Sugar Ray Seales Can See The Light
By Robert Brizel, Real Combat Media Correspondent
New York, NY (March 19th, 2013)–Every once in a while, boxing fans hear about the stellar career of Hall of Fame World Middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson. They talk about the sensational high profile career of Sugar Ray Leonard. They talk about Cuban-Mexican World Featherweight champion Sugar Ramos.
Few fight fans either talk about or remember the career of Sugar Ray Seales, who was the only American boxer to win an Olympic Gold Mdeal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, later went blind and became, in the immortal words of the late Sammy Davis Jr., “Got the three B’s: blind, broke and busted.” A performance benefit by Davis on Seales behalf somehow managed to lose $25,000, more bad luck.
The eye troubles of sugar Ray Seales began in August 1980, when he was thumbed by opponent Jamie Thomas in August 1980, winning the ten round decision but incurring a detached retina due to a tear in his left eye.
According to Boxrec, Seales fought between 1973 and 1983 had a professional record of 57 wins, eight losses and three draws, with 34 knockouts. Seales opened his career with 21 consecutive wins before losing and drawing ten round bouts to Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Although he won many bouts afterwards, Seales lost to Eugene ‘Cyclone’ Hart, Alan Minter, Ronnie Harris, before winning the USBA boxing title by fifteen round decision over Doug Demmings in Chicago.
Seales’ biggest issues were management and promotional issues, and he subsequently lost big fights to Dwight Davidson, Marvin Hagler, Ayub Kalule, and the late James Shuler. Seales knocked out Max Hord in the first round of his final professional bout in January 1983. Unable to see the gym anymore, Seales retired at age 30 and underwent four eye operations on the left eye, and three on the right eye, over the many years which followed. Seales fortunately-and miraculous-regained the sight in his right eye and became a teacher of autistic children for 17 years, retiring in 2004.
Now residing in Indianapolis, Indiana, Seales currently serves as a trainer and coach of amateur boxing talent. He appeared at the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s annual festivities in 2012. Abandoned and forgotten to a life of darkness, Sugar Ray Seales was reborn as as a school teacher, and eventually a teacher of young talent. Somewhere along the way, the darkness became a bright shining star again, like the shiny Olympic gold medal around his neck. Sugar Ray Seales, who is sixty years old, survived the near tragedy of his experience in the ring, and can now see the light, and undoubtedly can reflect on the wisdom of his experience.
A partial happy ending can be best understood by remembering marquee names come and go in boxing, as in all professional sports . Glory or not, the experiences of boxers past must be understood to better insure the safety of boxers in the present.
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