Sugar Ray Leonard Quotes

I fought a boxer who everybody said I couldn't beat - Sugar Ray Leonard. They said he was faster than me. That he was the best of the best. And I beat him. ~ Roberto Duran

We're all given some sort of skill in life. Mine just happens to be beating up on people. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing should focus on pitting champion versus champion - those are the fights that everyone wants to see. The sports also needs to work on developing new heroes and personalities. I'd like to see more vignettes on fighters, focusing on their lives, goals and stories. Boxers need to be larger than life. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Everything you want to know about a fighter is in his eyes. The look in his eyes tells the truth. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

In the two weeks following the All-Star Game, baseball was largely upstaged by the events of the XXI Olympiad in Montreal, including Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci's seven perfect 10.0 scores, Bruce Jenner's record-setting decathlon triumph, and the five gold medals won by U.S. boxers Howard Davis Jr., Sugar Ray Leonard, Leo Randolph, and brothers Leon and Michael Spinks - the mightiest performance of any American boxing team in Olympic history. ~ Dan Epstein

I am excited to share my archive pictures and footage. I'll also share announcements about current events and success stories from the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation to help fight diabetes and child obesity. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Success is attaining your dream while helping others to benefit from that dream materializing. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

To say what I would have been if I wasn't boxing, I don't know why, but I always wanted to be an x-ray technician or a substitute teacher. Those two occupations always stuck with me, maybe because my substitute teacher didn't give us homework, or because I've always had x-rays of my hands. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Tommy Hearns seemed like an indestructible machine, so to beat him, I think that was my defining moment, the pinnacle. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

You couldn't find a more stylized boxer than Sugar Ray Leonard. ~ Usher

Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I didn't excel too highly in school, but I felt that I was moving ahead - and not just in boxing - but in life. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

They say that I'm stubborn, and my wife says that, too, but it's paid off so far. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I watched Ali, studied Ali, and I studied Sugar Ray Robinson. I watched them display showmanship. I watched them use pizzazz, personality, and charisma. I took things from them and borrowed things from them because boxing is entertainment. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Spread your love and fly. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I came from nothing and achieved humungous fame and fortune. But I worked hard. I had discipline and determination. I had that ice in me. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

You have to know you can win. You have to think you can win. You have to feel you can win. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I had a drug problem. I'd go to parties, take a leak, and there was cocaine right there. I was 25 when it started, rich, famous, and retired. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I made an instant connection with boxing right away. Boxing became such a part of me. I ate boxing, I slept boxing, I lived boxing. Boxing was a way of expressing myself because I was not that outspoken. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

While each of us faces enormous challenges every day, it's not the sins we commit that will define us, its how we respond to them. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

The only way for a fighter to get back in shape is to fight his way back. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I lay around and wonder why you were always there for me. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

When the trainer talks to the fighter, there's a connection. You don't always have to say much. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Ray Leonard is more the family man, kind of quiet. He's not as outgoing as Sugar Ray Leonard. Sugar Ray Leonard was very determined, very focused, very outgoing and very selfish, if you will. There are two different individuals there. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Without boxing, because of my neighborhoods, who knows what would have happened to me. It was always about following the leader. And I definitely was not a leader. Boxing gave me discipline; a sense of self. It made me more outspoken. It gave me more confidence. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

A fighter never knows when it's the last bell. He doesn't want to face that. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing was not something I truly enjoyed. Like a lot of things in life, when you put the gloves on, it's better to give than to receive. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

The Olympics meant everything to me. Going through them is like nothing else you will ever experience. For those few weeks, you are in another world. At that point, I couldn't see how there could ever be anything better. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing is individual, although there's a team concept because you need a great corner, you need a great trainer, you need a great prep man, you need all of these things, but it's more of a Mano a Mano; it's more you versus me. I miss that time in training camp and Dad and Mom cooking meals. It was one big family. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I wouldn't change anything because the mistakes and the hurt are as important as all the great fights. They made me who I am today. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

