Monday, March 21, 2011, on ABC. "[72], In January 1997, it was announced that Leonard had been voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in Canastota, New York. [12] The family moved to Washington, D.C., when he was three, and they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland when he was ten. Although Price landed multiple good blows, Leonard knocked him out in the first round, advancing his record to 250 with 16 knockouts.[28]. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durn, billed as " The Brawl in Montreal ", was a welterweight professional boxing match contested between WBC, The Ring and lineal champion Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durn. AP Photo/Lennox McLendon What it's really about is boxing's great aesthetic divide. Answer (1 of 8): Hearns and Leonard fought twice. Round ten was tame by comparison, as the pace slowed after the furious action of the previous round but with Hagler having more spectacular moments. He staggered Bonds with a right in the fourth round and dropped him with a follow-up combination. He testified about the burden of diabetes and the need for continued research funding to find a cure.[93]. "I felt weaker and weaker in my body and arms." Tyson had a 71 reach, even shorter than Frazier's. The fight was a classic match between a slugger in Marvin Hagler, left, and a boxer in Sugar Ray Leonard. Leonard, becoming more aggressive, hurt Hearns in the sixth with a left hook to the chin. But at that point in the fight, Hagler appeared to be slightly more ring-general and clearly more aggressive. They fought for Lalonde's WBC Light Heavyweight Championship and the newly created WBC Super Middleweight Championship, which meant that Lalonde had to make 168lbs. Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns during their first fight, on September 16, 1981 in Las Vegas. [14]:3334,43, Wilkinson went to the Olympics to watch Leonard box, but she did not tell him about the suit and never asked him for any money. Dec. 16, 1989 12 AM PT. He made three successful title defenses, stopping Luis Primera, Randy Shields, and Pablo Baez. This movie brought back memories of his fight with Dicky Eklund. Durn's manager, Carlos Eleta, said, "Durn didn't quit because of stomach cramps. After the bout Hagler stated it may be his last fight. [50], Leonard and Howard fought on May 11, 1984, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Between rounds eleven and twelve, Leonard's trainer: Angelo Dundee, implored Sugar Ray to get up off his stool yelling "We got three minutesnew champnew champ!" 2 . [80], Leonard has also worked as an actor. Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a flood in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, his childhood was uneventful. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. [23] Leonard won by a tenth-round knockout. (Photo . The team also included Leon and Michael Spinks, Howard Davis Jr., Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney, and John Tate. In the fifth, Camacho dropped Leonard with a right followed by two left uppercuts. Remembering "The Showdown": Hearns and Leonard fought 35 years ago. Sugar Ray Leonard: The Final Fight. Sign In This latest eye problem further fueled the flames of those who opposed Leonard's comeback. When Leonard boxed in the Olympics, he had a picture of Wilkinson taped to his sock. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. It ended in 1990, after HBO was not offered an opportunity to bid on the telecast rights to Leonard's fight with Terry Norris. The fight began as expected, Leonard boxing from a distance and Hearns stalking. You're blowing it!". It was the first knockdown of Leonard's professional career. [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. 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. [64] Hearns was guaranteed $11 million and Leonard was guaranteed $14 million. I already had it in the back of my mind to dissolve the company. I was so ready, I wanted to get my title, my world championship belt back so bad! 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". "[43], The fight was named "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. Leonard became a sensation in. He was voted off in Week 4 of the show. The scorecards from the ringside press and broadcast media attest to the polarizing views and opinions of the fight. 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. Hearns was the taller of the two by 6 cms and also had a 10 cm reach advantage. Hearns, 320 with 30 knockouts, won the WBA Welterweight Championship in 1980, scoring a second-round knockout of Jos "Pipino" Cuevas in Detroit, Michigan. The nickname "Sugar" came from Gainford, who had described the young boxer as "sweet as sugar"; reporters soon began using the moniker. With too much money to be lost by cancelling the fight, the matchmaker for the bout, Ron Katz, found a . 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. Before the fight, he was given a shot of novocaine. After hurting Hearns with a right, Leonard exploded with a combination of punches. The nickname stuck. He attended Parkdale High School. On June 12, 1989, Leonard defended the WBC Super Middleweight Championship in a rematch with Thomas Hearns at Caesar's Palace. 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. The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships. The scorecard of judge Angelo Poletti was incorrectly added and announced as 147147. Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Light Welterweight Championships in 1974. Durn said. Despite Leonard's obvious fatigue, he boxed well in the eleventh. After the Los Angeles Times broke the story, Leonard held a press conference and publicly acknowledged that the accusations were true. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped by a flurry of hard punches near the end of the round. Going into the final round, Leonard led by scores of 137130, 137133, and 136134. Lalonde tried to tie up Leonard, but got dropped with a powerful left hook. Hagler never seized total control of the fight as he had against Thomas Hearns two years earlier, when he brutalized Hearns and scored a third-round knockout. "There was no indication that he was in pain or getting weak. During the night Durn was admitted to a hospital with stomach pains, and discharged the following day. [22] After the fight, Leonard paid back his $21,000 loan to the investors. . Robinson wouldn't go by his birth name for the rest of his career. His lower lip was cut from a headbutt in the fourth round, his left eye was cut in the eleventh round, and his right eye was cut in the twelfth round. [9] In 2016, he was voted by The Ring to be the greatest living fighter. WASHINGTON POST. Asked if Leonard was the best he ever fought, Durn thought for a moment and then answered, "Si, si." Astrological Sign: Taurus. Leonard had no answer for the skillful, younger, faster man. Just five months after one of the greatest fights in modern boxing history, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran met in a rematch that somehow managed to transcend the original. [42] Some also considered the stoppage premature. [14]:4243 He finished his amateur career with a record of 1655 and 75 KOs.[19]. For the Camacho fight, Leonard had a new trainer, Adrian Davis. Having lost, Sugar Ray Leonard believed he could catch Duran out of shape due to celebrating his victory in the first match. [60][61], Lalonde's size and awkwardness troubled Leonard. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million, and Hagler was guaranteed $12 million. "Sugar Walker Smith wouldn't have been the same.". Unable to get away, unable to counter and unable to slide away to open up the ring, Leonard seemed almost helpless under the assault. Bonds got up and continued to move, with Leonard in pursuit. Look back on this free fight from 1986 at "The Super Fight" between #MarvinHagler and #SugarRayLeonardNext Up for Top Rank Boxing, WBO/IBF unified junior li. His father worked as a supermarket night manager and his mother was a nurse. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. However, Camacho was also considered to be past his prime. Many of the people being considered wanted absolute control and a cut somewhere near the manager's traditional 33%. It was like looking in a mirror". Leonard suffered his last two losses as an amateur in 1974. Camacho applied pressure from the opening bell and started to score well in the third. Sugar Ray Leonard walked away from boxing for good in 1997 when, at the age of 40, Hector Camacho ended his ill-fated comeback by stopping him in five rounds.. Leonard called it "the hardest single punch I ever threw."[30]. Durn forced the issue and took the fight to Leonard, cutting off the ring and denying Leonard space to fight his fight. For three rounds Durn drove at Sugar Ray with a fury, and there were moments when it seemed the fight could not last five. Dickie's fight against Sugar Ray Leonard was on July 18, 1978 at the Hynes Memorial Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts. This fight proved to be one of the most controversial fights to date. What was the score of the Sugar Ray Leonard fight? 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. Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated wrote, "Leonard gave them artistic perfection when they wanted heated battle, and they booed lustily. The scores were 120110, 119109, and 116111. On December 7, 1989, the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard triumphs over a lackluster Roberto Duran in a unanimous 12-round decision at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Leonard, with a badly swollen left eye, came out roaring for the thirteenth round. He was given a scholarship to the University of Maryland, a gift from the citizens of Glenarden, Maryland. The Classic bout between Sugar Ray Leonard V Thomas Hearns.Leonard Snatches Victory from the jaws of defeat with a dramatic late Stoppage! The real Leonard (a Seinfeld fan) mentioned that he was told about the episode by friends and family, but had never seen it for himself until a friend gave him the DVD set for a gift. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Hearns started to stick and move, and he started to pile up points again. 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. 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. In rounds seven and eight, Hagler's southpaw jab was landing solidly and Leonard's counter flurries were less frequent. "My idea is that he should have a tuneup fight before he fights with Roberto again", Jacobs said. These seven fights are the highlight of his career. The live gate was $5.9 million, and the revenue from pay-per-view was $7.5 million. Rounds nine and ten were good rounds for Leonard, but he ran into trouble in the eleventh round. At the final bell, even uniformed ringside security rushed into the ring applauding and lauding Leonard's effort. Fearful that her son would get pulled into this shady world, Robinson's mother turned to the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, where a man by the name of George Gainford had just started a boxing club.