Interview with 1972 Olympian “Sugar” Ray Seales

By Pattee Mak | May 14, 2012

This year “Sugar” Ray Seales of Indianapolis, Indiana will be attending the 23^rd Annual Hall of Fame Induction Weekend set for June 7^th – 10^th, 2012.  For those of you that never heard of Seales and are wondering who he is… well… Seales was born in 1952. His amateur record is outstanding. He started his pro debut of 8 rounds on 11-1-1973 against Gonzalo Rodriguez and won by UD and ended his professional career on 1-22-1983 at the age of 31 against Max Hord and was victorious by TKO round 1 of 10.  As a pro he held the NABF and USBA middleweight titles.

I had the chance to catch up with Seales to chat about his past and present status.

Pattee Mak: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. Before we get into where you are at in the present. Lets chat about your past, your amateur days.

Pattee Mak: What got you into boxing?

Ray Seales:  My dad was a boxer for the US Army.  He trained and would come home and teach boxing to the children, 3 boys and 1 girl and then right after that in 1964 I started my boxing career in Tacoma, Washington.  Together with my brothers we built the number one boxing team in Washington State.   In 1962 in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands while playing, my brother Wilber got hit in the left eye by a fruit.   My mother’s brother, Emilio Encarnicion worked for the Burlington Railroad in Tacoma, Washington and told my mother that there are special doctors in Washington to fix my brother’s eye. My mother took my brother there but it didn’t work. In 1964 she brought me and the rest of the family and we made it up there in 1964. I started training at the Tacoma Boys Club and I am the first boxer in Tacoma to win his first fight. That’s where I started my boxing and I started winning the golden glove’s jacket and medals. I boxed for 9 years, 350 fights, loosing 12 with over 200 knockouts.

Pattee Mak: Before the Olympic games were there any titles you held as an amateur?

Ray Seales: In 1968 I became the Washington State Union Golden Gloves and won the Golden Boy Award in 1969.  I also won the January 21^st Annual Golden Gloves and the  1st Tacoma Gloves Jackets.   In 1969 the Seattle Senior Golden Gloves Championship.  In 1969, Portland, Oregon Senior Golden Gloves Championship.   In 1970, January 22 Tacoma Annual Golden Gloves Championship. In 1970 Seattle Senior Golden Gloves Championship.  In 1970, Las Vegas Joe Lewis Outstanding Award.   In 1970 Prince George British Columbia International Championship and the best fighter award.  In 1971 Tacoma 23^rd Annual Golden Gloves Championship. In 1971 Portland Senior Golden Gloves Championship.   In 1971 Seattle Senior Golden Gloves Champion. In 1971 New Orleans AAU National Golden Gloves Championship.   In 1971 Albany, New York North American Canadian Championship.   In 1972 Tacoma 24^th Annual Golden Gloves Championship. In 1972 Las Vegas Regional Golden Gloves and Outstanding Fighter Award.  In 1972 Minneapolis, Minnesota National Golden Gloves Champion and I qualified for the Olympic trials.  In 1972 Seattle Senior King of the Ring Champion and King of the Ring Award.   1972 Elyria, Ohio Western Hemisphere Championship.  1972 Saskatoon, Canada North American Canadian Championship and Outstanding Fighter Award.  1972 June Fort Worth, Texas Olympic trials, In August 1972, I made the US Olympic team and in September, 1972 I became the World Amateur Olympic Boxing Champion.

Also in 1968 I qualified for the Olympics but as a fighter you had to be 17, I was only 16. So I missed. But back then it was ok. I made a statement in 1968 to the Olympic people to hold on to the gold medal because I’ll be back for the medal.

Pattee Mak: Ok. Now lets go back 40 years ago to 1972, when you were competing in the summer Olympics. You were only 20 years old and here you are in Munich, Germany. Tell me about your entire experience and about that shiny piece of gold you wore around your neck.

Ray Seales: Just before I made it to the Olympics I told my mother I was going in in about 6 months. She bought a plane ticket to Munich, Germany. She knew all about my experiences. She traveled everywhere to watch my fights. Going to the Olympics my confidence, my expertise was so high that I knew that I was going to win the gold medal. I was ready back in 1968 to go to the Olympics. With the training and sacrificing I knew I was going to be the only American to win the gold medal. My dad lived in the Virgin Islands and the people there sent him to the Olympics. Me and my mother and father winning an Olympic medal for the St. Croix, Virgin Islands and Tacoma, Washington in the United states. I was having fun, it was new and the people knew the Americans and loved the boxing team. I spent most of the time with my mother and father looking at the television, watching the sports. This was a family endeavor. We jumped for joy. All we did we listened and watched the Olympics itself. I fought five times. My first fight was Ulrich Beyer. He was nominated to win the Olympic gold medal. My second fight I fought James Montague from Ireland. All these fighters are world champions. And he was another one that went for the gold medal. My third fight from he was from Cuba, Andres Molina. Cuba has the heavyweight champion. They are world champions. The fourth fight I fought someone from Yugoslavia, Zvonimir Vujin. The fifth fight was Angel Angelov from Bogavlia. He was a tough cookie. I won with a bolo punch and I built it into my own. I dropped him and he went down for the 8^th count. It was a tough fight cause they were all champions. My mother jumped for joy. It was the year of Howard Cosell.

Pattee Mak: Were you allowed to watch the other events for free?

Ray Seales: It was comes with being a winner. They would want me to be there as a promotional thing.

Pattee Mak: While you were in Germany and during that time of the Olympic games a dreadful tragedy also took place with members of the Israeli Olympic team. They were taken hostage and eventually killed by a Palestinian group. [For reading purposes search “1972 Munich Massacre on the world wide web]. Were you anywhere near the location where this was all taking place:

Ray Seales: Where we were staying we could look out the window across the street and you could see the Israeli gorillas walking around. They were waiting for their helicopter to pick them up. It could have been us instead of the them. They had a mission to go after this one Olympic team. We were trying to duck. I was in my semi-finals. I had two to go. I wasn’t gonna leave without the gold medal.

