Leonard and Duran fought the fiercest battle in welterweight history, fuelled by Duran's utter hatred for the pretty boy with lots of money and Ray's refusal to back down. The time was 2:54 of round fifteen.[29]. In the closing seconds of the eighth round, Durn turned his back to Leonard and quit, saying to referee Octavio Meyran, "No Ms" (English: "No more"). 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. In a career that spanned 25 years, Robinson amassed 175 wins, 110 knockouts and just 19 losses. His mother said: "He never did talk too much. Leonard was named "Fighter of the Year" by The Ring and The Boxing Writers Association of America. Durn defeated Leonard via unanimous decision . Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed "pound for pound, the. My journey has ended, my dream is fulfilled. The following year, he again won the National AAU Light Welterweight Championship, as well as the Light Welterweight Championship at the Pan American Games. However, Lalonde later told HBO's Larry Merchant that he didn't have any trouble making weight.[59]. The decision was read. 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!" Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns during their first fight, on September 16, 1981 in Las Vegas. The fight was cancelled, and Leonard had surgery to repair the retina on May 9, 1982. However, he was able to outpunch Hagler along the ropes and got the better of several bristling exchanges. A paying crowd of 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million. In 2002, Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years. . 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. The young boxer quickly moved up the ranks. In their 2nd fight, a 30-year old Thomas Hearns (46-3, 38 KO) faced Sugar Ray Leonard again, who was now 33 years old with a record of 35-1 in a super-middleweight title defense fight. Tyson lost his first fight to Holyfield in 1996. [60][61], Lalonde's size and awkwardness troubled Leonard. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. [80], Leonard has also worked as an actor. 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. "It took this fight to show me it is no longer my time", Leonard said. Hearns was ahead on points." By 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. Leonard suffered his last two losses as an amateur in 1974. Hagler hurt Leonard with a left cross and pinned him in a corner. With neither parent able to work, with his child and the mother of his child to support, and without any endorsement opportunities, Leonard decided to become a professional boxer. November 30, 1979: Leonard wins his first world titles by defeating Wilfred Bentez via 15th round TKO. Their six-year-old son, Ray Jr., served as the ring bearer. Floyd bounced back and won two in a row over Sanchez to secure his spot in Atlanta. Also, Leonard and Janks Morton split because of personal differences. 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. "[72], In January 1997, it was announced that Leonard had been voted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in Canastota, New York. 2 of his losses came after his first retirement. "My idea is that he should have a tuneup fight before he fights with Roberto again", Jacobs said. Leonard called it "the hardest single punch I ever threw."[30]. During the night Durn was admitted to a hospital with stomach pains, and discharged the following day. Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. He staggered Bonds with a right in the fourth round and dropped him with a follow-up combination. The bout took place on June 20, 1980 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. In his last years Robinson battled Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. Moore fought and lost to Sugar Ramos for the inaugural WBC title. Durn retired from boxing . 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. Leonard pledged he would support his son, even if he had to scrap plans to attend college. [14]:75, In his fourteenth professional fight, Leonard fought his first world-ranked opponent, Floyd Mayweather, who was ranked seventeenth. Standing in a boxing ring with Howard Cosell, the master of ceremonies, Leonard announced his retirement, saying a bout with Hagler would unfortunately never happen. His most famous commercial was a 7 Up ad he did with his son, Ray Jr., Roberto Durn and Durn's son Roberto Jr. in the early 1980s. Leonard looked to be in trouble, but he furiously fought his way out of the corner. But the TV show came about and made my decision a lot easier. In the final, Leonard boxed the great Cuban knockout artist Andrs Aldama, who scored five straight knockouts to reach the final. 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. With Hearns fatigued, Leonard came back and had a strong finish to the round. Sylvester Stallone, who co-hosted during the first season, was one of the executive producers, along with Mark Burnett. Remembering "The Showdown": Hearns and Leonard fought 35 years ago. 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. Between rounds twelve and thirteen, Angelo Dundee told Leonard, "You're blowing it, son! By the fifth, Leonard, who was moving a lot, began to tire and Hagler started to get closer. Durn said he quit because of stomach cramps, caused by overeating after the weigh-in. He went to a doctor and discovered that he had a detached retina. Sugar Ray Leonard (def. But New York proved rough in other ways. Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center's director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team. He was given a scholarship to the University of Maryland, a gift from the citizens of Glenarden, Maryland. [94], In his autobiography The Big Fight: My Life in and out of the Ring, published in June 2011, Leonard reveals that as a young boxer he was the victim of sexual abuse from an Olympic trainer as well as another man, a benefactor. Although he would prescribe the training procedures, he would leave the day-to-day work to Dave Jacobs and Janks Morton. [44], On February 15, 1982, Leonard defended the unified title against Bruce Finch, the WBC fourth-ranked contender, in a bout at Reno, NV. [64] Hearns was guaranteed $11 million and Leonard was guaranteed $14 million. The Classic bout between Sugar Ray Leonard V Thomas Hearns.Leonard Snatches Victory from the jaws of defeat with a dramatic late Stoppage! Late in the round, Leonard dropped Benitez with a left. Sugar Ray Leonard: The Final Fight. "There was no indication that he was in pain or getting weak. The fight ended in a split draw, meaning both fighters retained their respective titles. The fight took place on September 9, 1978. "I think I pretty much fought from the heart." Leonard fired back and hurt Lalonde with a right. Associated Press had it 144141 for Durn, while The New York Times had Leonard ahead 144142. At the post-fight press conference, Leonard surprised everyone by announcing his retirement again, saying he just didn't have it anymore.