Video: Ray Charles sings American The Beautiful before ‘No Mas’
In June of 1980 boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard was dethroned by Roberto Duran in Montreal. That very November Leonard and Duran had a highly anticipated rematch in New Orleans. Sugar Ray Leonard (full name Ray Charles Leonard) was lucky enough to have the person his mother named him after sing America The Beautiful before the match.
According to the ESPN documentary No Mas, Ray Charles told Sugar Ray Leonard “Kick his ass” after he finished singing the song. Sugar Ray did just that, so much so that Roberto Duran uttered the famous ‘No Mas’ and quit the fight making Sugar Ray Leonard the champion once again.
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