Cejudo to appear on 'Leno' on Wednesday

BEIJING • Rich, famous and all smiles, Henry Cejudo is going Hollywood.

The Coronado High School graduate will appear Wednesday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to flaunt the gold medal he won in freestyle wrestling at the Beijing Games.

"I'm going to headlock Leno," Cejudo said Friday. "That will be an easy headlock."

The son of former undocumented Mexican immigrants, Cejudo, 21, became the youngest American wrestler to win Olympic gold Tuesday when he scored a 2-2, 3-0 decision over Japan's Tomohiro Matsunaga at 121 pounds.

He's being hailed the "American dream" because of his rise to stardom despite long odds - his mother illegally crossing the U.S. border, his father dying after years of drinking and drug use and his unstable upbringing in a crime-ridden Phoenix neighborhood.

And he's wealthy by amateur wrestling standards, having netted $65,000 in contractual bonuses for the gold - $25,000 from both USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee and $15,000 from a fund by California wrestling enthusiast Ken Honig.

"My goal is to be a millionaire," said Cejudo, an Olympic Training Center resident who aspires for a career in the real estate business. "I believe I can do it if I won the gold."

Exposure isn't a problem.

The past four days, Cejudo has been part of three Beijing news conferences and has been interviewed by about a dozen TV and radio stations. He appeared on "The Today Show" on NBC and "World News Tonight" on ABC, as well as CNN and ESPN Deportes.

Cejudo often watches Leno when he can't sleep, captivated by the Monday headlines in which Leno makes fun of errors in newspapers and his past banter with boxers Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

"Jay Leno is the man," Cejudo said. "How many people get to go to Jay Leno? I mean, it's hard to get tickets."

The episode featuring Cejudo that airs Wednesday night will be filmed that afternoon at NBC studios in Burbank, Calif. Cejudo will travel with his mother, Nelly Rico of Colorado Springs, and his older brother, Angel, also an OTC wrestler.

"I'm going to be funny," said Cejudo, unsure of the guests joining him or what he'll wear other than his medal. "I'm going to go in there and just have fun, just be myself."
-
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Check out our Olympics blog at gazetteolympics.freedomblogging.com