Best 77 quotes of Sugar Ray Leonard on MyQuotes

Aaron Pryor wants to get into the ring with me. He wants to be able to retire, and he will. For health reasons.

Ali's belief in himself was something I picked up on, and it's become my own philosophy

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.

Before I fight, I always pray that no one gets hurt.

Before the start of the '76 Olympics, I'd had 160 amateur fights. I won 155 and lost five

Boxing brings out my aggressive instinct, not necessarily a killer instinct.

Boxing's a poor man's sport. We can't afford to play golf or tennis. It is what it is. It's kept so many kids off the street. It kept me off the street.

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.

Boxing was not something I truly enjoyed. Like a lot of things in life, when you put the gloves on, it's better to give than to receive.

Boxing was the only career where I wouldn't have to start out at the bottom. I had a good resume.

Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making.

Duran always disturbs me. The guy is just weird. Before our first fight, both Duran and his wife gave my wife the finger.

Everything you want to know about a fighter is in his eyes. The look in his eyes tells the truth.

Except for Ali, fighters had never been marketable.

Generally, the more weight you put on, the less effective you are.

Holyfield is nothing but class, and I think he's a breath of fresh air for the sport.

I always expect unexpected challenges.

I consider myself blessed. I consider you blessed. We've all been blessed with God-given talents. Mine just happens to be beating people up.

I enjoyed [Celebrity Ghost Stories]. I never thought in a million years that I would tell people that I saw a ghost. And I've seen a lot of ghosts.

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

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

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.

I had a drug problem. I'd go to parties, take a leak, and there was cocaine right there. I was 25 when it started, rich, famous, and retired.

I lay around and wonder why you were always there for me.

I learned how to sumon, from somewhere deep within, the extra will I didn't know I possessed. Knowing it was there, and could be tapped again, gave me the boost of confidence I would rely on for years to come.

I learned that I had character defects, that I was allergic to alcohol and drugs, and that I had an obsession with all the bad stuff. But thank God that I woke and that I had good people around me to support me. There's not much more I can say about it. You have to want to be a better person.

I'll think, If this is his first punch, how are the others gonna feel? That's the only fear I have for myself

I'm a competitor and a very proud man. If a guy beats me once, he'll have to do it again to make me believe him.

I'm a free agent. I haven't allowed any promoters to have exclusive options on my fight. I don't need a promoter.

I'm not in favor of that [mandating protective headgear ] because we learn as amateurs how to protect ourselves. And that's why there's a third man in the ring, the referee. And that's why there has to be a very strong boxing commission that doesn't allow guys in the ring who don't belong there.

I'm so opposite of my profession. No one - particularly my mother and father - ever thought I was going to be a boxer because I always felt that football and baseball were too dangerous. I was just such a quiet kid.

Inactivity is the biggest sin in boxing.

In Italy, I had an Afro, and a lot of the kids came up and felt my hair. It really was funny. I wish I had understood Italian.

I retired and came back in '97. Woo! I mean, come on! I don't know, man. A six-year layoff? That was crazy! My career was relatively short, whether you look at either its length in years or the number of fights I had. But it was brutal.

I saw Todd Bridges talk about being abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did. When I told my wife, she couldn't believe it. She was petrified, because it's such a no-no, taboo, a hands-off subject. But I'd have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my watershed moment.

I think an athlete should be honest. I know it's difficult, but if a guy knocked me on my can, I couldn't very well say, I slipped.

I think I've become one of the best finishers in boxing; if I hurt a guy, I normally take him out.

It is wonderful. It truly is. It is the only thing that is real! It's you against me, it's challenging another guy's manhood. With gloves. Words cannot describe that feeling of being a man, of being a gladiator, of being a warrior. It's irreplaceable.

I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural. From that moment I became so embedded in boxing. I found a friend in boxing.

It's different when you become a professional, because you also have to become a businessman, and that takes something away from it.

It's hard to talk about yourself.

It was a whole different world, and Montreal was an absolutely beautiful setting unlike anywhere I'd ever been before. So, Montreal in '76 was an encompassing experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I've always been quiet and kind of shy. I'm sociable, but I would probably migrate to a corner.

I've always believed that you can be whatever you want to be if you are willing to sacrifice and dedicate yourself.

I've never believed in tying myself up in a long-range contract, and I've been very outspoken on that subject.

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

I want to be great, something special.

I was painfully initiated into boxing, because the guys I fought were a lot bigger than me.

I wouldnt change anything because the mistakes and the hurt are as important as all the great fights. They made me who I am today.

Look at football, where you still have injuries no matter how much they improve the helmets and other equipment.