The son of Orthodox Jews, Leonard was born Benjamin Leiner, and learned to fight in the streets of New York. The public baths were near his house, and he recalled: "You had to fight or stay in the house when the Italian and Irish kids came through on their way to the baths." He began fighting with gloves at the age of 11, although his parents failed to understand his attraction to the ring. His mother asked: "A prizefighter you want to be? Is that a life for a respectable man? For a Jew?" For Leonard it was, and at the age of 15 he was suddenly thrust into the world of professional boxing, where he would remain until his death. Too poor to buy a ticket to the fights one night, Leonard climbed to a skylight above a small-time club to watch. Losing his balance, he fell through the window, into the ring. To pay for the broken skylight, Leonard offered to replace a fighter who had failed to appear for his bout that night -- and one of the sport's most glorious careers was launched, with Leonard's first prize fight, in September 1911, against Mickey Finnegan.

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