Sugar Ray Leonard Record
| Total Fights | 40 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 36 |
| Losses | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| Title Wins | 10 |
|---|---|
| Title Defenses | 5 |
| Title-Fight KOs | 8 |
| KO Wins | 25 |
| KO Losses | 1 |
Featured Opponents
What is Sugar Ray Leonard's boxing record?
In a professional boxing career spanning 20 years, Sugar Ray Leonard fought 40 times with 36 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.
Leonard retired from professional boxing with a record of 36-3-1, which included 10 world-title wins and five successful title defense fights at two weight classes — welterweight and super-middleweight. He had a 62.5% knockouts-to-fights ratio with 25 of his total 40 fights being knockout wins, eight of which were in title fights. The only knockout loss in Leonard's career was a 5th round TKO loss to Héctor Camacho, which was not a world title fight.
His last fight was a 5th round TKO defeat to Héctor Camacho on March 1, 1997.
Some of Leonard's best fights and notable victories include wins over four Hall-of-Famers (Roberto Durán, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, and Wilfred Benítez), Ayub Kalule, Donny Lalonde, and Dave Boy Green.
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Mar 1, 1997 | 40 | Héctor Camacho | Loss | TKO5 |
| 39 | Feb 9, 1991 | 34 | Terry Norris | Loss * | UD |
| 38 | Dec 7, 1989 | 33 | Roberto Durán | Win * | UD |
| 37 | Jun 12, 1989 | 33 | Thomas Hearns | Draw * | SD |
| 36 | Nov 7, 1988 | 32 | Donny Lalonde | Win * | TKO9 |
| 35 | Apr 6, 1987 | 30 | Marvelous Marvin Hagler | Win * | SD |
| 34 | May 11, 1984 | 27 | Kevin Howard | Win | TKO9 |
| 33 | Feb 15, 1982 | 25 | Bruce Finch | Win * | TKO3 |
| 32 | Sep 16, 1981 | 25 | Thomas Hearns | Win * | TKO14 |
| 31 | Jun 25, 1981 | 25 | Ayub Kalule | Win * | TKO9 |
| 30 | Mar 28, 1981 | 24 | Larry Bonds | Win * | TKO10 |
| 29 | Nov 25, 1980 | 24 | Roberto Durán | Win * | TKO8 |
| 28 | Jun 20, 1980 | 24 | Roberto Durán | Loss * | UD |
| 27 | Mar 31, 1980 | 23 | Dave Boy Green | Win * | KO4 |
| 26 | Nov 30, 1979 | 23 | Wilfred Benítez | Win * | TKO15 |
| 25 | Sep 28, 1979 | 23 | Andy Price | Win | KO1 |
| 24 | Aug 12, 1979 | 23 | Pete Ranzany | Win | TKO4 |
| 23 | Jun 24, 1979 | 23 | Tony Chiaverini | Win | RTD4 |
| 22 | May 20, 1979 | 23 | Marcos Geraldo | Win | UD |
| 21 | Apr 21, 1979 | 22 | Adolfo Viruet | Win | UD |
| 20 | Mar 24, 1979 | 22 | Daniel Aldo Gonzalez | Win | TKO1 |
| 19 | Feb 11, 1979 | 22 | Fernand Marcotte | Win | TKO8 |
| 18 | Jan 11, 1979 | 22 | Johnny Gant | Win | TKO8 |
| 17 | Dec 9, 1978 | 22 | Armando Muniz | Win | RTD6 |
| 16 | Nov 3, 1978 | 22 | Bernardo Prada | Win | UD |
| 15 | Oct 6, 1978 | 22 | Randy Shields | Win | UD |
| 14 | Sep 9, 1978 | 22 | Floyd Mayweather Sr. | Win | TKO10 |
| 13 | Jul 18, 1978 | 22 | Dicky Eklund | Win | UD |
| 12 | Jun 3, 1978 | 22 | Rafael Rodriguez | Win | UD |
| 11 | May 13, 1978 | 21 | Randy Milton | Win | TKO8 |
| 10 | Apr 13, 1978 | 21 | Bobby Haymon | Win | RTD3 |
| 9 | Mar 19, 1978 | 21 | Javier Muniz | Win | KO1 |
| 8 | Mar 1, 1978 | 21 | Art McKnight | Win | TKO7 |
| 7 | Feb 4, 1978 | 21 | Rocky Ramon | Win | UD |
| 6 | Dec 17, 1977 | 21 | Hector Diaz | Win | KO2 |
| 5 | Nov 5, 1977 | 21 | Augustin Estrada | Win | KO6 |
| 4 | Sep 24, 1977 | 21 | Frank Santore | Win | KO5 |
| 3 | Jun 10, 1977 | 21 | Vinnie DeBarros | Win | TKO3 |
| 2 | May 14, 1977 | 20 | Willie Rodriguez | Win | UD |
| 1 | Feb 5, 1977 | 20 | Luis Vega | Win | UD |
* World-title fight
Boxing career
Sugar Ray Leonard (Sugar) is a 67-year old retired American professional boxer. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. on May 17, 1956. He is a former four-weight-class world champion. Leonard was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1997. His professional boxing career spanned more than 20 years — from 1977 to 1997.
