Sterling fought for the first time as a professional in his hometown, Jamaica, on 29 July 1972 to a 10 round draw with the local boy Roy Lee. He retired in 1978. Boxing Historian, Harding regarded black boxers such as Bunny Sterling as "revolutionary in the sport" due to the principal that by the 1970s, black boxers were reorienting the sport. Bunny went to school in London (to Woodberry Down Comprehensive), and following a period on a sail training vessel, eventually to Kingsway College of FE in Kings Cross where he also played soccer and cricket.