"Sugar" Ray Seales, (born September 4, 1952) is an American former boxer. He was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972 ...

. As a professional, he fought middleweight champion

Marvin Hagler Marvelous Marvin Hagler (born Marvin Nathaniel Hagler; May 23, 1954 – March 13, 2021) was an American professional boxer and film actor. He competed in boxing from 1973 to 1987 and reigned as the undisputed champion of the middleweight divi ...

three times. He is also the former NABF and USBA middleweight champion.

Family and early life

Seales was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where his father, who boxed in the U.S. Army, was stationed. The Seales family moved to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

in 1965. He is the half-brother of boxer Dale Grant and the brother of boxer Wilbur Seales.

Career

Seales was a product of the Tacoma Boys Club amateur boxing program, and was coached by

Joe Clough Joe Clough (10 November 1885 – 27 December 1976) was a taxi and bus driver. Clough was the first Black bus driver in London. In 2021, a play written by Neil Gore about Clough's life debuted at The Place Theatre in Bedford. Biography Jos ...

. :File:Joe Clough and Ray Seales.jpg Amateur record: 338–12 *1972 Olympic gold medalist (139 lbs.) *1971 National AAU light welterweight champion *1972 National Golden Gloves 139 pounds champion, defeating Donnie Nelson of

Lowell, MA Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

in the final

1972 Olympic results

*Round of 32: defeated Ulrich Beyer (East Germany) on points *Round of 16: defeated Jim Montague (Ireland) on points *Quarterfinal: defeated Andres Molina (Cuba) 3–2 *Semifinal: defeated Zvonimir Vujin (Yugoslavia) 5–0 *Final: defeated Angel Angelov (Bulgaria) 3–2

Pros

Seales was a contender for the middleweight title during the late '70s and early '80s, winning the regional level USBA and NABF titles in the process. In his two most memorable fights, he lost a narrow decision to future middleweight champion

in July 1974, then drew with Hagler in a rematch three months later. After losing to European champion Alan Minter in 1976, Seales remained on the outskirts of contention, until a first-round technical knockout at the hands of Hagler effectively ended his title hopes.

Retirement

In 1980, Seales injured his left eye in a fight with Jaime Thomas, and retired due to a serious retinal tear. He was subsequently declared legally blind, and was used as a cause célèbre along with

Sugar Ray Leonard Ray Charles Leonard (born May 17, 1956), best known as "Sugar" Ray Leonard, is an American former professional boxer, motivational speaker, and occasional actor. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, he competed professiona ...

during the 1980s for those pushing for a ban on boxing.

Life after boxing

Years later, doctors operated and restored Seales' vision in his right eye, though he wears glasses. Seales later worked as a schoolteacher of autistic students at Lincoln High School in Tacoma for 17 years, retiring in 2004. In 2006, he moved to Indianapolis with his wife, and currently teaches at Indy Boxing and Grappling.

Honors

Seales was a 2005 inductee into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame. On May 5, 2018, Seales was inducted to the Indiana Boxing Hall of Fame in their inaugural class.

Professional boxing record

References

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Seales, Sugar Ray Living people 1952 births African-American boxers Boxers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in boxing Middleweight boxers Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Sportspeople from Tacoma, Washington Boxers from Washington (state) Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics American male boxers Sportspeople with a vision impairment 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople