In defeating some of the greatest boxers to step in the ring, Sugar Ray Leonard credited his triumphs to not what he did in the ring on the night of the bout. The victories were earned with the early morning five-mile runs or long sparring sessions in the months before.
“I did the roadwork. The more you do, the easier it is to do what you are trying to do,” Leonard said Tuesday during his keynote address presented by CARFAX at the NIADA Accelerate 2023 Convention and Expo at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
Leonard thrilled the crowd, recounting his many title bouts about Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns and Roberto Duran. Perhaps, his most powerful lesson for independent car dealers was how he fought back and trained harder after his loss to Duran in 1980.
“You can’t know success until you know failure,” Leonard said. “When you get knocked down, you get back up.”
He applied that lesson to the greatest entrepreneurs in history, who took risks to find success.
Car dealers are facing challenges from rising costs, interest rates and regulatory actions in Washington D.C.
Leonard reminded dealers to continue dreaming and that they will need people behind them. He pointed to his trainers pushing him with their belief when he moved up in weight class to beat Donny LaLonde.
“Everyone needs someone in their corner for success,” Leonard said.
