Ray Charles Leonard born May 17, , best known as Sugar Ray Leonard , is an American former professional boxer , motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professionally between and , winning world titles in five weight classes ; the lineal championship in three weight classes; [ 3 ] as well as the undisputed welterweight championship. As an amateur , Leonard won a light welterweight gold medal at the Summer Olympics. In , Leonard was voted by The Ring as the ninth greatest fighter of the last 80 years.
His father worked as a supermarket night manager and his mother was a nurse. He attended Parkdale High School. Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a flood in Seat Pleasant, Maryland , his childhood was uneventful. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. His mother said: "He never did talk too much.
We never could tell what he was thinking. But I never had any problems with him. I never had to go to school once because of him. Leonard started boxing at the Palmer Park Recreation Center in His older brother, Roger , started boxing first. Roger helped start the boxing program, urging the center's director, Ollie Dunlap, to form a team.
Dave Jacobs, a former boxer, and Janks Morton volunteered as boxing coaches. Roger won some trophies and showed them off in front of Ray, goading him to start boxing. It was his first defeat. Later that year, he boxed in the Eastern Olympic Trials.
The rules stated that a boxer had to be seventeen to box in international competition, so Leonard, only sixteen, lied about his age. The nickname stuck. However, given his style and first name, it was probably only a matter of time before people started calling him Sugar Ray, after the man many consider to be the greatest boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson.
