Ringside Boxing Show: Gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales remembers terror at the ’72 Olympics in Munich

Sugar Ray Seales fought the likes of Ayub Kalule, Alan Minter, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler (three times, including a draw) during his 68-fight pro career, but his favorite memory is being the only American to win an Olympic gold medal in 1972 in Munich.

The affable native of the Virgin Islands was in the Olympic Village with his teammates when armed Palestinian terrorist scaled a fence, snuck into a dorm, and took 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team hostage.

Seales recounts what it was like waiting out that two-day siege, which ended with the death of all of the athletes and terrorists involved. It all played out on live TV, with the ABC Sports team, led by Jim McKay, providing the dramatic commentary.

Sugar Ray also reminisces with us about his road to the Olympics, the impact of winning the gold medal, his 11-year professional career, and the aftermath, which resulted in the loss of his eyesight.

Remarkably, recent surgery has restored his vision, a medical miracle that enables him to coach youth boxing today in Indianapolis.

Our interview with Sugar Ray Seales is preceded by a look at the week in boxing, including Saturday’s action-packed DAZN card, which featured dramatic knockouts by 317-pound Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Artur Beterbiev, and a hard-fought draw between Jessie Vargas and Thomas Dulorme, during which both fighters tasted the canvas.

We also discuss Canelo’s surprising decision to move to 168 pounds on Dec. 15 to fight England’s Rocky Fielding for the WBC super middleweight crown.

Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of “Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy,” an Amazon bestseller.

Ringside Boxing Show: Gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales remembers terror at the ’72 Olympics in Munich – The Grueling Truth The Grueling Truth Radio

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