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He was perhaps the most talented boxer ever to grace the ring; super fast hand speed, the welter/middleweight version of Mohammed Ali, unrivaled footwork and a heart that matched that of any champion to go before him. Sugar Ray Leonard must surely go on any boxing fan’s list of greats. He hit “The Hitman” into submission; he made “Hands of Stone” quit and proved that he was more “Marvelous” than Marvin himself. Leonard first showed the world what he was capable of with, what in my view, was one of the most brilliant performances that boxing has ever seen with a 15th round TKO over Wilfred Benitez. Benitez was 38-0-1 at the time, as well as the WBC champion, and was the youngest fighter ever to win a world title.
Leonard then proceeded to win a routine title defense against Dave Green and then onto his biggest fight yet vs. the legend to be, Roberto Duran. It ended with a fifteen round unanimous decision in favor of Duran but in many people eyes, “Sugar” had got his tactics wrong trying to trade on the inside with Duran, rather than dance. In their rematch five months down the line, Duran quit with the famous line “No Mas”, giving Leonard a TKO in round eight
“Sugar” then went on to defend his belt and then won the WBA Light Middleweight title before setting up a unification clash with the WBA Welterweight champion Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns. For twelve rounds, the “Motor City Cobra” snapped his jab and released unrelenting combinations on Leonard. However, like the champion he was, in the thirteenth round Leonard caught the Hitman and it was clear that Leonard was still in with a chance.
In the fourteenth, Hearns led on all three scorecards and he came out with a vicious assault for the first minute. However, after a minute and half it was clear that Hearns was out of gas. Ray pushed on, rocking “The Hitman” constantly until with about forty five seconds to go, the referee stopped the contest. Sugar Ray Leonard had unified the titles!
He would then go on to what most people thought would be his toughest test yet, a fight against Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who had been king of the middleweights for seven years. Hagler, a great himself, had already shown that he had the weapons the beat Leonard and like few others, had a record of big name wins to rival those of Sugar Ray’s. These included a decision over Duran, a third round KO over Tommy Hearns and an eleventh round KO over previously undefeated knockout artist John Mugabi.
Leonard dominated the early rounds, although the middle section of the fight was certainly Hagler’s. Ray edged a split decision still widely debated today and a bitter Hagler retired after this fight.
Leonard then retired for a third time before coming back for a rematch with Hearns and a rubber match with Duran. Despite being knocked down In the third and eleventh rounds, Leonard managed a draw with Hearns although most people believed that Tommy had won it and then Leonard scored a unanimous decision over Duran to cap what can only be described as a wonderful career.
He also returned twice more, however was defeated and a shadow of his former self. Sugar Ray Leonard, like few other champions, fought the best, never ducked anyone and proved himself at least to be one of the top three fighters of his era which included greats such as Benitez, Duran, Hagler, Hearns and many more.