My very best memory of Montreal was the moment inside the Olympic arena when I was waiting under the stadium and those majestic gates opened up. It was a whole other world. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I always expect unexpected challenges. Boxing is not an easy sport. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I remember all the important fights. Vividly. In detail. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

The time to stop is when the other guy hits you more than you hit him. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I learned how to sumon,
from somewhere deep within,
the extra will I didn't know I possessed.
Knowing it was there, and could be tapped again,
gave me the boost of confidence
I would rely on for years to come. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing's a poor man's sport. We can't afford to play golf or tennis. It is what it is. It's kept so many kids off the street. It kept me off the street. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Normally, I would run with a group of guys in my camps. A couple of days before the fight, I would run by myself. That was my time to choreograph the fight in my head, so I needed to be myself. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

At 14, I was the most disciplined guy around. I would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and run five miles, and then go to school. Sometimes I would run behind the school bus, and the kids thought I was just crazy. I knew what I wanted. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I'm a competitor and a very proud man. If a guy beats me once, he'll have to do it again to make me believe him. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I learned to run backwards from Muhammad Ali. He told me about running backwards because you try to imitate everything you do in the ring, so sometimes you back up. So you have to train your legs to go backwards. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I went through real darkness, but the ring was my light. That was the one place I felt safe. I could control what happened in the ring. My heart turned icy. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I wanted to be like Bruce Jenner. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

It is wonderful. It truly is. It is the only thing that is real! It's you against me, it's challenging another guy's manhood. With gloves. Words cannot describe that feeling of being a man, of being a gladiator, of being a warrior. It's irreplaceable. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I made mistakes, but I'm luckier than most. I've got a successful business, lots of fans who think a lot of me and a family who loves me. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

It's different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I was taught to fighter like Sugar Ray Leonard and Muhammad Ali when I was growing up. ~ Nonito Donaire

I was not athletically inclined. I was very quiet, introverted, non-confrontational. My three older brothers were athletes - basketball, football - but I was kind of a momma's boy. Then one day, my brother Roger encouraged me to go to the boxing gym with him. I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I enjoy the school run and being a dad. Boxing will always be with me. I like that. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

You just don't heal that easy unless you're young. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

There will always be something about two men in the ring - a mystique because it's pure man-to-man competition. Because of the history boxing has and the tradition it holds, boxing will always have a that mystique. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

People can do more than they ever believe they can do. Physically, mentally, academically. You have to be pushed. It hurts. But it's worth it, and it's a great thing. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I never met a person as determined as my mother. From working hard for six kids to just trying to keep the household down or maintain my father's discipline, my dad, I'm so much like my father too. My father was so introverted, quiet, shy, nice. I got attributes from my father and mother. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

When I was fighting, I would look to excite the crowds with a bolo punch or something taunting. Looking back, they were legal - but not sportsmanlike. I don't recommend another boxer try them. But we looked more to make the robot fights dramatic first and realistic second. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard was as close as anyone came after Ali to being Ali, but he wasn't Ali. ~ Dick Schaap

I asked my kids, 'Do you know what Papa used to do.' They said, 'You were a boxer, you won the Olympics!' And that's what they know. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

In Italy, I had an Afro, and a lot of the kids came up and felt my hair. It really was funny. I wish I had understood Italian. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Ali's belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it's become my own philosophy. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural. From that moment I became so embedded in boxing. I found a friend in boxing. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I was not from a middle-class family at all. I did not have middle-class possessions and what have you. But I had middle-class parents who gave me what was needed to survive in society. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I run three to four times a week. I go down to Orange County in California and I run all the time ... all the time. You see the oceans, the trees. I like running in hot weather. I like to sweat and get all those toxins out of my system. I thoroughly enjoy it. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I'm one of the most optimistic persons in the world. I always believed that - there's another shot, another chance. In boxing, I never gave up. I kept trying, kept trying. Even when things seemed so dim, I continued to push forward to make something happen in my favor. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I watched Muhammad Ali, how when he would speak, how it was such a thing of beauty. It sounded so wonderful. And I wanted to be like him. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

