Donny Lalonde's nickname is "Golden Boy," after the Golden Boy statue atop the Manitoba Legislative Building in his boxing home town of Winnipeg.
20 Facts About Donny Lalonde
1.
2.
Donny Lalonde got into boxing "to try to reestablish self-esteem, respect, pride," he said.
3.
Donny Lalonde won his first four fights and then lost a six-round decision to Wilbert "Vampire" Johnson in March 1981.
4.
In 1983, Donny Lalonde won the Canadian Light Heavyweight Championship, knocking out Roddie McDonald in ten rounds.
5.
Donny Lalonde defeated McDonald even though he had a smashed middle knuckle on his right hand and was recovering from surgery on his left shoulder, which he first separated when he crashed into the boards while playing hockey in 1977.
6.
On November 27,1987, Donny Lalonde knocked out Eddie Davis in two rounds to win the vacant WBC Light Heavyweight Championship in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
7.
On November 7,1988, Donny Lalonde fought Sugar Ray Leonard at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
8.
Early in the ninth, Donny Lalonde hurt Leonard with a right to the chin.
9.
Donny Lalonde drove him to the ropes and unleashed a furious assault.
10.
Donny Lalonde tried to tie up Leonard, but got dropped with a powerful left hook.
11.
Donny Lalonde rose but was down again, and the fight was stopped.
12.
Donny Lalonde got up and survived the round, but for the rest of the fight, Czyz continued to come forward and land effectively with left jabs and hooks.
13.
Donny Lalonde returned to the ring and won three straight fights, then fought a six-round draw with Kevin Pompey in 1998.
14.
The referee ruled it a knockdown, but Donny Lalonde said the fall was due more to bad footwork.
15.
Donny Lalonde spent most of the fight backpedaling and looking to land his right hand.
16.
Atlas described getting a gun and going to Donny Lalonde's apartment building in New York City.
17.
Donny Lalonde knew nothing about it until the book came out and a friend told him about it.
18.
Donny Lalonde was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990.
19.
In 2004, Donny Lalonde declared bankruptcy in BC, owing $1.5 million to creditors, mostly linked to failed real estate ventures, and moved to Tamarindo in northwestern Costa Rica where he sold pre-construction lots in a new community.
20.
Donny Lalonde submits himself daily to the painful rigors of deep-tissue massaging, or rolfing.