I know, I know, most feel that those men who have appeared on The Contender are not ‘real’ fighters. Announcers love to remind anyone who might be listening that boxing is not a reality show. Unfortunately, Alfonso Gomez proved that point when he was given a chance for the WBA Welterweight title last month, only to be toyed with by Miguel Angel Cotto. This fight was stopped when the doctor at ringside would not allow Gomez to come out of his corner for round five.

As expected, Ray did not pull any punches (pardon the pun) with his opinion of the fight. “It showed that he (Gomez) was not up to par with Cotto. It didn’t look as if he had a fight plan. He didn’t show anything to gain respect from Cotto. Miguel Cotto without question is a very gifted young man, a champion, and to get a shot at the title – you need to do something to put fear in ones heart, or respect, and Alfonso didn’t do that.”

I asked Leonard if Gomez was overmatched. “Was he overmatched? You look at a guy like Miguel Cotto, who is an extremely talented fighter; Miguel Cotto is one of those rare individuals that come along in boxing who’s a prodigy. So not just with Gomez, with pretty much a lot of fighters, they would be overmatched with a guy like Cotto.”

As far as the website is concerned, I wondered why he chose now to put up his site, www.sugarrayleonard.net. It was really his two children that got him involved. “I wasn’t very computer literate, but my kids, my daughter Camille who is 11, and my son Daniel who is seven, would see things on other sites. I thought, ‘I didn’t put that out there.’ The things I’d read on the websites weren’t all true, so I decided to do one of my own.

“Also,” he continued, “it’s a whole different generation today. The kids today know me from Contender, or from video games. They don’t know anything about my career. I thought the website would be a great way to re-introduce myself. It’s another way of doing things and acknowledging causes, such as raising money for my foundation (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for a Cure, of which he is the international chairman).

Leonard also does a lot of motivational speaking, and is being constantly booked. When I asked him if he was able to keep track of everywhere he must be, he laughed and said, “They just send me a ticket!” His speech is entitle POWER, which stands for Prepare, Overcome, and Win Every Round. He uses boxing as a metaphor. “We are all fighters,” he told me. “That’s what we are in every day life. We get knocked down in business or relationships, but we’re fighters.”

We also spoke a bit about the Contender fighters. The one thing about those contestants is that they did not have to win the tournament to make a name for themselves. “For example,” he told me, “Brian Vera won a major fight over Andy Lee. Andy Lee was being billed as the next superstar, and got beat by Brian Vera, who was only looked upon as being ‘an opponent’.

“Now we’re going to see what will happen with Forbes when he fights Oscar De La Hoya May 3^rd at the Home Depot Center. I think it will be a much better fight than people anticipate. Is there a size difference? Yes. Oscar is a much bigger, stronger man than Steve Forbes. Forbes was a champion at 130 I believe it was, a much lighter weight.

“When Steve Forbes fought on The Contender,” Leonard pointed out, “he gave up, I would guess, 20 pounds or more against much bigger, stronger, taller men, and he held his own. He was very impressive. I think if Oscar is not mentally prepared, or overlooks Steve Forbes, then things could happen. But I think that Oscar wants the re-match with Mayweather, and that’s going to be his incentive and motivation.”

I wondered if Leonard still had the fight bug. Did he still want to get in the ring? “I’m going to always have the fight bug. I’m going to always be a fighter. When I’m in my 70’s and 80’s I’m still going to want to do that. That’s what made me who I am today. You cannot duplicate that feeling a fighter has when he becomes a champion. Words can’t describe that incredible high after 36 minutes, if you’re at that level. The world stops for a second.

“Without question these guys want the money. I wanted the money, but I knew the money was there. My whole thing was to win, and to be impressive. It’s about bragging rights. It’s mano y mano, and giving 100%.”

Ray is living “an amazing and wonderful life right now.” He has touched the lives of many people, both in his fighting days spanning more than 30 years, and with all of the contributions he is making now. I hope to continue to catch up with him from time to time to check on his latest ventures.

I cannot believe that I forgot to ask about The Contender for 2008. I’ve heard rumors that the show will not happen, and if that is true, I’m sorry for that. But thanks to the program, I am now a boxing fan, and I’m so glad I am. I will try to find out that about The Contender this weekend.

Be safe and God Bless,

Viva la Raza,

Barb.