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

Sugar Ray Leonard

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Sugar Ray Leonard
Age: 68
Born: 1956
Born: May 17
Actor
Boxer
Professional Boxer
Wilmington
North Carolina
Ray Charles Leonard
Guys
Bigger
Sports
Guy
Initiated
Painfully
Fought
Boxing
Fighter

More quotes by Sugar Ray Leonard

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I'm not in favor of that [mandating protective headgear ] because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that's why there's a third man in the ring, the referee. And that's why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn't allow guys in the ring who don't belong there.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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It was a whole different world, and Montreal was an absolutely beautiful setting unlike anywhere I'd ever been before. So, Montreal in '76 was an encompassing experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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This kid [Janks Morton, Jr.] was so special, although he's not a kid anymore, obviously, but he was there from day one of my rise through boxing. You know how the years go by and then, when you stop to reflect, you realize that someone was a part of your whole evolution as an individual? That's what I share with Junior.
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Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.
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I'll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That's the only fear I have for myself
Sugar Ray Leonard
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When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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Duran always disturbs me. The guy is just weird. Before our first fight, both Duran and his wife gave my wife the finger.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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We're all endowed with God-given talents. Mine happens to be hitting people in the head.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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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
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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
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I fought tall fighters, short fighters, strong fighters, slow fighters, sluggers and boxers. It was either learn or get knocked off.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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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
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When I'm not in training. I'll walk around the streets at 153, but it's not solid it's my socializing weight.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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To be honest, I don't know. I started one [book] back in 1982 or '83 when I first retired. But I was only 25 or 26 and not ready to write my memoirs.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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Boxing was the only career where I wouldn't have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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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
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Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.
Sugar Ray Leonard
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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