Leonard, 55, began training with the Philadelphia native after winning a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. With Dundee in his corner, Leonard went through a decade-plus of legendary fights against Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Hearns.
When did he last see Dundee?
"A couple of months ago for his 90th birthday," Leonard recalled. "We talked about life - his wife, Helen, had just passed - and it was tough on him not having her around. We talked about the fight game and reminisced about the special moments. He was a great guy to hang around with. You didn't have to press a button to get him started or to pause. Losing him puts into perspective how precious life is. I never thought we'd lose him, even at the age of 90. He had so much zest, so much enthusiasm about life, his next project, next fight or fighter, and who he was helping to either remain or become a champion."
How did they hook up in the first place?
"I made the decision to turn pro, and I remember what Ali said to me: 'Get Angelo Dundee. He's the right complexion with the right connection.' He knew boxing. Our relationship was so genuine, so sincere," Leonard said. "It was a major asset to my most major moments - in Hearns, Hagler, Duran."
So much is made of Dundee's "You're blowing it, son" line. What other lessons were learned from Dundee?
"When the trainer talks to the fighter, there's a connection," Leonard said. "You don't always have to say much. Five days before the Hagler fight, I got hit so hard I almost got knocked out by one of my sparring partners. That does a tremendously negative thing. But Angelo came to me with that sense of cool and said, 'Those things happen. Let's get up and move on. That's boxing.' He always believed, even if he didn't believe. The ambience of calm was good. He spoke from the heart, the mind."
So when he confronted Leonard and said the Hearns fight was slipping away . . .
"No one else in that corner could ever say those words to me," Leonard said. "It was urgency without being desperate. I'm exhausted, totally whipped. My left eye's shutting. . . . But he said that and activated something in me. He activated that nerve, that thing inside you."
