Sugar Ray Leonard, Still a Champion
I recently spent 20 minutes in the company of former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard --by comparison-- a longer time than most with a fighter, given the length of boxing matches these days.
While in Los Angeles, we discussed his involvement in the new action picture, REAL STEEL starring Hugh Jackman (X-Men franchise) and Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker, Notorious), directed by Shawn Levy (Date Night, Night at Museum franchise). Leonard served as boxing consultant.
REAL STEEL, an action drama, hits theaters October 7, from Dreamworks/Disney and packs plenty of punches between fighting robots, the best aspect of the film, certain to attract male audiences from young to mature.
Leonard, reportedly the first professional boxer to earn over $100 million in purses, totally surprised me. I didn’t know what to expect from a man named “Boxer of the Decade” in the 1980s. In person, he is engaging, unpretentious, full of charm, and somewhat self-deprecating in a most amusing manner. In retrospect, I guess when you have the ability to knock anybody out one can be a peace.
Contrary to my interpretation, Ray describes himself as having always been without controversy. Just by looking at him, he is without any obvious physical residual from a record of 40 fights and 36 wins, 25 by knockout. I couldn’t refrain stating, “You look amazing.” His reply, “Thank you, it’s makeup too.” Refusing to accept makeup as the reason, I continued, “You don’t look like a fighter who has been in the ring…” and before I could finish, he inserted, “you wanted to say, ‘beat up, didn’t you?’” He read my mind. Truth be told, I did.
Laughter erupted.
Dressed casually, sipping a small can of Red Bull, the guy doesn’t look a day past 40, begging the question, ‘Is there any enticement, especially in light of your recent work with this film, to re-enter the world of boxing?’ Again, he intercepted my wonderment and replied, “I’m 55; I get asked that question all the time. My wife is still not convinced that I was a fighter because she said, ‘you know, you’re such a wimp.’ I am a non-confrontational guy but, in the ring, I could hit a switch and I was tough.”
He continued, “I saw boxing from a different point of view than most fighters. First, I didn’t have to create aggression to knock you out. I also saw boxing as an art. The night before a bout, I choreographed the fight in my head and nine times out of 10, it would come to fruition. It would happen because [in the ring] I have the ability to make you go a certain way, do a certain thing, or just piss you off. People ask me if I miss boxing. I don’t miss getting hit necessarily, but I miss the camaraderie, I miss the tactics, I miss the strategies because I was really good at that.”
Author of the revealing biography, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring,” Viking, ISBN: 978-0670022724, Leonard appeared quite comfortable as he glided through the remaining conversation --
Talk2SV: Hugh Jackman had previous boxing experience before working with you. I understand his father was a boxer. Did that make your work together easier?
Leonard: Well, he’s a little taller than me but Hugh really wanted to look the part and it was my objective not to really go through the punches and hits because that [aspect] takes time. I wanted him to know what it feels like and looks like to be a fighter or a trainer. The key was to show him that when he did throw the punches or do shadow boxing or work with the robots, he had to exhibit --in his face-- that power, that speed, that punch. He had to surrender being Hugh Jackman, that guy on the Broadway stage. I felt that was the only way it [his role] would resonate and come across on the screen. In working with him on the aspects of being a trainer to the robots, that too is a special relationship because they have to trust each other. There is also an intimacy there, whereas at some point, you don’t always have to talk to your fighter, you can look at him and know what he’s talking about, what he’s thinking. I had that same relationship with Angelo Dundee when I was training back in the day. Once he [Hugh] pulled that off, I knew the rest would be easy.
Talk2SV: Fighting is as much about “heart” as it is about physicality. You’ve been around many fighters. How soon can you tell whether they have the heart of a fighter?
Leonard: Once a fighter hits that kind of defining moment, when there is a point in a fight, whether he goes down, suffers a cut, he’s hurt… that’s when you see that intestinal fortitude. You see that ability to reach down inside and grab that thing we call energy. A certain energy, that resource that I talk about when giving motivational speeches. Often, I use boxing or fighting as a metaphor and say [that] the difference among people who make it and those who don’t is very little. It’s the person that feels and wants it that much more who is willing to go through the pain: not just physical pain, but here (pointing to his head) and here (pointing to his stomach), that allows him or her to reach down and continue. That was another point I tried to convey to Hugh.
