Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns II, billed as " The War ", was a professional boxing match contested on June 12, 1989 for the WBC and WBO super middleweight titles. The two went toe-to-toe in the fifteenth. Leonard and . Despite years away from the ring, Leonard defeated Hagler and secured his place as one of the best. "It took this fight to show me it is no longer my time", Leonard said. In round fourteen, after staggering Hearns with an overhand right, Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes, where he unleashed another furious combination, prompting referee Davey Pearl to stop the contest and award Sugar Ray Leonard the Unified World Welterweight Championship. He then announced, "I am retiring from boxing right now." To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories. It was his first defeat. His speech, entitled "Power" (Prepare, Overcome and Win Every Round), is consistently booked with major Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States and abroad. On November 7, 1988, Leonard made another comeback, facing Donny Lalonde at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Dec. 16, 1989 12 AM PT. 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. [11], Leonard, the fifth of seven children of Cicero and Getha Leonard, was born in Wilmington, North Carolina. He died at the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, on April 12, 1989. "I wanted that arena. [95] He has since made public appearances to bring attention to the issue of child sex abuse, declaring himself a "poster child" for the cause and encouraging victims to report their abuse.[96]. Late in the final round, he again hurt Aldama, which brought a standing eight count from the referee. In the fourth round, Leonard knocked Green out with a devastating left hook. He said he started using medication after he retired in 1982, following surgery to repair a detached retina. This movie brought back memories of his fight with Dicky Eklund. Leonard learned of the suit several days after returning home from the Olympics. "He's got the three B's," Sammy Davis Jr. said of Seales at a 1984 benefit for the fighter. Most fight fans would not spend a dime to watch Van Gogh paint Sunflowers, but they would fill Yankee Stadium to see him cut off his ear. No. He actually scored it 148147. Hagler did better, but Leonard's superior speed and boxing skill still allowed him to control the fight. In this episode [87] of the "March Milkness" series (where Rhett and Link created a March Madness style bracket to determine the best breakfast cereal), Leonard was brought in to break a tie between the Fruity Region Champion, Froot Loops, and the Chocolatey Region Champion, Oreo O's. Answer (1 of 8): Hearns and Leonard fought twice. However, less than a week after the fight, Leonard said he planned to fight again. Leonard called it "the hardest single punch I ever threw."[30]. Leonard fired back and hurt Lalonde with a right. He finished his career with a record of 3631 with 25 knockouts. Sugar Ray Leonard boxed Marvin Hagler and forced him to fight away from his strengths while using what he did bestflurrying with the mindset of disrupting Hagler and not trying to hurt or drop himwhich was something Ray knew could only fail, and open the door for Hagler to nail him. Pat Putnam of Sports Illustrated wrote, "Leonard gave them artistic perfection when they wanted heated battle, and they booed lustily. The action see-sawed back and forth for the rest of the round, with each man having his moments. His mother said: "He never did talk too much. Leonard had difficulty with Hearns' long reach and sharp jab. Leonard was awarded a 50 decision and the Olympic gold medal. 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". the fighter 2010 movie brother of micky ward did he knock down sugar ray leonard Richard"Dicky" Eklund (born January 1, 1958) is a former welterweight boxer from the mill city of Lowell,. 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. 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. What was the score of the Sugar Ray Leonard fight? Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials. This fight proved to be one of the most controversial fights to date. Sports Illustrated called his scorecard "a monument to indecision." This would be Leonard's first professional fight without Angelo Dundee. It didn't take much for Robinson, who'd been a neighbor of heavyweight champ Joe Louis back in Detroit, to strap on fighting gloves. I knew he would indulge himself, he'd gain 4050 lbs and then sweat it off to make 147." Leonard is also the godfather of Khlo Kardashian and has appeared on many episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Sugar Ray Leonard is one of the fastest boxers in history and his speed was just otherworldly. [40] Despite an official stoppage time of 2.59, the fight was actually stopped at 3.06 into the round, meaning Kalule should have been saved by the bell.[41]. By the end of round five, Leonard had a growing swelling under his left eye, and Hearns had built a considerable lead on the scorecards. Leonard's observation that the Hagler who beat John Mugabi was older and slower proved to be spot on. Hearns managed to rise, but was dropped by a flurry of hard punches near the end of the round. Hearns was leading by scores of 124122, 125122, and 125121. The bout took place on June 20, 1980 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. This is terrible. Dave Jacobs was one of the people let go, leaving Correa as the sole trainer. It supports accessible housing, healthcare services, and educational services and job training. "But you guys know me. . The following year, Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championships. Sugar Ray Robinson turned pro in 1940 and won his first 40 fights. He never liked being called "The Hit Man," and after going nearly 14 rounds with nemesis Sugar Ray Leonard under the bright lights at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Tommy . Leonard won the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Light Welterweight Championships in 1974. Dundee was unhappy with that amount. On March 28, 1981, Leonard defended his title against Larry Bonds, the WBC sixth-ranked contender, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. Leonard would continue to pursue his Olympic dream while she and the baby, Ray Charles Leonard Jr., lived with her parents. Late in the third, Leonard dropped Benitez on the seat of his pants with a stiff left jab. Robinson's birth certificate lists his place of birth as Ailey, Georgia, while the boxer stated in his autobiography that he was born in Detroit, Michigan. 