SUGAR RAY LEONARD FIGHTS

SUGAR RAY LEONARD COLLECTION

BOXING FIGHTS ON DVD

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Sugar Ray Leonard
1976 Olympics Gold Medalist and Former Boxing Great

Sugar Ray Leonard divided opinions. You either loved him or loathed him, but few could ignore a fighter with such immense natural gifts. Leonard brimmed with a confidence that bordered on arrogance and had an ego to match, but he captured the imagination of the American public with his epic confrontations against Hagler, Hearns, Duran and Benitez. He was worthy of the Sugar nickname that his hero, the great Ray Robinson, had graced before him.

Born on May 17, 1956 in Wilmington, South Carolina, Leonard was always destined for greatness. He turned on the charm at the Montreal Olympics in 1976 when he carried a photo of his son in the side of his boot and won a gold medal to cap an outstanding amateur career, which boasted 145 wins in 150 bouts.

Considered one of the best fighters of all time, Ray Leonard burst onto the international scene by winning the light-welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. He turned professional with a lawyer, Mike Trainer, handling the business side of his career whilst hiring the legendary trainer Angelo Dundee to guide him towards the top. Dundee's success with Muhammad Ali and Trainer's business savvy ensured that three years later, Sugar Ray Leonard was not only a dollar millionaire, but ready for his first world title. Puerto Rican Wilfredo Benitez, himself a world champion since the age of 17, surrendered the WBC welterweight title in 1979, and Sugar Ray was on his way. The next seven years saw Leonard engage in some of the most famous battles in ring history with his three most famous rivals; Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran, and "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler. Duran was the victor in early 1980, taking the WBC crown after a brutal contest. However honour was restored later that same year, with the famous "No Mas" victory. Duran was outboxed, outsped, and humiliated and in the eighth round surrendered with the words "No Mas - No More". 1981 saw the WBA/WBC welterweight unification bout with Hearns. Victory came in the fourteenth round after a see-saw fight that saw both fighters hurt before Sugar Ray prevailed. Retirement followed, but in 1984 returned and claimed the WBA light-middleweight title, although he retired again soon after. Clearly he wasn't the same fighter as in his hey-day. However, the pull of the limelight was too much and in 1987 returned to the ring with an audacious challenge for the WBC world middleweight crown against the fearsome champion Marvin Hagler in Las Vegas. Despite being a heavy underdog, Leonard confounded the critics by beating Hagler for the first time since 1980, and taking his beloved world title. Hagler retired, claiming he was robbed. Many dispute Leonard's victory, and opinion is divided, even to this day. Although he won the WBC super-middleweight & light-heavyweight titles, it was clear that Sugar Ray's best days were behind him. Hollow rematch victories against Duran & Hearns carried little weight and he took a beating in a WBC light-middleweight title against "Terrible" Terry Norris in 1991, getting knocked down twice and sustaining a nasty beating. Six years later, a non-title contest against Hector "Macho" Camacho finally persuaded Sugar Ray Leonard that his time was up. Now he is a successful boxing promoter, guiding young hopefuls to similar victories and celebrity status that he had two decades ago.

Sugar Ray Leonard is one of the legendary sports icons of the 20th century, whose very name epitomizes boxing and conjures the image of a champion.

Leonard has teamed up with Sylvester Stallone and "Apprentice" and "Survivor" creator, Mark Burnett to put together NBC's exciting unscripted drama, "The Contender," which will premiere in January, 2004. The show follows the lives of sixteen of the most talented young boxers from around the nation who will be mentored by Leonard and Stallone while competing for a one million dollar prize.

Having learned to box at the age of 14, Leonard's illustrious career includes three National Golden Gloves titles, two AAU championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. After winning a Gold medal in boxing at the 1976 Olympic Games, he turned professional to help his family defer mounting medical bills incurred because of his father's illness. Blinding speed, tremendous power, and great charm turned Sugar Ray into an immediate media favorite. The late Howard Cosell called Ray the "new Mohammed Ali."

In 1977, at the age of 20, Leonard won his first professional fight, setting the stage for a collection of the most memorable fights in history. He went on to defeat some of the finest boxers of the modern era, including Wilfred Benetiz, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler, from who Leonard won the World Title in the Middleweight division. During his 20-year professional career, Leonard also won World Titles in the Welterweight, Jr. Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight Divisions. He was the first boxer to win world titles in five different weight classes, a record that stands to this day.

Leonard's sincere, charismatic personality coupled with his ring experience led to a successful career as a television broadcaster for NBC, ABC, HBO and ESPN. In addition, his celebrity status and tremendous cross-over appeal fostered commercial endorsement relationships with numerous companies including EA Sports, Vartec Telecom, Track Inc., Ford, Carnation, 7-Up, Nabisco, Coca-Cola, and Revlon. Leonard is also among the most sought after motivational/inspirational speakers in the world today. His speech, titled "POWER" (Prepare, Overcome, and Win Every Round), is consistently booked with major Fortune 500 companies in the United States and abroad.

Successful business ventures aside, Leonard has always been devoted to the community and to helping those in need. For many years, Leonard has been the International Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for a Cure. He also participates in a variety of National and International causes benefiting needy children's charities. Leonard has four children and lives in Southern California with his wife Bernadette