Arts & Entertainment
Sugar Ray Leonard: ‘The Big Fight’
By Kam Williams
Special To The Skanner News
O
ne of the most prodigious pugilists of all time, Sugar
Ray Leonard was born in Rocky Mount, N.C. on
May 17, 1956, to Cicero and Getha Leonard. The
fifth of seven kids, his family moved to Washington, DC in
1959 before settling down seven years later in Palmer Park,
Md., where his father was employed as a supermarket night
manager and his mother as a nurse.
Though shy as a young child, Ray followed his brother
Roger’s footsteps into boxing, ultimately eclipsing his elder
sibling in terms of potential and finding fame by capturing
the gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He went
on to become the first fighter to earn over $100 million over
the course of an enviable career, winning world champi-
onship titles in five different weight classes while
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
squaring-off in classic showdowns with such formidable
opponents as Roberto “No Mas” Duran, Tommy “The Hit-
man” Hearns, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Wilfred
Benitez.
Ray retired from the ring in 1997 with a record 36-3-1,
with 25 of those wins coming by knockout. Today, he lives
in California with his wife, Bernadette, and their children,
Camille and Daniel. Here, he discusses his moving memoir,
‘The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring.’
Kam Williams: Hi Sugar Ray, I’m honored to have this
opportunity to speak with you. How’re you doing, champ?
Sugar Ray Leonard: I’m alright, Kam, how’re you?
KW: Great! I understand our mutual friend, filmmaker
Janks Morton, Jr., the son of your first boxing coach, gave
you a call on my behalf.
SRL: Yeah, man, this kid was so special, although he’s
not a kid anymore, obviously, but he was there from day
one of my rise through boxing. You know how the years go
by and then, when you stop to reflect, you realize that some-
one was a part of your whole evolution as an individual?
That’s what I share with Junior.
KW: Yeah, he told me you guys go way back. I have a lot
of questions from fans who sent in questions for you. Edi-
tor/legist Patricia Turnier says: I am from Montreal where
you won your gold medal at the ’76 Olympics. What is your
best memory of the city?
SRL: My very best memory of Montreal was the moment
inside the Olympic arena when I was waiting under the sta-
dium and those majestic gates
opened up. It was a whole other
world. Kam, I was just a youngster
from the ghetto. I suddenly felt
like a star. It was emotionally
overwhelming. It was something
I’d wanted, but it was also some-
thing I didn’t understand. It was a
whole different world, and Mon-
treal was an absolutely beautiful
setting unlike anywhere I’d ever
been before. So, Montreal in ‘76
was an encompassing experience I
will cherish for the rest of my life.
KW: Patricia also says: It is widely known that it is very
difficult for men to talk about sexual abuse. What made you
decide to go public with your story, and was it a cathartic
and healing experience to write about it?
SRL: It was cathartic, Patricia. I only wish that I had had
the courage and the knowledge to have gotten that out of
my system, out of my mind or my heart years earlier. But
there is no book, there is no manual to tell you how to deal
with sexual abuse. I saw Todd Bridges talk about being
abused on Oprah. Something that he said, or an expression
that he made that gave me that little boost I needed to be
open about it and to talk about it as transparently as I did.
When I told my wife, she couldn’t believe it. She was pet-
rified, because it’s such a no-no, taboo, a hands-off subject.
But I’d have to say hearing Todd Bridges on Oprah was my
watershed moment.
KW: Kate Newell says: I saw you on Stephen Colbert and
loved it. She was wondering why a movie hasn’t been made
about your life?
SRL: Being on Colbert was a real treat for me, too. I did-
n’t quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be pretty
cool. In terms of a movie, we’re talking about it. It’s on the
table but, as you know, Kam, that type of thing doesn’t just
happen overnight, unfortunately. But I do look forward to
seeing the story of my life
onscreen someday.
KW: Yyou should talk to
Tyler Perry.
SRL: I would love that.
KW: Or better yet, Janks, if
you could get him to switch
over to drama from directing
documentaries.
SRL: Janks could do it jus-
tice, and I’m not being
facetious. You know why?
Because he knows the story.
He’s been in the story. And it’s real. It’s raw. Maybe a little
too raw for people at times. But this generation raised on
reality-TV might be ready for it.
KW: I agree. Boxing fan Mike Ehrenberg asks: Was Wil-
fred Benitez the best pure boxer you ever faced?
SRL: Yes, without question. He was a mirror image of
what I considered myself as a boxer. That was one of my
toughest fights, by far. It’s sad that he’s not mentioned in the
same breath as Hearns, Hagler and Duran. It always both-
ered me that he wasn’t considered in our league, the reason
being that he never beat any of us. But he should be right up
there.
‘There is no book, there is no
manual to tell you how to
deal with sexual abuse’
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July 18, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 5