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. [14]:63, When Leonard decided to turn professional, Janks Morton introduced him to Mike Trainer, a friend of his who was an attorney. "[77], Leonard has provided commercial endorsements for companies including Coca-Cola, EA Sports, Ford, Nabisco, Revlon and 7 Up. Before the fight, he was given a shot of novocaine. His decision was to push Froot Loops onto the Finals, where they were taken out by Cinnamon Toast Crunch. More embarrassed than hurt, Benitez got up quickly. The young boxer quickly moved up the ranks. Augie Sanchez had defeated Mayweather earlier that summer in qualifiers after a tight 11-12 decision. For the first bout of his career in 1936, he borrowed the Amateur Athletic Union card of another boxer, whose name was Ray Robinson, to enter the ring. [78][79] Leonard is among the most sought-after motivational/inspirational speakers in the world today. "[66] Although Leonard dominated the fight, he suffered several cuts. However, he was able to outpunch Hagler along the ropes and got the better of several bristling exchanges. Leonard served as host and mentor to the aspiring fighters on The Contender. Kalule got up but the referee waved it off. 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. Photograph: Bettmann/Corbis After the bout Hagler stated it may be his last fight. He took control, attacking and driving Leonard against the ropes, bulling him back, hitting him with lefts and rights to the body as he maneuvered the champion against the ropes from corner to corner. [76], Leonard has worked as a boxing analyst for ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN, HBO and EPIX. Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed "pound for pound, the best." In the semifinals, he faced Kazimierz Szczerba and won a 50 decision. He knocked Leonard down with a left hook in the second round, and in the seventh, he dropped Leonard again with a short right. Even though Leonard dominated, hurting Hearns and battering him, all three judges gave both rounds to Leonard by a 109 margin. 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. Leonard came back to stop Howard in the ninth round, but the stoppage was disputed, with some feeling that the referee stopped the fight prematurely. Robinson began his career with an astonishing 40 straight victories and was called the "uncrowned champion" by boxing fans on account that the mob, with who Robinson refused to play nice with, denied him the chance to fight for the world welterweight title until after the war. 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.. 19522000: 6063.5 kg, 20042012: 6064 kg. Round nine was the most exciting round of the fight. Which boxers did sugar ray Leonard lose to? Hearns, with too much faith in his powerful right hand, lost to Sugar Ray Leonard in their first match. 2 of his losses came after his first retirement. Or why Roberto Durn was acting out of prudence, not cowardice, when he quit in his second fight against Leonard. WBA-WBC era (1963-1983) No . Robinson, who had a son from a previous marriage, helped raise Millie's two children. Leonard entered the bout as a 3-1 favorite but Norris dominated the fight, giving Leonard a heavy beating. 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. [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. In 1984 The Ring magazine placed Robinson No. "The whole fight, I was moving, I was moving", Leonard said. The fight was cancelled, and Leonard had surgery to repair the retina on May 9, 1982. [68] He then offered Hearns a third fight, but Hearns said he could no longer make the weight and moved up to the light heavyweight division. Sylvester Stallone, who co-hosted during the first season, was one of the executive producers, along with Mark Burnett. But eventually you and Durn had a rematch that you ended up winning. At the wedding ceremony, the grounds were converted into a garden with 10,000 roses and blossoms of other flowers flown in from the Netherlands.[92]. A paying crowd of 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million. The fight billed as a classic showdown between a powerful knockout artist and the best boxer/puncher the welterweight division had seen in decades devolved into a slow, tactical fight. Roberto Duran Speaks: The Untold Story Is Finally Revealed!, Bill Brubaker, The Boxing Writers Association of America, List of light middleweight boxing champions, "Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard lead the way", "The Fabulous Four Hagler, Hearns, Duran, and Leonard", "Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years", "Who is the greatest fighter alive? Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed "pound for pound, the. Lalonde, 312 with 26 knockouts, was guaranteed at least $6 million and Leonard was guaranteed over $10 million. 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. Leonard made his first title defense in Landover, Maryland, on March 31, 1980. After that, Leonard decided to box Hagler. 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