The Big Fight

April 11, 2011
In this moving memoir, boxing legend Leonard tells his story of growing up as a ghetto kid whose athletic skills lifted him into a world of fame for which he was ill-prepared. Born in 1956, Ray Charles Leonard grew up near Washington, D.C., in an African-American suburb.. A shy boy, Ray was goaded by an older brother to enter the ring, where he discovered a talent for the sport. Ray's meteoric rise through the amateur ranks led to a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics. With a flashy style and a media-ready persona, "Sugar Ray" became a big draw as a pro and fought in some of the most lucrative boxing matches of his era. Leonard frames his memoir around the most important event of his careerâhis middleweight title fight with Marvin Hagler in 1987. Leonard hadn't fought since 1984 yet he managed to win a split decision. The true focus of the book, however, is Leonard's struggles with celebrity. He writes honestly of the many affairs he had while married, as well as his addiction to alcohol and cocaine. Few of our cultural icons look at themselves so clearly, and it's a tribute to Leonard's insightfulness that he makes his story such a gripping one.

April 15, 2011

Not a knockout, but a revealing confession from a champ who was often accused of being a packaged TV commodity.

Leonard was the right fighter at the right time—an Olympic gold medalist, articulate, handsome and personable, at a time when the retirement of Muhammad Ali left boxing hungry for another standard-bearer (and Howard Cosell eager for a new buddy to tout). Yet, little known to the American public, he was also an abuser of cocaine, alcohol and ultimately of his wife. Now clean and sober for four years and happily remarried, he takes full responsibility for his transgressions—"Looking back, I can offer no defense for my conduct. I was wrong"—without absolving the women who threw themselves at him (more beautiful and greedy the more famous he became), the family and friends who put their financial considerations above his health and even trainer Angelo Dundee, whom he inherited from Ali, and who the author plainly believes has claimed more credit than he deserves. Though the thematic arc is that of a redemption story, most of that redemption—remarriage, sobriety, a second family that he treats much better than the first—is crammed into a final chapter or two. The bulk of the autobiography alternates between his exploits in the ring (of which he is justifiably proud) and his weakness away from it, with all the sex, drugs and vacillation between retirement and recommitment. Particularly revelatory is the book's illumination of the psychology of this most physical sport. It also celebrates the bond between opponents that outsiders can never experience: "For months, the opponent was the enemy, the major obstacle standing in the path of greater earnings and greater fame. Yet, as most of us who fight for a living come to recognize, some sooner than others, the opponent is also a partner on the same journey."

Perhaps a little too conveniently, the book makes a split between slick, privileged, cocky "Sugar Ray" and the more insecure and vulnerable "Ray Leonard." Guess who's still standing at the end?

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 1, 2011

The 1976 Olympic gold medal winner here chronicles a life that hasn't been all glow. Having risen from poverty, Leonard turned pro after his Olympic win and discovered just how corrupt boxing could be. He also discovered alcohol, drugs, and the joys of infidelity, and he's forthright about the bad choices he made. Buy wherever sports are hot.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2011
Sugar Ray Leonard won an Olympic boxing gold medal in 1976. He quickly entered the pro ranks and held several championship belts throughout his career before retiring in 1997. His public image was carefully and successfully crafted. He was and is intelligent, articulate, and charming, a natural in front of the camera. For most of the eighties he was the face of boxing. But as he recounts in this painfully honest autobiography, he was at various times alcoholic, drug-addicted, obsessed by fame and money, and an abusive, unfaithful husband. He came from a Washington, D.C., two-parent home, but dad was a philanderer, and mom was a mean drinker. Not a happy home. Leonard fathered his first child as a teenager but never considered being faithful to his partner. In addition to the personal struggles, Leonard deftly re-creates the atmosphere and excitement surrounding some of his biggest fights. In the end, this is a good boxing memoir carried by a cathartic personal confession.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)