Sugar Ray Leonard book signing on June 29th

WHO: Jesse Ventura, former Independent Governor of Minnesota. He is also a former U.S. Navy SEAL, professional wrestler, movie actor, a visiting fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government

WHAT: Book signing of his new book, THE BIG FIGHT
My Life In and Out of the Ring

WHEN: Wednesday, June 29th
At 6:30 pm

WHERE: ESPNZONE at LA LIVE!
1011 S Figueroa St in Downtown
213.765.7070

About the book:
Boxing superstar Sugar Ray Leonard was a hero to many Americans in the 70s and 80s. An Olympic gold medalist, multiworld boxing champion, and the heir to Muhammad Ali’s boxing crown, Sugar Ray was also the face of the sport just as television became the essential cultural medium. But the public persona of “Sugar Ray” was one carefully crafted by the man himself, and for the first time, Leonard reveals the man outside the ropes in THE BIG FIGHT: My Life In and Out of the Ring. In this unflinching and inspiring autobiography, one of the greatest boxing legends in America finally faces his single greatest competitor: himself. A hero to so many, the beloved athlete also waged his own personal battle with depression, rage, addiction, and greed.

A shy, interior child from a tumultuous, impoverished household and a dangerous neighborhood on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., in the late 1960s and 1970s, Ray rose swiftly and skillfully through the ranks of amateur boxing—and eventually went on to win a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. With an extremely ill father and corporations failing to make him any offers, Leonard decided to go pro.

In THE BIG FIGHT, Leonard speaks frankly about his mother’s violent, often brutal mood swings; his own experiences in the widespread sexual victimization of black boys in the sport; the profound inaccuracies of Olympic and professional judging; the gritty corruption endemic to the sport (including Ray’s own, lionized coach Angelo Dundee); his mentoring by Ali; his alcohol and drug abuse; and his philandering and longstanding mistreatment of his first wife. At the same time, Leonard gives piercingly detailed psychological and physical recollections of some of the greatest boxing matches in history, providing a glimpse into his mind as he faced fighters such as Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, and Marvin Hagler.

With this brutally honest and uplifting memoir, Leonard presents a portrait of remarkable strength, courage and resilience—both inside and outside of the ring.

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