Sugar Ray Robinson

153
Sugar Ray Robinson bigraphy, stories - Hall of Fame American pugilist

Sugar Ray Robinson : biography

May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989

Sugar Ray Robinson (born Walker Smith Jr.; May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989) was an American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson’s performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.

Robinson was 85–0 as an amateur with 69 of those victories coming by way of knockout, 40 in the first round. He turned professional in 1940 at the age of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 128–1–2 with 84 knockouts. From 1943 to 1951 Robinson went on a 91 fight unbeaten streak, the third longest in professional boxing history. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year. He retired in 1952, only to come back two and a half years later and regain the middleweight title in 1955. He then became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times, a feat he accomplished by defeating Carmen Basilio in 1958 to regain the middleweight championship. Robinson was named "fighter of the year" twice: first for his performances in 1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his efforts in 1951.

Renowned for his flamboyant lifestyle outside the ring, Robinson is credited with being the originator of the modern sports "entourage". After his boxing career ended, Robinson attempted a career as an entertainer, but struggled, and lived in poverty until his death in 1989. In 2006, he was featured on a commemorative stamp by the United States Postal Service.

Personal life

Robinson married Marjorie Joseph in 1938; the marriage was annulled the same year. Their son, Ronnie Smith, was born in 1939. Robinson met his second wife Edna Mae Holly, a noted dancer who performed at the Cotton Club and toured Europe with Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway, in 1940., JET, May 27, 2002, available online via findarticles.com, accessed June 6, 2007. According to Robinson, he met her at a local pool he frequented after his boxing workouts. In an attempt to get her attention he pushed her into the pool one day, and claimed it was an accident.Robinson and Anderson, pp. 91-2. After this attempt was met with disdain, he appeared at the nightclub she danced at and introduced himself. Soon the couple were dating and they married in 1943. They had one son, Ray Robinson Jr. (born 1949) and divorced in 1960. She appeared on the first cover of Jet magazine in 1951.Chenault. pg. 31 In April 1959, Robinson’s eldest sister Marie died of cancer at the age of 41., The New York Times, April 21, 1959, accessed June 6, 2007.

In 1965, Robinson married Millie Wiggins Bruce and the couple settled in Los Angeles., Contemporary Black Biography, The Gale Group, 2006 ISBN 0-7876-7927-5, available online via Answers.com, accessed June 6, 2007. When Robinson was sick with his various ailments, his son accused Robinson’s wife of keeping him under the influence of medication to manipulate him. According to Ray Robinson Jr., when Sugar Ray’s mother died, Sugar Ray could not attend his mother’s funeral because Millie was drugging and controlling him.Wiley. pg. 221 However, Robinson had been hospitalized the day before his mother’s death due to agitation which caused his blood pressure to rise. Robinson Jr. and Edna Mae also claimed that they were kept away from Robinson by Millie during the last years of his life.

He was a Free Mason, a membership shared with a number of other improbable athletes, including fellow boxer Jack Dempsey." See List of Freemasons.

Boxing career

Early career

Robinson made his professional debut on October 4, 1940, winning via second-round knockout over Joe Echevarria., boxrec.com, accessed June 4, 2007. Robinson fought five more times in 1940, winning each time, with four wins coming by way of knockout. In 1941, he defeated world champion Sammy Angott, future champion Marty Servo and former champion Fritzie Zivic. The Robinson-Angott fight was held above the lightweight limit, since Angott did not want to risk losing his lightweight title. Robinson defeated Zivic in front of 20,551 at Madison Square Garden—one of the largest crowds in the arena to that date.Nichols, Joseph C., The New York Times, November 1, 1941, accessed June 6, 2007. Robinson won the first five rounds according to The New York Times Joseph C. Nichols, before Zivic came back to land several punches to Robinson’s head in the sixth and seventh rounds. Robinson controlled the next two rounds, and had Zivic wobbly in the ninth. After a close tenth round, Robinson was announced as the winner on all three scorecards.