Robinson, Sugar Ray 1921-1989

ROBINSON, SUGAR RAY 1921-1989

Boxing champion

The Greatest Ever

Sugar Ray Robinson is said to be pound for pound the greatest boxer who ever lived. In the world of professional boxing, although hardly anyone can agree on anything, there is general agreement among those who know the sport that Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest ever. His boxing record is not spotless. He lost nineteen times and had six draws. He was briefly suspended from boxing in 1947 when he failed to report a bribery attempt. He also had trouble holding onto his money outside the ring, blowing most of his fortune several times.

A Hero

Yet Robinson dominated boxing for over twenty years, an eternity in a sport that rewards a young man's legs and reflexes. He started his professional career in 1940 and ended it in 1965. During this quarter century Robinson rose in the black community to the status of Jesse Owens and Joe Louis; he was a genuine hero.

Struggle to the Top

Robinson was, in effect, denied the opportunity to fight for the title contention for over a decade. James Norris, the president of the International Boxing Club, prevented Robinson from a shot at the championship until Valentine's Day, 1951, when Robinson beat Jake LaMotta with a TKO in the thirteenth round to win the middleweight championship; but, over-confident and undertrained, he lost it to Randy Turpin four months later. In front of 61,370 fans at the Polo Grounds, Robinson regained the title from Turpin on 12 September 1951. The gate receipts of nearly eight hundred thousand dollars was a record for a nonheavyweight fight.

Pushing the Edge

Robinson defended his title until the summer of 1952, when he tried to move up a weight class and faced Joey Maxim for the light-heavyweight title on 25 June. On an oppressively hot night Robinson collapsed in his corner at the end of the thirteenth round and lost, even though he was decisively ahead on all scoring cards. Robinson decided to retire and enter show business, a career he pursued for almost three years without notable success, until he decided to return to boxing.

Comeback

In 1956, at the age of thirty-four, Sugar Ray Robinson beat Carl "Bobo" Olson to earn his third middleweight title; he lost it to Gene Fullmer on 2 January 1957 but then beat Fullmer in a rematch on 1 May 1957. Robinson thus became the first man ever to win a boxing title four times.

Financial Ruin

Because of his carelessness with money and his failure to pay income taxes, Robinson faced huge debts during most of the 1950s. In his career he earned close to $4 million, but he was still fighting in the 1960s, at considerable personal risk, in order to pay his debts. Despite the embarrassing last years of his boxing career, Robinson was known the world over for a rare combination of boxing strength, brains, and grace.

Sources:

Sam Andre and Nat Fleischer, A Pictorial History of Boxing, revised edition (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1987);

Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray (New York: Viking Press, 1970).