Sugar Ray Leonard | Boxing Life

Sugar Ray Leonard is without a doubt one of the greatest boxers of his era and is a man I really admire despite being from a completely different generation. In this blog I'll look at Ray Leonard dark childhood that led him to to become one greatest boxers of our time, along with his advice on how to achieve your dreams in life. Background He is of course part of the four kings who ruled in the 80s and is the only one who manged to get victory over them all beating Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler. (Some classic fights!) During his career Leonard fought in five weight categories winning a world titles in each of them. However despite Sugar Ray Leonard's incredible achievements in the ring, he does in fact come from humble beginning, but truly found his purpose through the sport of boxing! Painful Past Leonard also went through a lot of hardship as he was sexually abused when he was child by one of his coaches, but somehow he manged to grow past this and used his talent and aggression in the ring to achieve his dreams in boxing. Here is Ray Leonard talking about how he faced with dark and horrible thing, but still managed to push past it. Here is Ray talking about this: "Every time I stepped into the ring I had that chip of ice. My brother, Roger, saw it when we were sparring. I moved towards him and he said, 'Stop, Ray! Look at your f****** eyes. You look like you wanna kill me!' Maybe I used what happened to me outside when I ducked inside the ropes."But it was subconscious. Did I fight so hard because I was distressed by the sexual abuse? Not to my knowledge. Outside, I'm not a confrontational guy. Even if I'm used to talking on TV I'm actually reserved and quiet – almost shy. But I could be a mean guy in that ring because I felt confident.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 Although Leonard didn't open up about the sexual abuse he received till later in his life, it's a great lesson for us all that even going through pain, he was able to push through by focusing on his passion and talent to achieve his dream career despite this horrible occurrence. Achieving You Dreams Now below I have shared some key points from Sugar Ray Leonard's POWER (Prepare, Overcome and Win Every Round) Speech which I highly recommend you check out some point. I have gone over some key areas Leonard goes over in what will help to give you the motivation to achieve your dreams and goals in life. Determination Sugar Ray Leonard talks about the importance of determination here, and shows that if you don't have determination you won't be achieve what you want. He talks about how he came out of retirement to fight Marvin Hagler who was one best and most feared fighter of his time and yet despite the doubt from everyone, Leonard's believed his undeniable determination helped win that fight. Focus Leonard talks about how boxers use that tunnel vision focus when they are approaching and even fighting in the ring. This is crucial aspect if you are working towards the dreams and having that focus will help in everyday life for you. Self Esteem Leonard talks about what separates the champion from the contender or the winner from the loser. Self esteem according to Ray is a huge aspect in developing yourself to shape this into your life to go for what you truly want. Road Work Leonard compares how doing the extra "road work" will help give you that edge in life and the more you do something the easier it gets for you. By doing the road work it will give you confidence to keep going and achieve your dreams and turn your life around. Overcome Failure Ray compares how losing or being knocked down in boxing to the everyday life in situations. He talks about his first defeat to Roberto Duran and how he used his composure to respond and win the rematch. Victory Here Leonard talks about giving all that you have to achieve victory, but you have to have goals and a plan is you wish to achieve those dreams. Once you attain this dream - that is victory! Dreams To finish off I recommend you check out DAZN's interview with Sugar Ray Leonard where right at the start he expresses the importance of following your dreams which I hope you will take from this blog. "Your dreams are the window to your future, your goals are the vehicle that take you there. You take away those dreams your stuck in a room without windows, you take away those goals and you don’t have a map to get to your dreams" Thanks for reading! Make sure check out more or our motivation articles here or check some of my favourite below if you are looking for more: Andre Ward On 10 Habits To Avoid To Succeed In Boxing4 Boxers Who Use The Law Of AttractionHow To Start Boxing On Your Own in 10 Steps10 Steps To Attract and Get The Life You Want6 Ways To Get Motivated To Change Your Life You can also check out 'Sugar' Ray Leonard' boxing memorabilia options here on SportsMemorabilia.com