The Professional Years

Leonard turned pro on February 5, 1977, defeating Luis “The Bull” Vega via a six-round unanimous decision. He ended his pro career — for the first time — on February 15, 1982, knocking out the World Boxing Council’s (WBC’s) fourth-ranked contender, Bruce Finch, in the third round. His next fight was scheduled for May 14 against Roger Stafford, when he was diagnosed with a detached retina which required surgery. The fight was called off; the surgery was successful, and Leonard announced his first retirement on November 9, 1982.

In his retirement speech he teased he and Marvin Hagler, a super-fight many were considering inevitable, could drive a gate the equivalent of Fort Knox. “Unfortunately,” he concluded, “it will never happen.”

Leonard didn’t stay retired for long. He returned on May 11, 1984 against Kevin Howard, a bout that was postponed due to another Leonard retinal surgery, this one minor. Howard knocked down Leonard in the 4th, the first knockdown of Leonard’s career. Howard was eventually stopped in the 9th, and shortly thereafter Leonard retired again.

“It just wasn’t there,” he said.

He returned once again on May 1, 1986 in a (supposedly) one-time only comeback match against Marvin Hagler. He defeated Hagler in a controversial split decision, and retired once again on May 27, 1987.

Leonard came back yet again, and defeated WBC Light Heavyweight champ Donny Lalonde in Las Vegas on November 7, 1988. Following a roundly disputed rematch with Tommy Hearns that ended in a draw, and a lopsided win against Roberto Duran in their third fight, he lost to WBC Light Middleweight Champion Kevin Norris on February 9, 1991 by unanimous decision, a fight that saw two of the three judges scoring every round for Norris.

“Tonight was my last fight,” Leonard said after the Norris debacle. “I know how Hagler felt now.”

However, later blaming his loss to Norris on a multitude of excuses from lack of motivation to a rib injury, he returned for the final time against Hector “Macho” Camacho on March 1, 1997. Camacho served Leonard his first knockout loss, as the referee stopped the bout in the 5th.

There was no escaping Father Time, and Leonard finally got the message. Retirement, this time, was permanent.

Sugar Ray Leonard’s professional boxing record was 36 wins, 3 losses and 1 (highly-disputed) draw.