Sugar Ray Leonard Quotes

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Start, Before, Fights, Amateur

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

Believe, Worth It, More, Academically

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

Shy, Maintain, Dad, Introverted

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Some, Mine, Given, Beating

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

Deep, May, Code, I May Not

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

Looking Back, Back, Another, Excite

Joe Frazier was the epitome of a champion. I mean, here is a guy who was total old school, blue collar, who would fight anybody. You know, he didn't tell you he was the best fighter pound for pound.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Here, Epitome, Joe, Old School

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

Away, Made, Became, Outspoken

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Never, Been, Very, Outspoken

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

Leader, Always, Made, Outspoken

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Downtime, Lot, Boxer, Inactivity

I run with music all the time. I cannot run without my iPod. I have everything. Teddy Pendergrass. Luther Van Dross. Michael Jackson. Outkast. If an Usher song comes on and it's fast, I go fast.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Run, Without, iPod, Luther

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

Week, County, Orange County, Oceans

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

Entertainment, Took, Studied, Showmanship

For the most part, I think video games do a good job of capturing the essence of boxing. However, I'd like to continue to see them push the realism, emphasizing the skill involved.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

I Think, Essence, However, Capturing

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

Shot, Dim, Another, Believed

Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Dreams, Find, Within, Aspirations

Boxing brings out my aggressive instinct, not necessarily a killer instinct.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Boxing, Instinct, Brings, Aggressive

I used to walk to the Washington Monument from North L Street Northwest. And I was so hungry at times, I would stop and look into the trash cans, and if there was a half a sandwich, I would take that sandwich and eat it. It was just a matter of survival. I didn't think much of it, but it was just the way things were.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Northwest, Half, North, Cans

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

Foundation, Pictures, About, Current Events

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

Hands, Been, Maybe, Stuck

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

Through, Other, One-On-One, Fighters

Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Never, Been, Except, Fighters

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Strong, Learn, Fought, Fighters

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

Focus, Developing, Larger, Fighters

Fighters display two things. They display confidence, or they display a look that says, 'I'm not sure.'

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Confidence, Sure, Display, Fighters

I'm a free agent. I haven't allowed any promoters to have exclusive options on my fight. I don't need a promoter.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Need, Agent, Allowed, Promoters

If I hadn't had the talent, the networks wouldn't have televised my fights. No one has made me; I made myself. I paid my dues.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Myself, Made, Fights, Dues

You just don't heal that easy unless you're young.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Young, Just, Unless, Heal

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

Give, Like, Receive, Gloves

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

My Life, Reason, Some, Gloves

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

Streets, Weight, Solid, Socializing

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Thought, Like, Could, Tommy

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

Always, Finger, Before, Duran

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

Big, Concept, Dad, Versus

Boxing is a sport, but it's also entertainment. I wanted to transcend the sport and be considered just not as a fighter, or a champion, but someone very special.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Entertainment, Very, Also, Transcend

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

Survive, Middle-Class, Had, To Survive

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

Business, Think, Made, Luckier

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

Other, Very, Olympic, Stadium

I think I've become one of the best finishers in boxing; if I hurt a guy, I normally take him out.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Best, Think, I Think, Normally

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

Before, Couple, Choreograph, Normally

Looking back, yes, I made too many comebacks. But each comeback I was 100 percent sure that I would win. I never came back for the money, because I didn't need it. The adulation I was getting anyway in other spheres. But I'm a guy who likes to see how close he can get to the edge of the mountain - that's what makes me tick.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Looking Back, Back, Other, Comeback

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

Hope, Moments, Ring, None

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

Ring, Sometimes, About, None

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Area, Turned, Laying, None

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

Beauty, Wonderful, Like, None

Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He's always given me time to ask questions, although I was so in awe that I didn't ask questions.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Advice, Kid, Icon, None

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

Ring, Compare, Ultimate, Every Time

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. On the downside, you meet a lot of really bad people in boxing, at all stages of your career.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Career, Bad, Compare, Every Time

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Bigger, Initiated, Fought, Painfully

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.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Back, Other, Countries, Denied

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

Need, Hours, Hours And Hours, Weights

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Need, Hours, Hours And Hours, Weights

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

I Wish, Had, Felt, Understood

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

School, Excel, Too, Highly

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Think, Breath, I Think, Fresh Air

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

Will, Outgoing, Very, None

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

One Day, Brothers, Very, Gloves

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

Career, Over, Your, Gold Medal

I wanted to win the gold medal and then go home and further my education in college. I had no intentions whatsoever to become a professional fighter because I had heard horror stories about former boxers who made money but, in the end, ended up with nothing. I didn't want to be one of those guys.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Education, College, About, Gold Medal

I always designed my robes and how I would present myself at every fight.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

How, Always, Would, Designed

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

Used, Boxer, Olympics, Papa

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

My Life, Regrets, Whatsoever, Besides

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

Ring, Reasons, Pryor, Retire

I made the decision to turn pro, and I remember what Ali said to me: 'Get Angelo Dundee. He's the right complexion with the right connection.' He knew boxing. Our relationship was so genuine, so sincere.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Decision, I Remember, Made, Ali

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Philosophy, Own, My Own, Ali

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Fighter, Robinson, Ray, Sugar

I was just such a quiet kid. I found boxing when I was 14 years old. I went down to the gym because my brother, who used to beat me up all the time, introduced me to boxing. I found boxing to be a sport that I felt safe in because I controlled what was in those four squares.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Down, Kid, Used, Squares

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Remember, Important, Fights, Detail

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

Play, It Is What It Is, Kept, Tennis

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Always, Before, Gets, Hurt

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

Change, Made, Fights, Hurt

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

Myself, Think, Gonna, Punch

You don't appreciate things until they're gone. For me, I miss my friends; I don't miss boxing, I miss the camaraderie.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Friends, Gone, Miss, Camaraderie

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Wife, Stubborn, Say, They Say

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Trainer, Always, Talks, Connection

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

Ring, Will, Always, Holds

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

Nothing, Fortune, Had, I Came

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Success Is, Your Dream, Attaining

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

Through, Another, Weeks, Olympics

Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

More, Weight, Effective, Generally

I always expect unexpected challenges. Boxing is not an easy sport.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Challenges, Always, Expect, Easy

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

Proud, Again, Very, Proud Man

Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Fundamentals, Artist, Making, None

I wanted to be like Bruce Jenner.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Like, Wanted, Bruce

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Career, Resume, Bottom, Boxing

Boxing will always be in my life.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

My Life, Will, Always, Boxing

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

School, Will, Always, Boxing

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Stop, Other, Hits, Hit

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

Something, Away, Also, Professional

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

Ring, Through, Turned, Safe

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

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Beginning, Middle, Plays, Fights

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

Think, I Think, Very, Athlete

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

Bus, Behind, Disciplined, Miles

I'm not religious, but I believe that what I have is a gift, and I respect it and live up to it.

- Sugar Ray Leonard

Gift, Believe, Religious, I Believe That

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.

Powerful Sugar Ray Leonard for Daily Growth