Pattee: During the hostage attack did you walk back freely to your quarters.

Ray Seales: We stayed and were told to get in and stay in. Get in our barracks until it was all over.

Pattee Mak: What is your opinion on Olympic Boxing today and why Team USA has not brought home too many medals in the last 20 years.

Ray Seales: The Olympic games the rules have changed. In some states everyone has their own rules. We practice to have rules. We aren’t together as an Olympic committee. When to get up and when to get down. Everything has been laid back and not really paying attention. It all comes to money. Everything is not together anymore. It needs to be a more of a team. In 1972 I believe it was the best Olympic team cause it was all together.

Pattee Mak: Lets chat about your pro boxing career.

Pattee Mak: According to boxrec you fought 68 pro fights. Which was was the toughest?

Ray Seales: Actually I know I boxed 10 years as a pro, 80 fights, 70 wins, 7 losses and 3 draws and 46 ko’s. My toughest fight was against Rico Hoye out of Michigan. I was going up to 160 pounds as a middleweight soaking wet and he came back from 180 to 160 and after weigh in he went back up to 170. He hit me with left hook to the ribs. I never been hit that hard before. Marvin Haglar hit me three times. Hoye was the hardest hitter that I’ve been with along with a lot of other good fighters. Sammy NeSmith from Indianapolis, Indiana, one foot in the grave, one foot on the banana peel and he’d still KO you out.  I actually knocked out Sammy twice.

Pattee Mak: During one of your fights you incurred an eye injury. What happened?

Ray Seales: 1980 in Baton Rouge I fought Jamie Thomas. We were on the undercard of Tommy Hearns. It was a welterweight championship fight. He thumbed me in the eye cause he couldn’t win. I ended up with a detached retina. After that it got worse. I started having more surgeries. Seven eye surgeries total. Four on the left and three on the right. My eye doctors been telling me my left eye is 20/400 and right 20/300. When I get in the gym I got 20/20. I see out of both of them.

Pattee Mak: Why did you retire from boxing when you did?

Ray Seales: In 1983 was my last fight in Colorado. I won that fight.  Going back in the gym the lights got dim.  I told my trainer the lights needed to be changed and he said they just changed it.  I had an operation and was in the dark for a few days. But God is good and I was doing his Will. I have my sight now back in one eye, the right eye. I don’t have a problem in my left eye. My doctor said there is nothing I can do for the left eye.

Pattee Mak: What is your role in the sport of boxing today?

Ray Seales: I’m a superstar. I’m a coach. The young youth looks at me and want to pick my brain and see what makes me tick. They see in my work my training works. I only train winners. And that’s all I’ve been doing. Off the street and mentally, physically and spiritually and he’ll learn its in them. It’s not the dog that’s in the fight but it’s the fight that’s in the dog. It’s what comes out. It’s a combination. Left jab, right hand, left hook…. Mentally, physically and spiritually they go hand and hand. All three.

Pattee Mak: What else are you into now?

Ray Seales: I was a school teacher for 17 years. I’m retired now and I just teach boxing. I put my time in the youths. I’m building 13 solid fighters. Like I used to have in Tacoma, Washington. Everyone was a winner. We’d all win. That’s the team I’m building. In 2016 will have an Olympic team. Dreams….  I am also involved in a movie about my life and I have written a book that has been published.

Pattee Mak: Tell me about the book that you published.

Ray Seales: “Ray and the Glove” is the name of the book that was published in 1974.   It’s a book in the Tacoma Public Schools for the kindergartners to learn.. Come see Ray did this. Come see Ray box. Come see Ray put on the gloves. Talk to learn the words. Three or four words in a sentence.

Pattee Mak:   Did I also hear you say there is a movie about your life?

Ray Seales: It’s going to be a life story about “Sugar” Ray Seales.  The story is going to come out because I’ve changed Tacoma. All the sacrifices I did and the only Olympian wining the Gold along with the riots.  A writer in Seattle, William Tuthill is trying to put it all together.  There is a story now, especially since I’ll be inducted in the Hall of Fame.   Of course all comes to the financing.  It’s still in the making.

Pattee Mak:  Who will play you?

Originally we wanted Cuba Goody Jr. but time has pasted.  So right now we will find someone.   Someone that is ready to work and we will train him.

Pattee Mak: Tell me about being inducted in 2005 in the Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of Fame.

Ray Seales: It was exciting and surprising. It was great to know that you felt something that people put you up there in the cornerstone. The people, the grace that they give you. I can’t even explain it. They picked me out of all of them. I felt so special. I didn’t know about the hall of fame. I know I did something. My name will always be there forever. I put them on the map. “Sugar” Ray Seales, 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, he was a hell of a fighter. I was a boxing champ. I was rated #1 in the world as middleweight.

Pattee Mak: Now its 2012 and in June you’ll be heading up to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY. This must be an honor for you. Tell me more about it and how does this make you feel?

Ray Seales: Very excited for them thinking of me. Something good that I’m being inducted. Winning the Olympic gold medal and being a leader for the youth. In Tacoma I was called the youth of today. I put Tacoma on the map in 1972. When we traveled out of town no one new where Tacoma was. After winning, Tacoma became a city on the map.

Pattee Mak: Again, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. A special thanks goes out to David Selwyn for making this interview possible. I look forward to meeting you at the IBHOF this June. Also good luck on the movie and book about your life.

For questions or comments, feel free to comment below and don’t forget to friend request me on facebook “Pattee Mak” and follow me on twitter @PatteeMak.



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