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Naturally, death is a sad thing for those left behind. That's a given. However, it would be a bit of a cop-out to pick that one. Also, there is a part of me that has a bit less sympathy for someone who lives a long, rich life and dies old. It's because I've known too many people who died young.
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That said, for me, the saddest thing "Sugar" tale would be the Great Robinson losing to an ordinary fighter like Joey Archer. While Robinson's reason for even fighting Archer is similar to Mosley's for fighting Mundine, both needed money, Robinson has FAR more against him than does Mosley. Mosley has options. Robinson had few outside of boxing.
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I have a bit less sympathy for Mosley and even less for Leonard. While I'm a Leonard fan, I don't really care for many of the political moves he made later in his career. I don't care for the way he stepped on the toes of others just to get his way.
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What I care even less for is his judgmental attitude going into the Camacho fight. Sure, Camacho gave many reasons for people to brand him a villain. But who is Sugar Ray Leonard to make himself the hero at Camacho's expense. He upstaged Camacho at every turn and at a time when Hector was actually trying to polish up his image.
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To get a better perspective of why I view it this way, think of Floyd Mayweather before his fight with Oscar de la Hoya. Mayweather chose to play the villain, mainly because he knew that he could never be the hero as long as Oscar was around. People hated Floyd for this but he promoted himself well.
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Looking now, Floyd doesn't really have to play the jerk and he's a bit more reserved. Most here probably don't remember the early part of Camacho's career but Hector played a similar role. By the time he faced Leonard, who actually called him out, he was once again cast as the villain, a role he was no longer very comfortable with.
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It's hard to forget the condescending way that Leonard viewed Camacho, and influenced the media to do likewise. Even after handing him a much deserved butt whipping, Camacho tried to pay his respects to Leonard, only to be overshadowed by Ray's excuses as to why he lost. We all understand that Ray was past his prime but he still couldn't just accept his defeat without excuses.
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I also still don't care for the self-serving way he keeps harping on the "No-Mas" fight. If anyone thinks that was the real Duran, they don't know boxing well.
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Robinson's tale was saddest for me
Bert Sugar's passing was sad for boxing
Mosley was always a bit of a diva and brought his situation partly on himself.
Leonard made his bed hard and had to lie in it.
To me, the saddest of the Sugars is the question marks around some of Ray Leonard's fights:
1) I think he lost to Hagler, but was the darling of the media.
2) Everyone talks about the "No mas" affair, but hardly mentions the first fight when he lost to Duran.
3) Requiring the tall, lanky, pencil-thin Donny Lalonde to lose 7 pounds and fight at 168.
4) The "draw" in the second Hearns fight.
Leonard was a great talent, but he was also promoted and bolstered by the boxing establishment b/c his "type" is good for the sport.
You have it right......these are all sad moments.
I am tempted to say Robinson-Archer.... not exactly how one wants to end a career.
.. but then, Bert Sugar was such a character, knew and wrote so much....
I fondly contemplate my Ring magazine collection......and have to go with Bert Sugar.
@fishnet is that really bert sugar?
i think all those moments were sad but only the SSM fight is fresh in my memory so i'd have to say him
What to you was the saddest in the Sugar's of boxing?
a. Sugar Ray Robinson getting knocked down and outclassed by a lesser opponent Archer
b. Sugar Ray LEonard getting pummeled on the ropes and kayoed by Camacho
c. Sugar Shane Mosley getting outperformed by Mundine and unable to continue
d. Bert Sugar's death
i was able to watch Leonard vs hector when i was still a kid and i knew SRL was already a legend. My granddad and I usually talk about the fab four when he was still alive. It was very sad cuz i thought Sugar was still sweet. It proved wrong. What to you was the most poignant
Bert Sugar was a sad thing for me. He was on this forum a couple of years ago
http://answers.yahoo.com/activity?show=O37DFBUSEIJVSWE3WJ2PG5UGEU&t=g
