Sugar Ray Leonard | |
|---|---|
 Leonard in 1998 | |
| Born | Ray Charles Leonard[2] May 17, 1956[2] |
| Other names | Sugar |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Reach | 74 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 40 |
| Wins | 36 |
| Wins by KO | 25 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
Medal record | |
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;[3] as well as the undisputed welterweight championship.[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 Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler. As an amateur, Leonard won a light welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
The "Four Kings" created a wave of popularity in the lower weight classes that kept boxing relevant in the post-Muhammad Ali era, during which Leonard defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Hearns, Durán, Hagler, and Wilfred Benítez.[6][7] Leonard was also the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, and was named "Boxer of the Decade" in the 1980s.[8] The Ring magazine named him Fighter of the Year in 1979 and 1981, while the Boxing Writers Association of America named him Fighter of the Year in 1976, 1979, and 1981. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years.[9] In 2016, he was voted by The Ring to be the greatest living fighter.[10] BoxRec ranks him as the 14th greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound.[11]
- ^ a b Showtime Championship Boxing tale of the tape prior to the Terry Norris fight.
- ^ a b c Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sugar Ray Leonard". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- ^ "The Lineal Boxing World Champions". Cyber Boxing Zone.
- ^ "Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard lead the way". SkySports.com. August 18, 2005. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ Ross (January 21, 2015). "The Fabulous Four – Hagler, Hearns, Duran, and Leonard". RossBoxing.com. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
- ^ "Sugar Ray was ring artist". ESPN. July 11, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "ESPN 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time". ESPN. November 5, 1994. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ "Mark Grossinger Etess Award". Boxrec.com. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
- ^ Eisele, Andrew. "Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years". About.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
- ^ Gray, Tom (August 9, 2016). "Who is the greatest fighter alive? No. 1 revealed". RingTV.com.
- ^ "BoxRec ratings: world, pound-for-pound, active and inactive". BoxRec. Retrieved November 7, 2020.