Champions from the past and the present

As part of the 50th anniversary of the WBC, we pay a fond tribute to our marvellous world champions- stars from the past, and diamonds-rough hewn or polished, that dominate the divisions nowadays.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION
Past...Sugar Ray Leonard
The history of this legend began when he was barely 14 years old. Attracted by the bright lights of boxing, it was immediatly obvious young Ray was an absolute phenomenon.
His glittering talent led him to success in regional tournaments and be called to the U.S. national team where he won a gold medal at the Montreal Olympics, prematurely declaring he'll fulfilled all of his dreams in boxing.... he'd only just begun!
Ray made ​​his professional debut in 1977 against Luis Vega, which he won. His fame rapidly grew and after 27 undefeated fights, he received the opportunity to contest the WBC welterweight world title, against the multi talented Wilfred Benitez. It was a battle royal, with Ray finally dominating, so the referee stopped it in the final round.
Ray announced his retirement because he was diagnosed with retinal detachment. He returned to the ring to face and triumph against fearsome Marvin Hagler, for the WBC middleweight title.
On November 7, 1988, Sugar Ray faced Donny Lalonde (light heavyweight champion), for the WBC vacant super middleweight title. The venue of the match was the Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both boxers exchanged powerful and accurate blows. In the fourth round, much bigger Donny floored Ray. However, Ray recovered and with great momentum took over the fight, overwhelming his opponent.
In the ninth round, Ray trapped Donny in the corner and unloaded a flurry of blows,which made referee Richard Steele stop the fight.
In this way, Sugar Ray Leonard became the first WBC super middleweight champion in history.
During his incredible career, Leonard conquered the WBC welter, superwelter, middle and super middleweight champion, plus he was Olympic Gold medalist in Montreal when he was amateur. He’s a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Present...Andre Ward
Born on February 23, 1984, in San Francisco, California. Andre grew up in East Bay Fairview neighborhood of Hayward, in California. He began training at Kings Boxing Gym located in Oakland, where he showed prodigious talen. When he turned 17 he became friends with  boxer Andre Dirrell. As amateur, Andre won the Light Heavyweight gold medal for the United States at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, becoming the first US boxer to capture gold in 8 years.
Andre made his pro debut on December 18, 2004 by scoring a second round TKO over Chris Molina.
After having carved out an array of victories and won several titles, he fought for the WBC super middleweight title against Carl Froch in a very exciting match where Ward showed exquisite southpaw boxing style and won the fight by decision.
In his most recent fight he defeated Chad Dawson by TKO in the 10th round last September 8th, in Oakland, California.

Source: wbcboxing.com/wbcEng25/index.php