Life couldn’t get much busier for former world champion boxer and Pacific Palisades resident Sugar Ray Leonard. Last week, he and his wife Bernadette enjoyed watching their son, Daniel, and his team win the Pacific Palisades Baseball Association’s Mustang championship at the Palisades Recreation Center. This week, Leonard’s on the other side of the country. His autobiography, ‘The Big Fight,’ was released on Monday and he’s busy promoting the book in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He’ll return home next week for more signings on the West Coast, including one at Village Books on June 30. Not to mention: Leonard will be inducted as the new honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades on Thursday, June 16 at the Riviera Country Club. The Palisadian-Post caught up with Leonard amidst his hectic schedule to hear how he decided to live in the Palisades and everything that goes with being a Palisadian, from his favorite places to grab a meal to the ups-and-downs of watching a PPBA game. He and Bernadette first met in 1989 through friends at a concert at the Sports Arena, where she was celebrating her birthday; in 1993, they bought a home in the Riviera neighborhood and were married shortly thereafter. ’We had friends that lived here and they persuaded us to come and take a peek,’ Leonard said of the decision to live in the Palisades. ‘We decided on the location after looking for more than two years. It just seemed to be the perfect community to live and raise our family. ’It just all fell into place. The gardens on the property played a key role for my wife. She loves gardening and the outdoors, and we were married in our backyard.’ After nearly 18 years, Leonard and his family have truly made the Palisades home. Both of his children, Daniel and Camille, are active Palisadian athletes. In addition to Daniel’s PPBA career, he also played on the AYSO Region 69 champions, the Cookie Monsters; meanwhile, older sister Camille plays on the Pacific Palisades Volleyball Association Club Volleyball team. Both Ray and Bernadette are regularly in the stands for their children’s games’though each experiences the drama in different ways. ’I’m the calm one on the fields and courts,’ he said. ‘I guess by now everyone knows Bernadette; you can’t miss her on the sidelines. It’s a show in itself. She gets so excited and runs up and down the sidelines trying to motivate all the kids. ’I remember one year, another passionate coach, Jason Reese, literally had to walk her off a soccer field and she still talks about it to this day. The truth is my wife loves this community and feels like these kids are all hers in some crazy way. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for them.’ Outside of sports, the Leonards frequent a number of Palisadian hot spots. Ray often takes his morning coffee from the local Coffee Bean, while Bernadette prefers the organic Americano from Mick’s Caf’; for food, they like the Beech Street Caf’, while the kids are big fans of Pearl Dragon. Given the family’s sports background, it wasn’t surprising to hear Leonard also mention that Bentons (the Swarthmore sporting goods store) is a place where he and Daniel can ‘get into quite a bit of trouble,’ though he says the same could be said of his wife at Elyse Walker and Boca. In addition to the local businesses, Leonard made clear the family’s affinity for the natural beauty of the Palisades. ’We love being close to the ocean,’ he said, ‘and we love hiking in our neighborhood. There are a lot of great trails right behind our home and Temescal is a great hike that my wife has become a big fan of recently.’ In one week, Leonard will succeed actor Gavin MacLeod to become the 27th honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades’and sounded truly moved that he was invited by the Chamber of Commerce to carry that torch. ’What an honor for me to be asked to hold this position,’ Leonard said. ‘I was pleasantly surprised and am forever grateful for the experience. I can’t wait to get started and welcome all the duties that come with it ‘ The Fourth of July parade already sounds like it’s going to be a blast and I’m really looking forward to it.’
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