Birth Place:  Wilmington, NC
Region: Coastal
Birth Date: May 17, 1952
Discipline:  Boxing
Accomplishments:  Before he was 20, he had won three National Golden Gloves titles, two AAU championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown.  Also:  a 1976 Olympic gold medal, 5 world titles, and named Fighter of the Decade (80's).

Biographical Information:  Sugar Ray Leonard was born into a family of seven in Wilmington, North Carolina.  He learned to box at an early age and used his skills  to escape the inner city.  Leonard gained public exposure and became Americans' favorite boxer when he won the gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.  He was a media favorite for both his charisma outside of the ring and his fighting style in overcoming his opponents in the ring.  With Muhammad Ali's retirement, Leonard became America's new boxing star.   He even worked  with Ali's former trainer, Angelo Dundee.  He became widely known as "Sugar Ray" after the great Sugar Ray Robinson.  After his Olympic medal, Leonard decided to go professional because he felt a need to financially support his family.  Leonard, a natural athlete, experienced continued career success.  Throughout the 1980's he won five world titles in five different weight classes.  Within 20 years of professional fighting, his final record was 36-3-1(25 KOs).

Following retirement, Leonard became a successful television broadcaster, as well as a national spokesman for various national companies.  He continues to dedicate much of his time to improve the sport of boxing.  Recognizing his power as a celebrity, he feels strongly about personally educating children about the danger of drug abuse, gangs and violence.  

http://www.ibhof.com/srleon.htm