But it's a world I happen to know firsthand. That's $4 million just for showing up and talking - the same amount Leonard earned for his final bout in 1997, when Hector Camacho pummeled him into retirement in the fifth round.ĭespite its size and influence, Big Talk has long existed in the shadowy nexus of the entertainment industrial complex, its inner workings mostly invisible to outsiders. "That's part of what makes a really successful speaker." Leonard gives some 40 speeches a year, for upward of $100,000 a pop. "Ray makes every single person feel like they're his best friend," says his agent, Peter Jacobs, head of the lecture department at Creative Artists Agency, one of the world's biggest talent agencies. Tomorrow morning, Leonard is giving the motivational keynote at the annual gathering of the Petroleum Equipment Institute, a fuel trade association. "But I could never have dreamt that this could take place." A quarter century since hanging up his gloves, Leonard has been granted a second act in his storied career: as one of America's top celebrity speakers. My major fights were here," he says, flashing his familiar smile. In his suite high above the Strip, the legendary boxer, boyish and ebullient at 66, sports a gray T-shirt, black running pants, and gray sneakers. ![]() It's a bustling night in Las Vegas, and Sugar Ray Leonard is ready for the main event. ![]() The rise of a $2 billion industry, from Hunter S. Despite its size and influence, the celebrity-speaker industry has long existed in the shadowy nexus of the entertainment industrial complex, its inner workings invisible to outsiders.
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