Sugar Ray Leonard
"This is my last fight, my decision is final. The journey is ended, my dream fulfilled." This is what "Sugar" Ray Leonard said after he won the gold medal for boxing in 1976. The journey was not over, nor was the dream was unfulfilled. Leonard had just begun one of the greatest careers the sports world had ever seen. Leonard' early life, training, professional career, style, and ability to come back despite many obstacles shaped him into one of the greatest and most successful boxers of all time, not only in wins and loses but also in dollars and cents. This great and successful boxer had to begin somewhere. Even though Ray Charles Leonard was named after the great jazz musician, Ray Charles, he did not follow his parent's dream for him to be a singer. Ray Charles Leonard was born on May 17, 1956, in Wilmington, North Carolina ("Leonard"). Leonard grew up in Wilmington and in Palmer Maryland, a racially-mixed lower-middle class suburb of Baltimore. He was the fifth child of Goethe and Cicero Leonard's seven children. He graduated from high school and had no further education. His mother's original dream for him was early exhibited. He sang in the church choir with two of his sisters. Leonard was a good sing
He returned six years later to fight Hector "Macho" Camacho in Atlantic City ("Sugar Ray"). After the Montreal Games Leonard actually intended to end his boxing career and decided to retire. His statement was a good demonstration of the artistry in his boxing. His brother Roger turned him to the boxing world early in his teens. He had hired Mike Trainer to be his promoter and capitalized on the publicity and fame that being a great boxer brings (Schwartz). The determined Leonard made his comeback with no warm-up fight and only one match in the last five years. Following the fight, Leonard once again announced his retirement. Duran quit in the Eighth round of the match claiming "No Mas No Mas, (no more no more)" and Leonard took the title in the New Orleans bout (O'Dell). Later that year in November he regained his glory and his title as undisputed welter-weight champion by defeating Roberto Duran in the rematch. Following his boxing career Leonard did not leave the world of boxing. So Leonard turned professional, to make money. Leonard was not a slugger but an artist. " Leonard would soon turn his boxing into and art. Once again Leonard went into retirement, and in typical Leonard fashion he made another comeback.
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Acceptance Essays
