Growing up as the son of a boxing superstar

By Sean Anderson

Back in the 1970s, while most kids were busy riding bikes around the block or playing with action figures, a young Ray Leonard Jr was living the life that others could only dream about. TV commercial appearances, rubbing shoulders with A-list celebrities, he even had a Nintendo computer game officially tested and endorsed by him. And all of this was by the tender age of eight.

The son of pound-for-pound great ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard saw so much so young in a rollercoaster life. He was brought into the world in 1973; his dad was just 16, his mum 15. Three years later, Leonard Sr bagged Olympic gold in the light-welterweight category in Montreal. As his dad’s star rose, life was about to become very different for the young boy from North Carolina. 

“I was an integral part of the marketing, promotions and what my father wanted to become,” Leonard Jr told Boxing News. “Him having a picture of me on his sock when he was boxing caught attention. That was part of the programme. I was engaged early. When he came back from the Olympics, there was a picture of him and me with the gold medal together. That went everywhere.”

Following Olympic success, Leonard Sr, of course, took to the professional ranks with aplomb, sweeping all before him. After just over three years in the paid ranks, he infamously faced Roberto Duran for the first time. It was the first fight that Leonard Jr missed.

“I went to every single fight until then [27 up to that point]. That was, of course, the first fight that he lost. I blamed myself for that defeat and thought I was his good luck charm,” recalled the younger Leonard.

“When he didn’t win it was a really big thing and almost increased the fame. That was a time when we did a 7-Up advert. That put me on the map to the global media. It was a journey that both of us were on.”

There was, of course, a quite legendary rematch, where a bamboozled and frustrated Duran famously quit.

“Being there the second time for the Duran ‘No Mas’ fight which was around my birthday, that was so special. To see him reclaim his glory. Cause I suffered myself after his defeat to Duran the first time around.”

However, it wasn’t having nightmares about his dad’s nemesis that was causing the torment. 

“We went to Hawaii [after Duran I] on vacation and my father cut it short as he wanted to get back to training. I was pissed off about the vacation and it was my first time in Hawaii. But it was worth it, of course. Duran II is an unreal memory and total redemption.”

Jet-setting around the globe became something that Leonard Jr became accustomed to, but it was not something he initially believed made him different to anyone else. But as he grew older, he began to realise the extent to which his life was not that of the average kid. 

“Before I had time to think about it, I was meeting the Queen of England and Nelson Mandela. I got to sit in first class and ride next to Mike Tyson after his big fights. It was mind-blowing. It was nerve-wracking,” he remembered.

“But I didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary as it was all that I knew. But then I realised my friend’s dads were not flying on a private jet or getting all this attention when they walked to the mall. I became attuned to what was happening.

“As we started to get attention from the media due to our global success we had to move out of the neighbourhood. I would always go back with my aunts and uncles and cousins and hang out with them, but we couldn’t live there.”

By this point, the biggest challenge, as it would be for any child, was how little he was getting to see his superstar dad.

“Time with my father was when we did events. We were on television together and then I wouldn’t see him for long periods of time because of the sacrifices he was making to be great. You have to give up something and sometimes it’s family. I spent a lot of time by myself.”

Then there were the challenges of everyone knowing who he was. 

“It was the Hagler fight when I was getting it the most. It was, of course, a fight for the ages. I was a bit older; I was getting all the yelling and craziness from the kids in school. Everyone was saying how Hagler was going to beat my dad to death. 

“I was playing basketball at school and all the kids were shouting ‘Hagler, Hagler’. I walked back into school straight after the fight with my chest up saying, ‘Yeah, my dad did the impossible’. I actually sat back in the locker room for that fight, I was too nervous. Me and Mike Trainer [Leonard’s adviser] scored the fight from the locker room.”

Leonard Jr is also keen to point out that, while carrying what was one of the most famous names in America during the 1970s was far from plain sailing, it did come with its perks. 

“It is a double-edged sword. There is an expectation that comes with having a name that carries greatness, but also people want to come at you because they think you have had a silver spoon in your mouth. Then you have people who are opportunists because of your name. I still can’t get away from that.

“For a long time, I shied away from it because I wanted to create my own path, but the reality is it is a blessing and a burden. It certainly helped me get into clubs as I got older!”

His dad’s career was essentially finished when Jr was aged 19, and there were a variety of reasons he did not pursue the same career that had brought his family such an embarrassment of riches. In fact, this is the main reason he didn’t. 

“I felt pressure to box from the outside, but not from my father or family. Boxing is a sport where you need to be 100% committed whether you are a champion or a journeyman,” said Leonard Jr.

“Boxing is often for people economically challenged and it acts as a way out. From a family standpoint, I love the sport, I love the training, but I didn’t have the same desire. I did amateur boxing when I was younger and have done celebrity boxing, but it wasn’t for me.” 

HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND – SEPTEMBER 03: Sugar Ray Leonard (2nd L) poses with his children Jarrell (L), Camille and Ray Jr (R) after a Q&A session at SKYCITY on September 3, 2009 in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)

Leonard Jr set about carving his own path, not willing to rest on his laurels and the fact that he was now part of a multi-million dollar family.

“Once I found team sports like football and track and field, I excelled quickly,” he said. “I think spending so much time alone when I was younger was part of my love for team sports.  I thought it was a better path for me, academically as well.

“As a result, a team sport felt like family. I was then around a bunch of other folk which meant I did not have to be the full centre of attention. I really enjoyed that family atmosphere. Football was like a sanctity for me.”

It would be fair to say that he took after his dad when it came to sporting talent. A two-sport athlete in NCAA football and track and field, although he is soon to play it down.

“I did pretty well but it is pretty hard to follow in the footsteps of a guy with an Olympic gold medal and six world titles in five different weight divisions!”

It was during Leonard Jr’s football days that his dad attempted another comeback. “I was trying out for the Arizona Cardinals at the time it didn’t go well against Hector Camacho [Leonard lost in the fifth round in his final fight]. I actually got to run up in the ring and grab him and hold him in that last fight. I was there with him at the start and at the end, and I always thought how special that was. Being part of the ‘Four Kings’ family in sporting history has just been a ride that most people will only dream of.”

Importantly for Leonard Jr, his dad’s success gave him the inspiration and motivation to tread a path of success that he still enjoys today. 

“As a young African-American person, I didn’t think I could be involved in the financial world. Or have investments or any of that stuff. But seeing my dad’s success shaped who I am today and shaped what I am doing. And I now have these conversations with my kids. It’s about creating a financial legacy not just a famous legacy.

“We’ve seen so many times in boxing that their success is fleeting and then they are signing autographs in Caesars Palace when they are 75 years old.  Trying to make sure they can put food on the table.

“Dad wanted to be great as a boxer first and foremost. But the one thing he always told me, which came from Muhammad Ali, was ‘Always sign your own cheques’. 

That stuck with Leonard Jr from a young age. 

“If you have the opportunity to be a household name and be intentional with the marketing you do, you should do it. We did 15 TV commercials; I had a video game named after me called Ring King with Nintendo. That was the coolest thing as a kid.

“Even though we have our ups and downs and tough times it has been a pretty cool journey. You asked me earlier what it was like, I’ll sum it up in one word, surreal.”

Ray Leonard Jr is a founder and CEO of Ovationz.com, and a globally recognised public speaker, actor, award-winning business executive and podcast host.

Sugar Ray Leonard (center) and sons during “Last Action Hero” – Los Angeles Premiere at Manns Village Theater in Westwood, CA, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)