16 Apr Skechers Signs Sugar Ray Leonard to Support Relaxed Fit Campaign
Skechers USA, Inc. signed boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard for a campaign in Skechers’ popular Relaxed Fit collection. The campaign starts Fall 2015 and will extend across all media through December 2016.
Leonard is the first boxer to lace up for Relaxed Fit footwear, whose marketing “Hall of Fame” currently includes Pete Rose, Joe Montana, Joe Namath and Ringo Starr. “I am looking forward to being a part of this campaign with Skechers,” said Sugar Ray Leonard. “I love going toe-to-toe with the best – and I’m ready to put on a pair of shoes as comfortable as Relaxed Fit and go a few rounds for this brand.”
“Sugar Ray is a natural media magnet: his charm and charisma have kept him on the air for more than 30 years as America’s boxing icon,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Now that he’s delivering blow-by-blow commentary on NBC Sports’ Premier Boxing Champions series, it’s the perfect time for millions to see his signature style in Relaxed Fit footwear. We’re excited to have a champ like Sugar Ray in our corner.”
Famed for his quick agility in the ring, Leonard won the gold medal in the light-welterweight class at Montreal’s 1976 Olympic Games. Known as “Boxer of the Decade” in the 1980’s, the International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee has won 36 out of 40 professional matches in his career along with numerous amateur titles, including three National Golden Gloves titles, two Amateur Athletic Union championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. His defeat of Marvin Hagler for the World Boxing Council’s middleweight title in 1987 is known as one of the greatest professional boxing matches in history. Leonard has always been devoted to the community and to helping those in need. He founded the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation to raise funds for research and awareness towards a cure for Type 1 diabetes and also participates in a variety of national and international causes benefiting children’s charities.
Coming soon, baseball great Mariano Rivera will be featured in a Skechers Relaxed Fit footwear campaign. Previous Skechers men’s campaigns have featured Ronnie Lott, Tommy Lasorda, Mark Cuban, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Fox, Wayne Gretzky and Meb Keflezighi.