“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.”

American former professional boxer

Sugar Ray Leonard is an American former professional boxer. Born in 1956, he competed from 1976 to 1997 and became one of the best-known fighters of his era. He also won a light welterweight gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Leonard captured world titles in five weight classes, the lineal championship in three, and the undisputed welterweight championship. He was also part of the 1980s group known as the Four Kings, alongside Roberto Durán, Thomas Hearns, and Marvin Hagler, and he was the only one to defeat the other three.