Sugar Ray Leonard

@African American Men, Birthday and Childhood

Sugar Ray Leonard, is a legendary boxer, who won world titles in five different weight classes

May 17, 1956

Black BoxersAmericanSportspersonsBoxersTaurus Celebrities
Biography

Personal Details

  • Birthday: May 17, 1956
  • Nationality: American
  • Famous: African American Men, Professional Boxer, Black Boxers, Sportspersons, Boxers
  • Spouses: Bernadette Robi (m. 1993), Juanita Wilkinson (m. 1980–1990)
  • Siblings: Roger Leonard
  • Known as: Ray Charles Leonard
  • Childrens: Camille Leonard, Daniel Ray Leonard, Jarrel Leonard, Jr., Ray Charles Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard born at

Rocky Mount

Unsplash
Birth Place

He married his childhood sweetheart Juanita Wilkinson in 1980 and couple had two children before they got separated in 1990.

Unsplash
Personal Life

He married Bernadette Robi in 1993 and currently lives with his four children and wife in Southern California.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Sugar Ray Leonard, christened as Ray Charles Leonard, was born to Cicero and Getha Leonard. He was only three when his family moved to Washington D.C. and they settled in Palmer Park, Maryland, where his father worked as a supermarket manager and his mother as a nurse.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

Leonard began boxing in 1969 at the Pational Park recreation center with his elder brother Roger, who helped him train. Soon, he was trained by Dave Jacobs, a former boxer, and Janks Morton, both of whom volunteered as his boxing coaches.

Unsplash
Career

In 1972, he competed in the featherweight quarterfinals of the National AAU Tournament, against boxer Jerome Artism and faced the first defeat of his career.

Unsplash
Career

In 1973, he competed in the Eastern Olympic Trials where the minimum age eligibility was seventeen but Leonard, who was then sixteen, lied about his age.

Unsplash
Career

He participated and won the National Golden Gloves Lightweight Championship in 1973, but was defeated by Randy Shields in the final of the National AAU Lightweight Championship, the same year.

Unsplash
Career

In 1974 he earned both the National Golden Gloves and National AAU Lightweight Championship titles.

Unsplash
Career

In 1976, he won an Olympic Gold Medal after an impressive 5-0 win against Kazimier Szczerba in the semifinals and another 5-0 win against Andr�s Aldama in the final round.

Unsplash
Awards & Achievements

He defeated Wilfred Benitez on November 30, 1979 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in the WBC Welterweight Championship. The victory earned him a whopping $1 million and he was given the ‘Fighter of the Year’ title.

Unsplash
Awards & Achievements

In 1981, he was named the ‘Fighter of the Year’ for the second time by ‘The Ring’ (magazine) and ‘The Boxing Writers Association of America’. He was also declared the ‘Sportsman of the Year’ by the magazine, ‘Sports Illustrated’.

Unsplash
Awards & Achievements

In January 1997, he was inducted into the ‘International Boxing Hall Of Fame’ in Canastota, New York.

Unsplash
Awards & Achievements

He remains the only boxer till date to have won world titles in five different weight classes.

Unsplash
Awards & Achievements