By the time he was 20 years old, Ray Charles "Sugar Ray" Leonard had won an Olympic gold medal, three National Golden Gloves titles, two Amateur Athletic Union championships and the 1975 Pan-American Games crown. Then he turned pro, winning world titles in five weight categories.
Today he’s a grown 64-year-old man who takes a more moderate approach to physical activity. Even former high-performing athletes feel their age at some point. Now running the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation, which raises funds for juvenile diabetes research, giving motivational speeches and doing some acting, Leonard talks about his life, how aging affects athletes and what it’s like to be Sugar Ray.
"There’s nothing I can’t do. I do things more in moderation. I listen to my body a lot more than I used to. When my body tells me to slow down, I heed that advice."
But back in his heyday, Leonard was living two lives.
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The 62-year-old told Oprah on "Where Are They Now?” he was essentially living two different lives during his legendary boxing career.
“There was a part of me that’s Ray Leonard, that’s a good man, that’s an honest man,” he tells Oprah. “And there’s Sugar Ray Leonard, who is ego-driven, who’s a tough SOB in the ring, who had money, who had fame — and at some point, didn’t really appreciate it and took advantage of that.”
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Sugar Ray was known by his charm, but he says that there was also a much darker side to his personality.
“My first wife, Juanita, she always said, ‘You’re two different people,’” Leonard says. “I’d just get angry about that. And go and have a drink.”
Little did the public know, but Leonard abused alcohol — and also turned to hard drugs after an eye injury forced him into a short-lived retirement in 1982. Leonard says he used for the next few years, stopping his drug use in 1986. Alcohol, however, remained a part of his life.
In the 1990s, after Leonard got divorced and married his current wife, Bernadette, he began to realize the toll his drinking was taking on his life.
“I would wake up and not remember what the hell just happened that night,” Leonard says. “I always knew I had a problem. Just never admitted it to myself. I never believed it. That’s deadly. That’s wrong.”
His new wife, along with rehab and his faith helped Leonard to get back on track.
"Mentally, spiritually, I’m in a very good place right now. I have been years sober," Leonard tells The Washington Post. My relationship with my kids is wonderful, and with my wife, it is amazing. I am in a good place. You know what I found out? That the simple things are the most important things in life. I really smell the roses."
He's also dedicated to keeping himself in shape mentally and physically.
"As a boxer, as an athlete, I was in super-superb shape. I think I feel that we as individuals, if we took better care of ourselves we’d live a better life. We neglect our bodies for the fortune. Now I understand there has to be a balance between monetary and physical things, that’s your body. Your body is a great asset."
"I felt that way when I turned 40, because I was not as focused. I didn’t have the same commitment that I had when I was in my 20s or maybe 30s. I was preoccupied with other things instead of what I call tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is total focus. It’s like looking through the tunnel, you see straight ahead, and you’re not distracted or deterred. I was at my best when I had tunnel vision."
But Leonard is getting that tunnel vision back. He now does motivational speeches around the world and uses fighting as a metaphor.
"We are all fighters, even outside of the ring, because we need great corners, or a great stab. Everything that allowed me to be a world champion inside that ring gives you that same success outside the ring."
Are you struggling with substance abuse?
Here's how your benefits support mental health and substance abuse
Mental health and substance abuse disorders affect a substantial amount of individuals in the United States. It is estimated that 1 in 5 adults in the United States are living with a mental health condition and 1 in 10 adults are living with a substance use disorder. Mental health issues are so prevalent that it is estimated that 50% of all Americans will be diagnosed with a mental illness at some point in their life.
Did you know?
Most health insurance plans (including Medicaid, Medicare, employer-sponsored group health plans and individual health insurance coverage plans) must cover certain health benefits. These health benefits include physical health, mental health, and substance use disorder services paid for by health plans. These plans are required by law to offer equivalent benefits for mental health and substance use disorders as they offer for medical/surgical services.
What does that mean?
Financial requirements, such as copayments, deductibles, the number of visits that your insurance will pay for mental health and substance use services must be comparable to what they will pay for physical health services.
So, if your insurance plan has no visit limit for outpatient physical health services, then there can be no limit on the number of visits for outpatient mental health and/or substance use services.
Protected by Law
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 improved access to mental health and addiction services for all Americans by requiring group health plans (with 50 or more participants) to guarantee that mental health or substance use disorder benefits are equitable to medical/surgical services.
The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurance companies from implementing lifetime limits and restricting annual limits on mental and substance use disorder benefits relative to physical health coverage. Also, individuals can no longer be denied coverage or have a plan canceled because of a preexisting behavioral health condition diagnosis.
Questions about your Benefits?
Your exact benefits depend on your state and the details of your plan. If you have questions about your plan, call your health insurance provider and request a “summary of benefits and coverage”. Your health plan must provide information about your mental health and substance use disorder benefits. Be sure to pay attention to the criteria the plan uses to decide if a service or treatment is medically necessary. If your plan denies payment for services, they must give you a written explanation of the denial and provide more information upon request.
Additional resources
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
