Sugar Ray Leonard
I had the blessing of talking to Muhammad Ali before that and he always said, "Ray, you make sure you own yourself, make sure that you're your own man, and make sure you have good people around you." That stuck with me. I remembered that. So when I was introduced to Mike Trainer, the first thing Mike said was the fact that, boxing is a business and that we were going to treat it like a business. He went out and got 21 to 24 of his friends, who invested a thousand dollars to get me started. That was so special to me because it gave me an opportunity to pursue what was so desperately needed and that was finances. And that was money for my father to pay hospital bills. In fact, June 16, 2001, will be the 25th anniversary since all this has evolved. I'm throwing an anniversary party for all of my investors back in Maryland to thank them for helping me out as a kid.
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"Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He's always given me time to ask questions although I was so in awe that I didn't ask questions." ” |
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— Sugar Ray Leonard |
ABC Sports
As a young boxer what kind of influence did Muhammad Ali have on pushing your career forward?
Sugar Ray Leonard
Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He's always given me time to ask questions although I was so in awe that I didn't ask questions. I would have a million questions to ask him but when I met him face to face nothing came out. He transcended the sport of boxing, and he took boxing to a whole new level, as far as entertainment is concerned.
ABC Sports
And everyone started writing, Sugar Ray Leonard is the next...Ali, he's the next great icon of the boxing world. How did that sit with you?
Sugar Ray Leonard
It was very flattering and very stimulating. I watched Ali, studied Ali and I studied Sugar Ray Robinson. I watched them display showmanship. I watched them use pizzazz, personality, and charisma. I took things from them and borrowed things from them because boxing is entertainment. Boxing is a sport but it's also entertainment. I wanted to transcend the sport and be considered just not as a fighter, or a champion, but someone very special.
