Sugar Ray Leonard has paid homage to one former rival in particular when reflecting on his storied professional career.
The American great established himself as one of the greatest fighters of all time during his career, becoming a world champion in five divisions which included a stint as the undisputed welterweight champion.
Leonard racked up 36 victories in 40 bouts along the way, sharing the ring with a number of legendary opponents before his career came to an end in 1997 after he was defeated by the late, great Hector Camacho.
The bulk of Leonard’s success came during the 1980s, when he became one of the ‘Four Kings’ alongside former rivals Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler, facing each of the legendary trio in the ring at least once.
Having shared the ring with Duran on several occasions during his tenure, Leonard revealed in an interview with The Telegraph that he believes the Panamanian great didn’t get the credit he deserved throughout his fighting career.
“They didn’t give Duran the credit he deserved. He was a little guy who got into the ring with the big guys and was still knocking them out. He was an incredible boxer – maybe the perfect boxer.”
The legendary duo locked horns for the first time back in the summer of 1980, a memorable encounter that ended with ‘Hands of Stone’ handing Leonard the first defeat of his career, capturing the WBC welterweight title in the process.
Leonard got his revenge in their rematch just a few months later when he sensationally forced Duran to quit in the eighth round of the ‘No Mas’ fight in New Orleans, an iconic moment in the sport’s history.
Leonard faced Duran for the third time just shy of a decade on from their first battle, defeating ‘Hands of Stone’ via unanimous decision to retain his WBC super-middleweight title and put their rivalry to bed after three bruising clashes.
Duran became a four-weight world champion during his illustrious career, with his final record standing at 103 wins and 16 defeats from 119 fights, 70 of those wins coming by knockout.
