Sugar Ray Seales

"Sugar" Ray Seales, (born April 9, 1952 Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) was the only American boxer to win a gold medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Personal

Seales is the Half-Brother of fellow boxer Dale Grant, and the brother of fellow boxer Wilbur Seales.

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, WA in 1965. He was a product of the Tacoma Boys Club amateur boxing program, and was coached by Joe Clough.

Amateur career

*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 in the final

Olympic Results

*Ulrich Beyer (East Germany) won on points
*Jim Montague (Ireland) won on points
*Andres Molina (Cuba) 3-2
*Zvonimir Vujin (Yugoslavia) 5-0
*Angel Angelov (Bulgaria) 3-2

Pro career

Seales was a contender for the Middleweight title during the late 70's and early 80's.

Retirement

In 1980, Seales injured his 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 during the 1980s, for those pushing for a ban on boxing.

Life After Boxing

Seales later worked with autistic students at Lincoln High School in Tacoma until 2004 before retiring. In 2006, he moved to Indianapolis with his wife, where he currently resides.

Honors

Seales was a 2005 Inductee into the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame.