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After the LAPD took Daniel Leonard into custody in West LA last week, boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard has now revealed that his son’s arrest over the restraining order violation stemmed from deeper concerns involving his behavior and addiction struggles. According to court documents obtained by The California Post, Leonard detailed years of turmoil in a written declaration filed as part of his request for a new restraining order against his son.

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“He has overdosed 4 times,” Ray reportedly wrote in the declaration. “They had to bring him back to life 2 times at the hospital! He has stolen extreme amounts of money and valuable items! He [illegible] steals every day for years! My son Daniel Leonard has been a drug addict for 7 or 8 years at least. His behavior has gotten worse over the years! We had a physical altercation where he pushed me and got ugly! The police officers were needed at that moment! The police officers came, and [Daniel] was escorted off our property because of where things were headed.

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“I love my son, but he has become a danger not only to himself but also to his family! My wife is extremely afraid along with my daughter Camille! His behavior has gotten worse every day. We haven’t had a day of peace in 9 years, which is the reality of his addiction! Scared for my family!”

This suggests years of turbulence in the family, though the father-son duo was spotted out and about frequently before the recent incident. The declaration came as details surrounding the incidents of May 19 and May 20 gradually surfaced.

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According to the report, Ray Leonard sought a restraining order that would permanently prevent Daniel from coming near him and other members of the family, including his wife Bernadette and daughter Camille.

Following the physical altercation, Leonard obtained a temporary restraining order, specifically asking that Daniel be kept 100 yards away from him, his wife Bernadette, and his daughter Camille, as well as their home, vehicle, and workplace. He also requested that Daniel be moved out of the home.

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Still, a day later, early morning, Daniel returned to their Pacific Palisades home. With a temporary restraining order already in place, authorities allegedly treated the incident as a violation and arrested him in Los Angeles, where he was taken into custody at 6:45 a.m. Daniel Leonard reportedly remained in jail until May 22.

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Son’s arrest pushes Sugar Ray Leonard family crisis into spotlight

Addressing Daniel Leonard’s arrest, an LAPD spokesperson stated, “The suspect was on the property, violating his restraining order, which prompted a call to 911 from someone on the property.”

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Reports now indicate that June 15 has been scheduled for a hearing regarding whether the restraining order should become more permanent. A separate hearing tied to the alleged restraining-order violation that led to Daniel’s arrest has meanwhile been set for June 25.

The legal developments have also renewed attention on Daniel Leonard’s strained relationship with the Leonard family over recent years.

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Daniel, 25, is the youngest of Sugar Ray Leonard’s four children from two marriages. Leonard shares Ray Charles Jr. and Jarrel with his first wife, Juanita Wilkinson, while Camille and Daniel were born during his marriage to Bernadette Robi.

While not much information about Daniel Leonard’s professional background is publicly available, the issues with substance abuse and addiction are only now coming to light.

For a legend who, alongside Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler, helped revive boxing in the post-Muhammad Ali era, the developments mark a deeply difficult chapter involving his own family.

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Jaideep R Unnithan

3,705 Articles

Jaideep R. Unnithan is a Senior Boxing Writer at EssentiallySports and one of the division’s most trusted voices. Since joining in October 2022, he has brought a deep love for the sport into every story, whether reporting on live bouts with the ES LiveEvent Desk or unpacking the legacy of fighters from different eras as part of the features desk. Trained under EssentiallySports’ prestigious Journalistic Excellence Program, which is a specialized training initiative designed to refine top writers' skills through mentorship and advanced sports journalism techniques, Jaideep’s writing reflects a quiet authority shaped by two years of covering boxing’s flashpoints and fault lines. He is drawn to the warrior code of legends like Alexis Argüello and Marvin Hagler, while also staying attuned to the promise of rising stars like Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, David Benavidez, and Dmitry Bivol. Jaideep has a special fascination with Naoya Inoue’s old-school grit. Beyond writing, he reads widely, a habit that sharpens his storytelling, whether he’s tracing the rhythm of a classic fight or preparing his next ringside dispatch. Before joining EssentiallySports, Jaideep worked as a client manager and team manager in corporate roles, bringing strong organizational and communication skills to his journalistic career. He has also completed notable certifications, including a Non-Fiction Book Writing Workshop.

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Gokul Pillai

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