Born on this day, Sugar Ray Leonard, a retired professional boxer. Leonard has been called one of the greatest boxers in world history.
Leonard was born in Wilmington, SC as Charles Leonard on May 17, 1956. As a young boy, he almost drowned at a creek near his house. He later survived a car wreck with his mother in his pre-teens.
By the age of 15, he was already boxing as an Amateur Boxer. At the age of 16, he lied about his age in order to take part in the Eastern Olympic Trials.
In 1976, Ray represented the United States Olympic Boxing team along with five others. He won the Gold Medal after defeating Andres Aldama in the light welterweight category.
Ray fought with his first world ranked opponent, Floyd Mayweather (father of the now famous Floyd Mayweather Jr.), who he defeated. In 1979, he had won the NABF Welterweight Championship. Leonard was named Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s. He ended his professional career with 36 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw; 2 of his losses came after his first retirement.
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