People try to live vicariously through fighters, but it's one-on-one; it's primal. There's no other feeling like it. The problem for me was accepting it - that nothing compares to being champ. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Although it was a great accomplishment to win a gold medal, as soon as they put it on you, that's it; your career is over. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I think an athlete should be honest. I know it's difficult, but if a guy knocked me on my can, I couldn't very well say, I slipped. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

You get these moments in the ring that live forever. That's what Muhammad Ali accomplished, and I hope that I have, too. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Inactivity is the biggest sin in boxing. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing is the ultimate challenge. There's nothing that can compare to testing yourself the way you do every time you step in the ring. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

When I was 15 or 16 and I started climbing up the ladder of success in amateur boxing, a reporter asked me, "What do you want to be?" I think he was expecting me to say, "A champion." I said, "I want to be special." I don't know why I said that, but I didn't just want to be a fighter. I wanted to have an impact with people, particularly kids. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing will always be in my life. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I was painfully initiated into boxing, because the guys I fought were a lot bigger than me. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

The thing about boxers is that there's respect there. You beat me, and I may not like it, but you know what, deep down inside, I respect you. And that's the code of honor. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I've always been quiet and kind of shy. I'm sociable, but I would probably migrate to a corner. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I always designed my robes and how I would present myself at every fight. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Holyfield is nothing but class, and I think he's a breath of fresh air for the sport. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

When you're a boxer, there is a lot of downtime and long periods of inactivity. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I've always believed that you can be whatever you want to be if you are willing to sacrifice and dedicate yourself. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

Someone once said there was a comparison between Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson. Believe me, there's no comparison. Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

For some reason, I was drawn towards boxing. Or maybe boxing drew me towards it - because once I put those gloves on, after about six months, boxing was my life. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I want to be great, something special. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

I don't hold any regrets whatsoever about my life besides hurting people I loved. ~ Sugar Ray Leonard

The three toughest fighters I ever fought were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson. I fought Sugar so many times, I'm surprised I'm not diabetic. ~ Jake LaMotta

Willie Wells, Ray Dandridge, Leon Day, Buck Leonard, Quincy Troupe, Satchel Paige - earlier than when he was called up - Oscar Charleston and Josh Gibson. You see what kind of talent we had, and guys in the majors knew it too. ~ Monte Irvin

Rhythm is everything in boxing. Every move you make starts with your heart, and that's in rhythm or you're in trouble. ~ Sugar Ray Robinson

I fought Sugar [Ray Robinson] so many times that I'm lucky I didn't get diabetes ~ Jake LaMotta

When it came to all around ring generalship, Benny Valgar was on a par with Benny Leonard, though Leonard packed the better punch ~ Ray Arcel

I ain't never liked violence. ~ Sugar Ray Robinson

Christ is one of the 'family' now. I often wonder if God recognizes his own son the way we've dressed him up, or is it dressed him down? He's regular peppermint stick now, all sugar crystal and saccharine - when he isn't making veiled references to certain commercial products that ever worshiper absolutely needs. ~ Ray Bradbury

Good writing is like music. It has its distinctive rhythm, its pace, flow, cadence. It can be hummed. The great stylists seem to have an inner music... ~ Leonard Ray Teel

If I could perform on stage with any musical act or performer, it would be Sugar Ray, just to fulfill my childhood dream of singing with Mark McGrath. ~ Chelsea Kane

I never really thought we'd fitted into the cross-over drawer. But I think the real Sugar Ray fans did like us because we always had variety and because we experimented a lot. ~ Mark McGrath

Affluence separates people. Poverty knits 'em together. You got some sugar and I don't; I borrow some of yours. Next month you might not have any flour; well, I'll give you some of mine. ~ Ray Charles

Don't let anything without a heart beat you. ~ Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was at the top of the boxing world during the 1950's when it seemed that he would either win or lose the championship about every three or four months. ~ Dick Schaap

I'd hate to compare anyone with Sugar Ray Robinson, but Donald is the closest thing to Robinson I've ever seen ~ Dave Gorman