[51]. Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed "pound for pound, the best." [78][79] Leonard is among the most sought-after motivational/inspirational speakers in the world today. The Panamanian seized the evening and gave it what shape and momentum it had. Bonds rose but Leonard didn't let him off the hook. The Camacho fight was Leonard's last. The referee stopped the fight with Bonds taking punishment in a corner.[39]. Hearns was leading by scores of 124122, 125122, and 125121. Winding up his right hand, as if to throw a bolo punch, Leonard snapped out a left jab and caught Durn flush in the face. Leonard kept it up, continuing to move, stop, and mug. Hagler backed off, and Leonard danced away with Hagler in pursuit. Dave Jacobs was one of the people let go, leaving Correa as the sole trainer. Janks Morton and Dave Jacobs trained Leonard for the Lalonde fight. To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories. Paternity Suit". He rose but was soon down again, and the fight was stopped. 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. Which boxers did sugar ray Leonard lose to? But at that point in the fight, Hagler appeared to be slightly more ring-general and clearly more aggressive. According to Bill Nack: It was, from almost the opening salvo, a fight that belonged to Durn. Roger won some trophies and showed them off in front of Ray, goading him to start boxing. 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. [10] BoxRec ranks him as the 14th greatest boxer of all time, pound for pound. 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. [54], Leonard threw 629 punches and landed 306, while Hagler threw 792 and landed 291. Durn was guaranteed $7.6 million and Leonard's arrangement guaranteed him over $13 million.[65]. . The scorecards from the ringside press and broadcast media attest to the polarizing views and opinions of the fight. In round seven, Leonard started to taunt Durn. Asked if Leonard was the best he ever fought, Durn thought for a moment and then answered, "Si, si." Leonard landed the harder punches and had Benitez hurt several times late in the fight, but Leonard couldn't put him away. Hagler buckled Leonard's knees with a right uppercut near the end of the round, which finished with Leonard on the ropes. Known for his punching power, he won world championships in four weight classes, though his reputation took a hit with his "no ms" loss to Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980. Leonard was the aggressor throughout, with Bonds circling the ring. In 1984 The Ring magazine placed Robinson No. The feared warrior who had defeated Sugar Ray Leonard and battled Marvelous Marvin for fifteen back-and-forth rounds had been rendered helpless by Thomas Hearns in just four minutes, left face down in the resin dust, a sight few had imagined they might ever behold. Ray Charles Leonard, known as the boxing champion "Sugar Ray" Leonard (after the champion boxer Sugar Ray Robinson), was born on May 17, 1956 in Wilmington, North Carolina to Getha Leonard and Cicero Leonard, who boxed in the Navy. . In the fourth round, Leonard knocked Green out with a devastating left hook. The two went toe-to-toe in the fifteenth. The fight took place at the new Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Leonard, with a badly swollen left eye, came out roaring for the thirteenth round. The following month, he made his first title defense against Andy Price. Hosted (yes, there was a host) by Mario Lopez,. Many felt that Hagler deserved the decision because he was the aggressor and landed the harder punches. Outside of the ring, Robinson relished his celebrity, parading around Harlem with a pink Cadillac and making appearances at his high-profile Harlem nightclub. Leonard, having slowed down, was obliged to fight more and move less. [38], "I made him quit", Leonard said. Veteran ringside commentator Don Dunphy said "They're stopping the fight. How many times did Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard fight? For his services, Dundee would get 15% of Leonard's purse. [26] For three rounds Durn drove at Sugar Ray with a fury, and there were moments when it seemed the fight could not last five. Leonard battered Hearns in rounds six and seven, but Hearns regrouped. He was voted off in Week 4 of the show. In his prime, he was unstoppable. By his last retirement in 1991, boxer Sugar Ray Leonard had become the first fighter to win titles in five divisions-every weight class from welteweight to light heavyweight. Early in the ninth, Lalonde hurt Leonard with a right to the chin. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped by a flurry of hard punches near the end of the round. I snapped his head back with a jab. Scottish boxing journalist Hugh McIlvanney wrote that Leonard's plan was to "steal rounds with a few flashy and carefully timed flurrieshe was happy to exaggerate hand speed at the expense of power, and neither he nor two of the scorers seemed bothered by the fact that many of the punches landed on the champion's gloves and arms. 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. 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. He knocked Leonard down with a left hook in the second round, and in the seventh, he dropped Leonard again with a short right. [24][25], On August 12, 1979, Leonard knocked out Pete Ranzany in four rounds to win the NABF Welterweight Championship. Leonard ended the series with his hand raised in victory, but the boos couldn't be hidden and many fled the arena long before the final bell. Leonard went the distance but lost by a lopsided decision. From 1977-1997, Leonard only lost three professional fights. Durn attacked at almost every turn. "But then he adjusted to my style. [62], After the fight, Leonard vacated the light heavyweight title, but kept the super middleweight title. HBO believed it would be inappropriate for Leonard to continue with them if they couldn't bid on his fights. Judges Chuck Giampa and Franz Marti had Leonard ahead by scores of 7774 and 7775, respectively. In the final round, Hagler continued to chase Leonard. Durn received $1.5 million and Leonard, working for a percentage of the closed-circuit gate as well as a guarantee, received over $9 million. Leonard fought Wilfred Bentez for the WBC Welterweight Championship on November 30, 1979, at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. When Leonard left the show, he was replaced as host by Tony Danza for the final season. Kalule, who was 360, had been the WBA Light Middleweight Champion for two years. He died at the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, on April 12, 1989. Correa was instructed not to spare the whip. Leonard decided to fight Camacho after commentating on Camacho's fight with the 45-year-old Roberto Durn the previous year, describing the disputed unanimous decision as "an early Christmas gift". 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