Sugar Ray Leonard Quotes

Before the start of the '76 Olympics, I'd had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five

I want my fights to be seen as plays that have a beginning, a middle and an end

I'm so opposite of my profession. No one - particularly my mother and father - ever thought I was going to be a boxer because I always felt that football and baseball were too dangerous. I was just such a quiet kid.

I learned that I had character defects, that I was allergic to alcohol and drugs, and that I had an obsession with all the bad stuff. But thank God that I woke and that I had good people around me to support me. There's not much more I can say about it. You have to want to be a better person.

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 Robinson was probably the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time.

We're all endowed with God-given talents. Mine happens to be hitting people in the head.

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.

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

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.

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

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

To be the best, you need to spend hours and hours and hours running, hitting the speed bag, lifting weights and focusing on training.

No one but myself thought I could beat guys like Tommy Hearns or Roberto Duran

When we got back to the U.S., I wanted to kiss the ground after seeing what people in other countries are denied or don't have.

Were all given some sort of skill in life. Mine just happens to be beating up on people.

Success is attaining your dream while helping others to benefit from that dream materializing.

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

I wouldnt change anything because the mistakes and the hurt are as important as all the great fights. They made me who I am today.

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

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.

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

Boxing was the only career where I wouldn't have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.

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.

When I turned pro, Muhammad Ali was laying back, and I was able to fill up an area that was empty.

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.

I only wish that I had had the courage and the knowledge to have gotten that out of my system, out of my mind or my heart years earlier. But there is no book, there is no manual to tell you how to deal with sexual abuse.

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.

My intention was to fight Durán ASAP because I knew Durán's habits. I knew he would indulge himself, he'd gain 40–50 lbs and then sweat it off to make 147.

Ali's belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it's become my own philosophy

I saw Todd Bridges talk about being abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did. When I told my wife, she couldn't believe it. She was petrified, because it's such a no-no, taboo, a hands-off subject. But I'd have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my watershed moment.

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

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.

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.

The only way for a fighter to get back in shape is to fight his way back.

I remember all the important fights. Vividly. In detail.

It's hard to talk about yourself.

I always expect unexpected challenges.

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.

Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt.

Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.

I'll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That's the only fear I have for myself

I've never believed in tying myself up in a long-range contract, and I've been very outspoken on that subject.

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.

I enjoyed [Celebrity Ghost Stories]. I never thought in a million years that I would tell people that I saw a ghost. And I've seen a lot of ghosts.

You have to know you can win. You have to think you can win. You have to feel you can win.

When I'm not in training. I'll walk around the streets at 153, but it's not solid; it's my socializing weight.

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.