Leonard made his professional boxing debut against Luis Vega at the age of 20 on February 5, 1977, defeating Vega via 6 round unanimous decision. He went on to win 26 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 18 wins via stoppage.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 23 on November 30, 1979 after 25 professional fights, against Wilfred Benítez for the welterweight WBC and The Ring titles. He defeated Benítez via 15th round TKO to become the welterweight champion of the world.
Sugar Ray Leonard was a one-time undisputed welterweight world champion, and has won 10 world titles at four weight classes. For all the details about Leonard's world title wins and defenses refer to the "Championships" section below.
Leonard had a total of three losses in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against Puerto Rican boxer Héctor Camacho on March 1, 1997. Leonard lost the fight via 5th round TKO. It's been 27 years, 1 month, and 17 days since this fight.
Championships
Leonard had a total of 13 world-title fights, which includes winning 10 world titles and six successful title defenses. He won 10 of these fights, lost two, and drew in one.
Title Wins
Sugar Ray Leonard fought for world titles in eight fights and won six of these fights, five of these victories coming via way of stoppage. In total, he won 10 belts across four weight classes.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Won | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 7, 1988 | Donny Lalonde | Super-middleweight | WBC | TKO |
| Apr 6, 1987 | Marvelous Marvin Hagler | Middleweight | WBC, The Ring | SD |
| Sep 16, 1981+ | Thomas Hearns | Welterweight | WBA | TKO |
| Jun 25, 1981 | Ayub Kalule | Super-welterweight | WBA, The Ring | TKO |
| Nov 25, 1980 | Roberto Durán | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | TKO |
| Nov 30, 1979 | Wilfred Benítez | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | TKO |
Title Defenses
Sugar Ray Leonard had seven world-title defense fights across two weight classes — welterweight (x5) and super-middleweight (x2). He won six of them and lost only once.
Following is the table of his successful title defense fights, the next section has the fights where he lost his titles.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Defended | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 7, 1989 | Roberto Durán | Super-middleweight | WBC | UD |
| Jun 12, 1989 | Thomas Hearns | Super-middleweight | WBC | SD (draw) |
| Feb 15, 1982 | Bruce Finch | Welterweight | WBA, WBC, The Ring | TKO |
| Sep 16, 1981+ | Thomas Hearns | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | TKO |
| Mar 28, 1981 | Larry Bonds | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | TKO |
| Mar 31, 1980 | Dave Boy Green | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | KO |
Title Losses
Sugar Ray Leonard lost one world-title defense fight, and lost two titles in the fight.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Lost | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1980 | Roberto Durán | Welterweight | WBC, The Ring | UD |
Highlights
Leonard fought a total of 40 times during his professional career, which includes 13 world-title fights at four weight divisions. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some incredible performances in his fights. These seven fights are the highlight of his career.
November 30, 1979: Leonard wins his first world titles by defeating Wilfred Benítez via 15th round TKO. He is now the WBC and The Ring welterweight world champion.
March 31, 1980: Leonard successfully defends the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles against Dave Boy Green, winning the fight via 4th round KO.
November 25, 1980: Leonard wins the WBC and The Ring welterweight titles from Roberto Durán, by beating Durán via 8th round TKO.
June 25, 1981: Leonard wins the WBA and The Ring super-welterweight titles from Ayub Kalule, by beating Kalule via 9th round TKO.
September 16, 1981: Leonard becomes the undisputed welterweight world champion by defeating Thomas Hearns via 14th round TKO. He now holds the WBC, The Ring, and WBA welterweight world-champion belts.
April 6, 1987: Leonard wins the WBC and The Ring middleweight titles from Marvelous Marvin Hagler, by beating Hagler via 12 round split decision.
November 7, 1988: Leonard wins the WBC super-middleweight title from Donny Lalonde, by beating Lalonde via 9th round TKO.
FAQs
How many KOs does Sugar Ray Leonard have on his record?
Leonard knocked out 25 of his 40 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 62.5%. Of his total 36 wins, 25 of them were via KO (69.4%).
What was Sugar Ray Leonard's first world title win?
Leonard's first world-title win were the WBC and The Ring belts at welterweight. He defeated Wilfred Benítez via 15 round TKO to win the titles.
How many world titles did Sugar Ray Leonard win?
Leonard won 10 world titles at four weight classes.
How many title defenses did Sugar Ray Leonard make?
Leonard had a total of seven title defense fights. He was successful six times and lost one time.