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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

After his huge win over Roberto Duran on November 25, 1980, Sugar Ray Leonard took a few months off before planning a return to the ring. His opponent of choice was Larry Bonds, a Denver trashman with a record of 29-3. The bout would be held at the brand new Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New

After losing to Roberto Duran on June 20, 1980 in Montreal, Sugar Ray Leonard took his wife Juanita to Hawaii on vacation to relax. He needed a chance to heal his sore body and reassess his future. While running on the beach, Ray decided he wanted a rematch with Duran, with no other bouts in

In June of 1980, I was in Dallas, Texas for a month of resident training at an airline training school operated by the now defunct Braniff Airlines. While there, I made arrangements to see the June 20, 1980 bout between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran from Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada. I hopped a

After winning the WBC welterweight title on November 30, 1979 vs. Wilfred Benitez, Sugar Ray Leonard made his first title defense on March 31, 1980. His bout titled “The Champ Comes Home” was held at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, and would be broadcast live on ABC TV in prime time. His was one

I was working at a local department store in November of 1979 when I saw a commercial advertising the fight between Sugar Ray Leonard and Wilfred Benitez on one of the televisions in the TV department. As I was walking past with a girl I worked with, I said, “I can’t wait to see this