Carlos De León


Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, was a Puerto Rican boxer who made history by becoming the first cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as cruiserweight champion by regaining the title on two further occasions.

Career

De León, a native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, first won a world title when he faced the WBC world champion Marvin Camel on November 25, 1980, replacing David Pearce the Great Britain boxer on the undercard of Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán's Roberto Durán vs. [Sugar Ray Leonard II|second fight] in New Orleans. De León outpointed Camel over fifteen rounds. In a rematch later, De León knocked out Camel in eight rounds. When his countryman Ossie Ocasio won the WBA world title, De León and Ocasio became the second pair of Puerto Ricans to share world titles in the same division at the same time; Alfredo Escalera and Samuel Serrano had achieved the feat in the 1970s in the junior lightweight division.

Taking loss

De León lost his title in a shocking upset to former Gerry Cooney victim S. T. Gordon by a knockout in round two in Cleveland in 1982, and won a comeback fight versus former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks by a knockout in round six in 1983. After that, he and Gordon boxed a rematch in Las Vegas, and De León dropped Gordon once in the first round and once in the twelfth, en route to a unanimous decision win in a history-making bout: De León had now become the first boxer to win the world cruiserweight title twice.

Champion again

He defended his title against Yaqui López by a knockout in four at San Jose, California, and with decisions over Anthony Davis and Bashiru Ali. The Davis bout took place in Las Vegas and the fight with Ali was in Oakland, California. De León next lost his title in Las Vegas to Alfonzo Ratliff in a decision. Ratliff was in turn beaten by Bernard Benton, who defended against De León on March 22, 1986, once again in Las Vegas. De León joined the likes of Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali in becoming one of the few boxers ever to win one division's world championship at least three times, defeating Benton by decision.

Once more

He made a couple of defenses in Italy and then in 1988, he defended the title against Uruguayan José María Flores Burlón in Atlantic City, New Jersey, winning by twelve rounds in a unanimous decision but then he lost his titles in a unification bout with WBA and IBF world champion Evander Holyfield, by technical knockout in the eighth round, also in Las Vegas. But Holyfield soon left the division to pursue the world heavyweight championship, and De León was left with an open door to break his own record and win the title for a record fourth time. He went to London, where he beat the WBC's number two ranked contender, Sammy Reeson, by a knockout in the ninth round, breaking his own record and was crowned world cruiserweight champion once again.

Holding on

Carlos held on to the title for two years until finally losing it to Massimiliano Duran in Italy in an eleventh-round disqualification. He gained the title by his aforementioned win over Sammy Reeson. He made a defense by drawing with Johnny Nelson before the loss to Massimilano Duran mentioned earlier.

