Heard this story about SRL, true or false?

[Forza]

I heard that during SRL's prime he did this thing for the military and visited a navy warship and if you didn;t know this these ships having boxing clubs on them with rings and everything so the sailors can blow off some steam and boredom during the trips across oceans. Anyway the champion of the ship got to have a boxing exhibition match with leonard and he actually ended up knocking leonard down and nearly K.Oing him.

Is it true? How could some sailor who boxed as a hobby even land 1 punch on a prime sugar ray leonard?

[Clegg]

I've not heard of this but I did a bit of googling and found...

This extract from a cutting! Wonder if he was a Chef or Waiter!

Have I enjoyed a good fight? (Steve Sinclair) Oh yeah, too right. In 1982 I was working in the store room on the QE2, and Sugar Ray Leonard came on board. It was just before he fought Hagler, he was light middleweight champion of the world. The boss said would I fight him - just sparring, for the passengers. I did five 2-minute rounds with him; his speed was awesome." He unfolds a magazine cutting, showing a photograph of his young self in the ring, flushed and keen in silk red shorts, dancing round the champ.

By his own admission, Steve's got away with quite a bit over the years. 'I've been 15 or 16 times in crown court on different charges. Wounding, GBH, affray, endangering the public. I've had major trials, where they had to move us out of Blackpool. I've been arrested for bank robbery. They've accused me of contract hits. I was a minder for a big drug dealer. One time police came to my place and searched the deep freezer, looking for a body.


The other night he was signing gloves for the punters and posing for pictures, which he did after every show, and this big lad stepped up and said, ‘Do you remember me?’ Straight away Ray laughed. The guy was a chef on the QE2 20-odd years ago when Ray came across with his wife.

“They’d put up a ring on the ship and the chef, a guy called Steve Sinclair, went in and sparred with Ray and got a bit excited, hitting him hard in one of his eyes and Ray had just had surgery for a detached retina. Before the poor guy knew it he was down on the floor from a left hook to the body and the spar was over.


On UK tv last night i saw as part of an unrelated programme a clip of Sugar Ray on the QE2 sparring five rounds with an amateur boxer (QE2 waiter Steve Sinclair). Sugar Ray was World champion at the time but recovering from an eye injury. The bout looked like it was set in the Queens room with a roped ring. After gingerley sparring the waiter chanced his arm and hit Sugar Ray with two hard head shots, this was not a good idea as Leonard promptly winded him with a heavy bodypunch, when asked if it hurt (no reply) he hit him again and said that one did. Leonard won the fight

http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4739

So it sounds like the other guy took the spar seriously, and Ray responded by hitting him with a hard punch.

I remember reading similar stories about Mickey Rourke trying a bit too hard with a retired (and imprisoned, I think?) Monzon and getting laid out for his troubles, and it was reported that Naseem Hamed knocked someone to the ground in prison when they tried to take a casual spar too seriously.

[mikeyh1015]

False, milatary aren't build for boxing. They have no ego. Thats why they will never make good boxers. Milatary, cops, etc. Can take the heat...unless they have a gun

[DarkTerror88]

I heard that during SRL's prime he did this thing for the military and visited a navy warship and if you didn;t know this these ships having boxing clubs on them with rings and everything so the sailors can blow off some steam and boredom during the trips across oceans. Anyway the champion of the ship got to have a boxing exhibition match with leonard and he actually ended up knocking leonard down and nearly K.Oing him.

Is it true? How could some sailor who boxed as a hobby even land 1 punch on a prime sugar ray leonard?

i havent heard this story. but if you underestimate someone and walk in with your guard down you can get caught bad. Its happened to me teaching this 13 year old kid a few weeks ago. (its not my fault. hes taller than me and outweights me :P)

[Forza]

Thanks clegg, that sounds more realistic!

[The Surgeon]

I've not heard of this but I did a bit of googling and found...

http://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4739

So it sounds like the other guy took the spar seriously, and Ray responded by hitting him with a hard punch.

I remember reading similar stories about Mickey Rourke trying a bit too hard with a retired (and imprisoned, I think?) Monzon and getting laid out for his troubles, and it was reported that Naseem Hamed knocked someone to the ground in prison when they tried to take a casual spar too seriously.

Good find Clegg. Im 90% sure thats true about Naz too. As for Rourke i knew he sparred Monzon in jail but didnt hear about him getting clobbered but its very believable.

Anybody seen any Mickey Rourke fights?

[BigStereotype]

Good find Clegg. Im 90% sure thats true about Naz too. As for Rourke i knew he sparred Monzon in jail but didnt hear about him getting clobbered but its very believable.

Anybody seen any Mickey Rourke fights?

It's funny, there's a video of one up in the thread "Plastic Surgery" in the lounge. Good God it's ugly. Funny that Monzon KTFO'd Mickey Rourke.

[The Surgeon]

It's funny, there's a video of one up in the thread "Plastic Surgery" in the lounge. Good God it's ugly. Funny that Monzon KTFO'd Mickey Rourke.

Lol yeah i seen him fight before and he is pretty awful, all credit to the dude tho the pressure must have been immense after being such a star actor

[The Iron Man]

Lol yeah i seen him fight before and he is pretty awful, all credit to the dude tho the pressure must have been immense after being such a star actor

Mate, i know it a bit off topic but im not sure if you've seen this, talking of Micky Rourke just reminded me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByasUEclYM

[joseph5620]

I heard that during SRL's prime he did this thing for the military and visited a navy warship and if you didn;t know this these ships having boxing clubs on them with rings and everything so the sailors can blow off some steam and boredom during the trips across oceans. Anyway the champion of the ship got to have a boxing exhibition match with leonard and he actually ended up knocking leonard down and nearly K.Oing him.

Is it true? How could some sailor who boxed as a hobby even land 1 punch on a prime sugar ray leonard?

False. I have it on VHS and saw it with my own eyes. It was during Leonard's first retirement. It was supposed to be a light sparring session and the military(a heavyweight) fighter came to close to hitting Leonard in his surgically repaired eye. Leonard reacted by taking him out with two hard left hooks to the body. That was it. I saw this with my own eyes. On the same VHS Leonard visited Dave "boy" Green and the two of them watched their fight together. After the brutal KO by Leonard, Green cringed and Leonard put his arm around him.It was a very interesting documentary.