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 faced with WBC world champion Marvin Camel on November 25, 1980, on the undercard of Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán's second fight in New Orleans. De León outpointed Camel over 15 rounds.
After he then knocked out Camel in 8 rounds in a rematch and his countryman Ossie Ocasio won the WBA world title, they became the second pair of Puerto Ricans to share world titles in the same division at the same time, after Alfredo Escalera and Samuel Serrano had achieved the feat in the 1970s in the Jr. Lightweight division. De León lost his title in a shocking upset to former Gerry Cooney victim S. T. Gordon by a knockout in round 2 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.
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. 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 world champion Evander Holyfield, by TKO 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 2 challenger, Sammy Reeson, by a knockout in the ninth round, breaking his own record and
was crowned world Cruiserweight champion once again. This time, he held on to the title for two years, until finally losing it to Massimiliano Duran in Italy in an 11th round disqualification.
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 career of his son Carlos de León Jr..
He died on January 1, 2020 due to a cardiac arrest. He was 60.

Professional boxing record

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