Talk2SV: Did you design the fight choreography as well?
Leonard: Not at all, in fact, I gave a couple of the robots a real signature move. One robot would hit another really south, below the belt, low, real low. I said, ‘that’s a good shot, a good punch.’ We left it in because in reality, you feel it. And, because Atom (the underdog robot in the film) reminds me so much of myself because he’s small and a simple, quiet guy, I put a Bolo punch in there (he winds his forearm around) to add my little spice to it.
Talk2SV: So, in your actual fights, did you study your opponents beforehand?
Leonard: Yes, big time! I would come up to you [a fighter] and say, ‘how are you doing?’ I would touch your shoulder, but I was really checking to see if there was muscle there, and I loved that. I would study tapes of your fights and I would look at your strong points, your weak ones; I’d look at the pros and cons, it was a wonderful thing. I would send guys to your training camp to watch you; to spy on you to see what you were doing right, what you were doing wrong. It was a process.
Talk2SV: You are an important part in the making of this film. Over the years, what boxing movies have struck a chord with you?
Leonard: There a are few boxing movies that really hit home with me: The Champ, I cry every time I see that movie; Raging Bull with DeNiro; The Hurricane, I thought Denzel Washington did a superb job in that movie. The Rocky movies with Sly (Sylvester Stone), I saw Rocky the night before my first professional fight and although I was not the underdog, it was about the heart, courage.
Talk2SV: Would you consider producing a film with animated boxers and bring something different to the screen?
Leonard: Would you finance it? Laughter. You know, I don’t know… I’m at such a great place in my life right now. I’ve enjoyed this part of my journey, if you will. This is going to look good on my resume laughter. The people that I have contact with, the cast, the crew, it’s been awesome, truly awesome.
Talk2SV: There are several robot fighters in this film, each with a unique look and style. How would you describe them?
Leonard: Zeus, without question is George Foreman with the grill… laughter. Yeah, I just put a little piece of (Marvin) Hagler here, a little piece of (Roberto) Durán there, a little piece of Tommy Hearns…you know, and it was really a lot of fun.
Talk2SV: I’m curious, do you have an active friendship with any of the current boxers?
Leonard: I do, I do. I’m friends with Tommy Hearns; he calls me periodically, on my cell phone, “yeah, Ray, how much do you weigh?” I say, ‘Tommy, why? Laughter’ He’s always been a good guy. I see Durán periodically, at the Hall of Fame and we’re very cordial, we love each other. Hagler does not come around that much, he never sends me a Christmas card, birthday card… laughter, but I love and respect all my contemporaries, my rivalries, my guys who I fought and who I grew up with. It’s a great group of guys.
Talk2SV: For those who don’t know the story behind your name, how did “Sugar” come about?
Leonard: My name is Ray Charles Leonard. My mother named me after Ray Charles but we knew right away that there was no history or no future in that [name] when I started boxing. I would see fighters with these names on the back of their robes, these nicknames, and whatever. I saw a film of this guy named Sugar Ray Robinson and I said, ‘that’s the guy, that’s the guy I want to become.’ He would wear pink shoes, red shoes --this was back in the 70’s so it was pretty cool-- and I just picked it up. I said, I’m going to do it so I had my sister-in-law make me a velour cape that had “Sugar Ray” on the back of it. It was cute.
Talk2SV: If someone had looked into a crystal ball during your early years and told you there would be Hollywood movies in your future, what do you think you would have said?
Leonard: Holy shit! There’s no way, that’s hard to even fathom, I mean, I’m a country boy born in North Carolina, raised in Wash, D.C. and Maryland. I’m from humble beginnings and to be here and now is a dream come true. Words can’t describe how it feels to be sitting here talking to you about a movie that I worked on. It’s been awesome, truly awesome.
