6/21/2023 0 Comments Ray lamottaon (some say it was earlier), he moved with his parents to New York. "He boxed as though he were playing the violin," sportswriter Barney Nagler observed. But he would always be remembered for the music he made in the ring. Then he reinvented himself by getting into show business - acting and even singing. He was the pioneer of boxing's bigger-than-life entourages, including a secretary, barber, masseur, voice coach, a coterie of trainers, beautiful women, a dwarf mascot and lifelong manager George Gainford.Īfter making an estimated $4 million in the ring, Robinson spent himself into destitution by the mid-sixties. With his flashy pink Cadillac convertible and his Harlem nightclub, Sugar Ray was as much a part of the New York scene in the forties and fifties as the Copa and Sinatra. He was one of the first African-American athletes to become a major star outside of sports. They fought six times, and Robinson won five.Īs recently as 1997, Robinson was renamed the best of all time - "pound for pound" - when The Ring magazine chose him the best boxer in its 75 years of publication.īut Robinson's legacy was not made on boxing alone. His one early loss was to Jake LaMotta, his career-long rival. And he never took a 10-count in his 200 fights, though he once suffered a TKO. At his peak, his record was 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, then was the middleweight champion five times between 19. "Robinson could deliver a knockout blow going backward," boxing historian Bert Sugar said. Muhammad Ali called Sugar Ray "the king, the master, my idol." Sugar Ray Robinson fought 202 times during a career that spanned three decades. When it came to boxing, Robinson was as good as it got. "Pound for pound, the best." The claim has been used to describe many boxers, but it was invented for Sugar Ray Robinson. Sugar Ray Robinson voted 24th-best athlete of century
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