NEW YORK -- Ray Leonard and Angelo Dundee, who have been together since Leonard turned pro in 1977, have split in a dispute over money and the veteran trainer Wednesday said he will be absent from the corner when Leonard meets Donny Lalonde Nov. 7.
Leonard will try to win Lalonde's World Boxing Council light heavyweight title and the vacant WBC super middleweight title at Las Vegas, Nev. If successful, Leonard will become the first man to hold world titles in five weight classes.
Dundee said Leonard's camp was upset because the trainer asked for a contract for the Lalonde bout. Dundee said he worked without a contract for Leonard's last bout, a 12-round decision over middleweight champion Marvin Hagler April 6, 1987, and was paid $150,000 by Leonard and his attorney, Mike Trainer.
'Evidently, I'm not necessary in the corner,' Dundee said by telephone from his Miami office. 'They were offended because I had the audacity to have my lawyer call Mike Trainer's office asking when I was going to get paid.
'I left it up to them for the Hagler fight. I depended on their malevolence and their generosity and I got one percent (of the purse).'
Leonard, from his training camp in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, said he was hurt to hear Dundee would not work his corner.
'It's been a shocker to me,' Leonard said. 'All of a sudden, I'm getting calls that Angelo won't be here. I find it quite embarrassing. I thought I should've known first.'
Trainer said Dundee received more than one percent of the Hagler purse.
'He hadn't had a contract the last several years,' Trainer said. 'He was paid more for Ray's last fight than in any other fight.'
Dundee, 67, who also guided Muhammad Ali through his entire pro career, is considered one of boxing's top motivators and strategists. He was voted trainer of the year for 1987 by the Boxing Writers Association of America, largely because of Leonard's upset victory over Hagler.
Leonard and Dundee have not spoken since the Lalonde fight was signed in August. Dundee's attorney, Sandy Muchnik, said Dundee turned down an invitation to attend an Oct. 18 press conference in New York to announce the fight because he wanted a contract first.
'The relationship is different than the one I thought we had,' Leonard said. 'I saw Angelo before the fight was announced, he said, 'I'll be there.' Angelo has not spoken to me since the fight was signed. That's why I'm surprised to hear this news.'
Although Leonard has had great success in the ring, the relationship between Trainer and Dundee not always been rosy. When Leonard turned pro after winning a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics, he signed a contract with Dundee as his manager for 15 percent of his purses. Dundee said he released Leonard from that contract with two years remaining once Leonard started making multi-million dollar purses.
Trainer said the contract was revised because Dundee was not serving as Leonard's manager, then expired while Leonard was in retirement from 1985-87.
'I don't want to go into things that happened in the past,' Dundee said. 'I swallowed it and took it like a man. I can't contend with Mike Trainer. I never could contend with a lawyer.
'I've always got along with Ray. I hope he's not taking the fight cheap. I just feel bad I'm giving this fight some ink.'
Leonard said Dundee has never expressed dissatisfaction in the past.
He also denied the rift was planned to help publicize the bout, which has been overshadowed by heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's personal problems.
'I've heard people say this is a publicity stunt,' Leonard said. 'But it's far too serious.'
Janks Morton and Dave Jacobs, who have joined Dundee in training Leonard in the past, have been in camp with Leonard and will work his corner for the Lalonde bout.
Leonard, a 32-year-old from Potomac, Md., is 34-1 with 24 knockouts.
