Whats up? My name is Cameron Allen and I'm going to do Sugar Ray Leonard for black history month. His real name is Ray Charles Leonard. (Born May 17, 1956) is a retired American boxer. Names fighter of decade for the 1980, he's widely considered to be one of the best boxers of all time winning at multiples world title weights and engaging in contest with such celebated opponent as Wilfred  Benitez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvin Hagler. He was named after the singing legend Ray Charles. Leonard was given the nickname "Sugar" by one of his amateur coaches in his hometown of Palmer Park, Maryland.

Amateur

In 1973, a boxing promoter noticed Leonard's natural talent and offered him $5,000 to fight in a professional bout. Leonard dismissed the offer because he wanted to qualify for the 1976 Olympics team. Before he was 20, he won three National Golden Gloves titles, two AAU championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. Leonard earned a spot on the 1976 Olympic U.S. team, which included future heavyweight champions Michael Spinks and his brother Leon. Leonard, up to that point in his amateur career, had lost only five fights, among them a contested bout in 1974 against Kazimierz Szczerba of Poland.

A lot of amateur boxing observers thought that the great Cuban knockout artist Andres Aldama would defeat the 20-year-old Leonard in the Olympic final. Aldama was virtually a pro and had scored 5 straight knockouts to reach the finals. Ray Leonard proved that he was a great boxer by winning with an impressive 5-0 decision. Leonard brought Aldama to his knees with a left hook to the chin. Twice during the final round, the referee had required Aldama to take a standing eight-count to prove that he was able to continue the fight. Although Aldama persisted in the match, Leonard emerged the victor and won the gold medal for the United States. It was Leonard's 145th victory as an amateur boxer.

After winning the Olympic gold Leonard announced to the press, “The journey is over, the dream fulfilled” and he retired from boxing, telling the public that he wanted to go to college. Leonard had hoped to cash in on endorsements but they never came. With the bills piling up and sickness in his family he decided to turn professional.

chievement

• 1972 National Golden Gloves Lightweight Champion

• 1973 National Golden Gloves Lightweight Champion, defeating Hilmer Kenty

• 1973 Runner-up in National AAU Light Welterweight Championships, losing to Randy Shields

• 1974 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion

• 1974 National Golden Gloves Light Welterweight Champion

• 1975 National AAU Light Welterweight Champion

• Won the Light Welterweight Gold Medal for the United States at the 1975 Pan American Games

• Won the Light Welterweight Gold Medal for the United States at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Olympic Results

• Defeated Ulf Carlsson (Sweden) points 5-0

• Defeated Valery Limassov (Soviet Union) points 5-0

• Defeated Clinton McKenzie (Great Britain) points 5-0

• Defeated Ulrich Beyer (East Germany) points 5-0

• Defeated Kazimierz Szczerba (Poland) points 5-0

• Defeated Andres Aldama (Cuba) 5-0

 Professional

After this success, Leonard wanted to attend the University of Maryland. However, his father became ill and his family needed money. With no endorsement contracts coming his way, Leonard announced his intention to become a pro boxer.

Angelo Dundee, Muhammad Ali's trainer, was brought in to be Leonard's trainer and manager. Long-time coaches Janks Morton, Dave Jacobs and lawyer Mike Trainer made up the rest of Leonard's team. Promoted by ABC TV as their replacement for the aging Ali, Leonard made $40,000 for his first professional fight (then a record) against Puerto RicanLuis Vega. The fight was televised nationally on CBS-TV, and the novice Leonard won by a 6 round unanimous decision.

Leonard won his first 25 pro fights. In Sugar Ray's most impressive performance to date, he knocked out Pete Ranzany in 4 rounds to win the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) welterweight championship. This bout took place in August 1979. A month later, a 1st round KO of respected contender Andy Price followed. Price had won his last four bouts, three of them in 1979, but was decisively beaten by Leonard. Leonard then signed to meet the undefeated WBC World Welterweight Champion Wilfred Benitez in November.

First world title

In a highly competitive battle, Leonard became world champion with a technical knockout in round 15, with the referee stopping the fight in Leonard's favor with six seconds left. Leonard led by 2, 4, and 7 points on the three judges' scorecard at the time of the stoppage.

The Ring Magazine named Leonard the Fighter of the Year for 1979.

In March 1980, Leonard won his 1st defense by easily beating British challenger Dave "Boy" Green with a devastating 4th round knockout in Landover, Maryland. Green had been a very busy fighter, having fought 6 times in 1979, winning 5 of them.

Their rematch was held in New Orleans on November 25, 1980. This time around, Leonard used far more lateral movement and jabs, staying off the ropes whenever possible. In round 7, Leonard taunted Duran, dropping his arms and winding up with a bolo punch. Neither fighter had absorbed much punishment, but Leonard had a narrow lead on all three scorecards after 7 rounds. In round 8, Duran turned around, walked to his corner and gave up. Although Duran is widely remembered for the now famous words, "no más," he never actually said them. It was actually commentator Howard Cosell who uttered the phrase, which inspired an angry comment from Duran in a 2005 article about the fight (however, the article makes it clear that Duran did quit, as he actually said the Spanish equivalent of "I can't continue"). Regardless, the sports world was stunned by Duran's actions. The controversy regarding this bout and Duran's motivation for quitting continues to this day. However, in an interview with ESPN, Duran had stated that he had started to get stomach cramps and felt it better to quit now than suffer through it. Trainer and TV commentator Gil Clancy opined that perhaps Duran had to take a crap. [1] In an episode of FOX Sports's Beyond The Glory, Duran's trainer said that Duran had turned to him and said "I won't fight anymore with this clown."  Duran's manager, Carlos Eleta, said, "Duran didn't quit because of stomach cramps. He quit because he was embarrassed."

Leonard was a world champion again and, after avenging his only defeat, once more was on top of the boxing world.

In March 1981, Leonard scored a routine 10th round TKO of unheralded Larry Bonds in a welterweight title defense.

Second world title

On June 25, 1981, Leonard fought Ayub Kalule, the undefeated WBA World Junior Middleweight Champion. Kalule gave Leonard a tough fight, but Sugar Ray won via a 9th round TKO.

Undefeated arch-rival Thomas Hearns, meanwhile, was tearing apart the welterweight division and had won the WBA world title by knocking out Pipino Cuevas in the 2nd round. Hearns seemed unbeatable, having scored 30 KO's in 32 fights with no losses. A unification bout was set for September 16, 1981 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hearns unexpectedly weighed in at a very light 145 pounds, causing many to speculate he over-trained. "The Showdown" was televised on closed-circuit and pay-per-view outlets throughout the world.