After boxing

During the 1990s, De León ran afoul of the law a number of times, once while he was carrying a rifle. He worked on helping the professional boxing career of his son, prospect Carlos de León Jr.
He died on January 1, 2020, due to a cardiac arrest. He was 60.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
62Loss53–8–1Brian NielsenTKO3 Nov 24, 1995Randers, Denmark
61Loss53–7–1Corrie SandersTKO1, 0:49Aug 13, 1994Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
60Win53–6–1Bobby ArthursMD10Feb 17, 1994Joliet, Illinois, U.S.
59Win52–6–1Brian MorganPTS8Jan 14, 1994Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
58Win51–6–1Jordan KeepersTKO5 Nov 5, 1993Gary, Indiana, U.S.
57Win50–6–1Andre CrowderKO1 Jun 19, 1993Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
56Win49–6–1Joey ChristjohnPTS6May 15, 1993Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
55Win48–6–1James WilderUD10Mar 13, 1993Aurora, Illinois, U.S.
54Win47–6–1Rocky BentleyUD10Jan 22, 1993Countryside, Illinois, U.S.
53Win46–6–1Bruce JohnsonTKO4 Jun 27, 1992Miami, Florida, U.S.
52Loss45–6–1Massimiliano DuranDQ11 Jul 27, 1990Capo d'Orlando, Sicilia, ItalyLost WBC cruiserweight title;
De León disqualified for hitting after the bell
51Draw45–5–1Johnny NelsonSD12Jan 27, 1990City Hall, Sheffield, EnglandRetained WBC cruiserweight title
50Win45–5Sammy ReesonTKO9, 2:04May 17, 1989London Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC cruiserweight title
49Loss44–5Evander HolyfieldTKO8, 1:08Apr 9, 1988Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC cruiserweight title;
For WBA and IBF world champions#Cruiserweight|IBF cruiserweight titles]
48Win44–4Jose Maria Flores BurlonUD12Jan 22, 1988Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBC cruiserweight title
47Win43–4Larry PhelpsKO1, 1:33Aug 1, 1987Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
46Win42–4Angelo RottoliTKO5 Feb 21, 1987Bergamo, Lombardia, ItalyRetained WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
45Win41–4Michael GreerTKO8, 1:43Aug 10, 1986Giardini Naxos, Sicilia, ItalyRetained WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
44Win40–4Bernard BentonMD12Mar 22, 1986Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Won WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
43Loss39–4Alfonzo RatliffSD12Jun 6, 1985Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Lost WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
42Win39–3Dorcey GaymonTKO9 Jan 12, 1985Oranjestad, Aruba
41Win38–3Bash AliUD12Jun 2, 1984Oakland, California, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
40Win37–3Anthony DavisUD12Mar 9, 1984Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Retained WBC and The Ring cruiserweight titles
39Win36–3Yaqui LopezTKO4, 2:51Sep 21, 1983San Jose, California, U.S.Retained WBC cruiserweight title
38Win35–3S.T. GordonUD12Jul 17, 1983Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Won WBC cruiserweight title
37Win34–3Leon SpinksRTD6, 3:00Mar 6, 1983Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
36Win33–3Ivy BrownPTS10Nov 26, 1982Houston, Texas, U.S.
35Loss32–3S.T. GordonTKO2, 2:51Jun 27, 1982Highland Heights, Ohio, U.S.Lost WBC cruiserweight title
34Win32–2Marvin CamelTKO8 Feb 24, 1982Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBC cruiserweight title
33Win31–2Greg PayneTKO3, 1:38Dec 12, 1981Houston, Texas, U.S.
32Win30–2Marvin CamelMD15Nov 25, 1980New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.Won WBC cruiserweight title
31Win29–2Mario RosaPTS8Jun 28, 1980San Juan, Puerto Rico
30Win28–2Waldemar PaulinoKO1, 0:28Apr 25, 1980Anaheim, California, U.S.
29Win27–2Christy ElliottTKO4, 1:15Sep 25, 1979Miami Beach, Florida, U.S
28Win26–2Willie McIntyreTKO1 Aug 25, 1979San Juan, Puerto Rico
27Win25–2Manny FreitasTKO1, 1:25Apr 8, 1979Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
26Win24–2Bonifacio AvilaTKO2, 2:46Jan 27, 1979San Juan, Puerto Rico
25Win23–2Wendell JosephPTS10Nov 18, 1978Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
24Win22–2Rennie PinderTKO3 Sep 26, 1978Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
23Win21–2Roy HarryKO1, 2:14Sep 8, 1978Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
22Win20–2Tyrone FreemanTKO3, 2:28Apr 8, 1978Bayamón, Puerto Rico
21Win19–2Jesse LaraTKO2, 1:13Mar 25, 1978Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S
20Win18–2Ray BryantTKO5 Jan 28, 1978San Juan, Puerto Rico
19Win17–2Eddie DavisTKO5 Nov 8, 1977Orlando, Florida, U.S.
18Win16–2Battling DouglasTKO5, 2:12Oct 14, 1977Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
17Loss15–2Ray HammondPTS8Sep 10, 1977San Juan, Puerto Rico
16Win15–1Mustapha AliUD10Jul 29, 1977Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S
15Win14–1Eddie DavisTKO3 Jun 25, 1977Bayamón, Puerto Rico
14Win13–1Antonio ColonTKO6 Feb 12, 1977Bayamón, Puerto Rico
13Win12–1Carlos SotoPTS8Oct 11, 1976San Juan, Puerto Rico
12Win11–1Astor AgostoPTS8Aug 16, 1976San Juan, Puerto Rico
11Win10–1Dario de JesusPTS8Jul 19, 1976San Juan, Puerto Rico
10Win9–1Carlos SotoPTS8Apr 5, 1976San Juan, Puerto Rico
9Loss8–1Roberto ColonPTS4Feb 15, 1976Ponce, Puerto Rico
8Win8–0Larry AdkinsPTS8Sep 15, 1975Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
7Win7–0James JacksonTKO3 Nov 11, 1975Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
6Win6–0Cubby JacksonTKO4 May 17, 1975Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands
5Win5–0Kid GavilanTKO6 Apr 5, 1975Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands
4Win4–0Tripodi GuadalupeTKO5 Mar 17, 1975Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands
3Win3–0Vernon LawsTKO3 Nov 2, 1974Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
2Win2–0Jesse TorresTKO2 Oct 19, 1974Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.
1Win1–0Roy HarrisTKO4 Aug 3, 1974Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.