Sugar Ray Leonard retired in 1997 after defeating Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and many more throughout his 36-3-1 career.
Sugar Ray Leonard lost only to three men, the first was Roberto Duran, in a loss Leonard avenged twice, and the other two, against Terry Norris and Hector Camacho, came in Leonard’s final two fights.
Leonard is undoubtedly a legend of the sport, and a ferocious fighter. Responsible for Duran’s infamous ‘No Mas’, Leonard was not someone to be messed with, as one sparring partner found out.
Sugar Ray Leonard punished sparring partner who mocked him
In some footage uploaded seven years ago, Leonard can be seen engaging in a light exhibition match with amateur boxer, Steve Sinclair, who was a waiter onboard the cruise ship where the bout took place.
Leonard had reportedly agreed to move around with Sinclair on the condition no shots were to be thrown at the head, as he was recovering from eye surgery.
Things seemed light-hearted enough at first, as Leonard laughed whilst Sinclair imitated his bolo swing.
The narrator of the footage explains the moment the fight broke down: “Sinclair breaks the cardinal rule. He snaps a left jab to Leonard’s left eye. Put simply, he got cute.”
Leonard, who was advised by Muhammad Ali, spoke on the moment, stating: “I sort of went into a trance because a left jab did connect with my left eye and it was, I guess what you call a flashback. […] For just that few seconds I wanted to defeat Steve.”
The footage shows Leonard, who still looks good on the bag aged 68, drop Sinclair with a mean body shot.
“I was lifting him off the ground with some shots”… Steve Sinclair tells his side of Sugar Ray Leonard spar
In a resurfaced clip from a show hosted by British actor Danny Dyer, Sinclair was interviewed about his time sparring with the legendary Leonard, who recalled missing many punches against Wilfred Benitez.
Sinclair and Dyer watched back the exhibition, with Sinclair claiming: “I was lifting him off the ground with some shots. It didn’t phase him at all. […] He’s moved around, I hit him, got him right in the eye and his head’s gone back.”
Sinclair tells of how Leonard hit him with a body shot in the same place three times, and asked: “Are you alright?” after dropping him with one, before dropping him again and saying: “Now you’re not.”
Sinclair said: “Every time I watch it, I feel it. It just took my breath away completely.”