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" 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

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" 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

" 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

" 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

" 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

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" I wanted to be like Bruce Jenner. "

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" 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

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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

" 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

" 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

" 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

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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

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

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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

" 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

" Boxing will always be in my life. "

Sugar Ray Leonard

" Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable. "

Sugar Ray Leonard

" 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