Walk of Fame: Leonard and Mayweather

On September 30th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mexican Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will defend his super middleweight world titles against the undisputed super welterweight world champion Jermell Charlo of the USA.

During the runup to the Walk of Flame, we remember the finest champions of the super welterweight and super middleweight divisions, as a tribute to Charlo and Canelo, who will assuredly give us a memorable battle that will be historic, since it is the first time that two undisputed champions face each other, each being the glittering star in the firmament constellation his division.

Sugar Ray Leonard

Ray was born in Wilmington, North Carolina and registered as Ray Charles Leonard. Since he was a teenager, was destined for boxing, and step by step he became one of the best amateurs in the United States.

He was a brilliant Olympic champion. He won gold in 1976 at the Montreal Olympics. The great success of his sports life came in professionalism.

From his debut he showed what he would become, an all-time great. He was the first man in boxing to win world championships in five divisions.

He reigned at welterweight, super welterweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. He obviously fought against those who were at the top level of his time, men like Marvin Hagler, Roberto Durán, Tommy Hearns, Wilfredo Benítez, Don Lalonde, Ayub Kalule, the “Macho” Camacho, Terry Norris and many others.

His record in the ring is 36 wins, three losses and one draw. Of his triumphs, 25 were by way of knockout.

Floyd Mayweather

Throughout his two exceptional decades as a professional and a Superstar, Floyd Mayweather built an impressive record of fifty undefeated fights with twenty-seven knockouts, winning WBC world championships in five divisions: super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight, welter and super welterweight.

During his brilliant career, Floyd achieved heroic feats, fought tremendous opponents, defeating them all. Significantly, unlike other champions, Floyd’s skills didn’t erode over time, and he managed to move up through weight classes, utilizing his consummate skills. He maintained his pristine physical condition while his great abilities, while maturing his craft.

Floyd also had the distinct advantage of coming from a boxing family that included his father, Floyd Sr plus his uncles Roger and Jeff. They meticulously developed, instructed and honed Floyd’s consummate natural skills to a sheen.

Floyd’s first championship was the WBC super featherweight belt, which he won by defeating Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, whose corner stopped the fight after eight rounds. Years later, after a tremendously courageous battle with cancer, Genaro died in 2011 and Floyd paid for his funeral. Floyd dominated the division defending the title eight times.

In his first fight against Jose Luis Castillo, with the WBC lightweight title on the line, Floyd fought with a damaged left rotator cuff. During the battle he had to switch to southpaw guard. He had a real battle, but won via unanimous decision. After a successful surgery, a fully recovered Floyd scored another win over Castillo victory via UD.

Floyd gained yet more fame when he challenged and defeated Aruro Gatti for the WBC Super Lightweight Championship with a masterful performance.

He then went on to win the WBC welterweight championship by defeating Carlos Baldomir by unanimous decision.

As the reigning welterweight champion, during the traditional celebration on May 5, Floyd challenged the WBC super welterweight champion, Oscar de la Hoya, and on a glorious night captured a fifth WBC championship.

Floyd’s career continued with astounding results, as he recaptured WBC glory at welterweight and super welterweight in the years that followed. He defeated Víctor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, “Canelo” Álvarez, Marcos Maidana, Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto in fights for the World Boxing Council championship.