This is the last in my series of blogs on one of my favorite all-time fighters, the great Sugar Ray Leonard. When I first became a boxing fan in the late 1970’s, Ray was becoming the face of the sport. His first championship shot against Wilfred Benitez on November 30, 1979 stands out as one […]

Sugar Ray Leonard announced his retirement in the ring at Madison Square Garden following his loss to Terry Norris on February 9, 1991. Over the coming years, he gave no indication of any intentions to make a comeback. The last thing on my mind was Ray returning to the ring as time passed, but in

After defeating Roberto Duran on December 7, 1989 rather easily, Sugar Ray Leonard’s career was put on hold because of the severe cut over his right eye. He needed plastic surgery to help it heal, then talked of a rematch with Marvin Hagler. Nothing came of that, and when Leonard wanted a third bout with

After barely escaping with a draw against Thomas Hearns on June `12, 1989, Sugar Ray Leonard agreed to fight Roberto Duran in his next bout. Duran had upset Iran Barkley in February to capture his middleweight belt, his fourth title in four different divisions. The third fight between both fighters was set for December 7,

After knocking out Donny Lalonde on November 7, 1998, Sugar Ray Leonard agreed to a rematch with Thomas Hearns. Even though Thomas had struggled in a decision over James Kinchen that same month, June 12, 1989 was the date set for Leonard-Hearns 2 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. I drove my 1985 Pontiac Firebird

After his huge upset of Marvin Hagler on April 6, 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard announced that he was retired, and didn’t want to fight anymore. That retirement last about a year and a half, when he signed to fight the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Donny Dalonde on November 7, `1988 at Caesar’s Palace in Las

After retiring from boxing following his victory over Kevin Howard on May 11, 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard worked as a commentator for HBO, and stayed out of the limelight otherwise. Marvin Hagler was now the face of boxing after his thrilling knockout of Thomas Hearns in April of 1985, started to get television commercials, and

After announcing his retirement on November 9, 1982, Sugar Ray Leonard focused on his broadcasting career with both CBS and HBO as a commentator. As the year 1983 drew to a close, Ray announced “This isn’t a comeback. I’m back!” in a press conference held near his home in Maryland. He had a February 25,

After his huge win over Thomas Hearns on September 16, 1981, Sugar Ray Leonard planned his first title defense for February 15, 1982 at the Centennial Coliseum in Reno, Nevada. His opponent was Bruce Finch, the 5th ranked welterweight contender from Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a record of 28-3-2, with 24 knockouts. Since it was being

Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns signed to meet on Wednesday, September 16, 1981 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. For big fights like this, a temporary stadium was built on the tennis courts at Caesar’s to hold upwards of 23,000 people. To see this on closed-circuit, I took another trip to Atlantic City Convention