After announcing his retirement from boxing in November of 1982, Sugar Ray Leonard faded from the boxing scene. He still was a color man for CBS and HBO so he was still involved in the sport, but no longer the star attraction.
In his absence, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns tried to fill the void, but they lacked the star appeal Leonard had. Even though Larry Holmes had been heavyweight champ for 5 years, he never was a huge fan favorite because he just didn’t have the personality people gravitated towards. There was a huge hole in the boxing landscape that only Ray Leonard had filled.
In December of 1983, Sugar Ray announced that “This isn’t a comeback! I’m back!!!” He had been cleared by doctors to box again and at 27 years old, he was returning to his old job. I was thrilled to say the least and knew that 1984 would be more exciting in the ring with it’s main attraction performing again.
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