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Sugar Ray Robinson is one of the greatest fighters of all-time. So good that you may not have ever seen a single clip of the American, but his name has echoed long after his death.
This is a man who had 200 fights as a professional, winning 173 - 109 by knockout - with 19 losses, six draws and two no contests on his record. This also saw him hold six world titles. He was a staggering five-time middleweight champion and a one time welterweight king.
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Legendary boxing analyst Bert Sugar said "Robinson could deliver a knockout blow going backward," and his
There’s so much to the legend that is Sugar Ray that talkSPORT is looking at some of the life and times of the legend who had the phrase 'pound-for-pound' invented to describe him.
The name
Walker Smith Jr was born 100 years ago on May 3, 1921, however, at his first amateur bout, in 1936, he borrowed the Amateur Athletic Union card of another boxer, whose name was Ray Robinson, to enter the ring.
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The nickname 'Sugar' came from his lifelong manager, George Gainford, who had described the young boxer as ‘sweet as sugar’ and reporters latched onto the moniker.
Given the legacy he left, many other athletes have taken on the nickname. Sugar Ray Leonard perhaps most famously, but also Sugar Shane Mosely and MMA fighters Suga Rashad Evans and Sugar Sean O’Malley.
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He killed a man in the ring
In 1947, Robinson knocked out Jimmy Doyle in the eighth round of their welterweight title contest, but Doyle later died from the injuries he suffered at the hands of Robinson.
Bizarrely, Robinson had tried to pull out of the fight because he had a dream the night before that tragedy would occur. A priest and a minister convinced him to fight, but his premonition proved to be true. He later called the whole experience a 'trying time' and it changed his outlook on his beloved sport.
Doyle was planning to use the money from the fight to buy his mother a house, so Robinson used his money from the next four fights he had to carry out Doyle’s wish and helped her buy a home.
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He basically created an ‘entourage'
It's common now to see Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor and even Jake Paul travel in large numbers but Robinson was the first.
According to ESPN's Ron Flatter: "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."
We’re not sure what the dwarf mascot was about but either way, it was during a trip to France - where he was especially popular - a steward referred to his group as an entourage for the first time.
Originally, Robinson didn’t like that because the literal meaning of the word is attendants and the boxing legend saw them all as pals. He eventually began using the term regularly, though, and it was born into the mainstream.
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Flamboyant
Speaking of France, they always wanted to have Robinson back on their shores. The New York Times reported how the French would offer to bring his whole entourage over and even his famous pink Cadillac which he was renowned for driving in America.
Flamboyant in the ring and out, he was one of the first African Americans to really establish himself as a sports star and become something of a household name.
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He was an important figure on the New York social scene in the 1940s and 50s and he had a glamorous restaurant in town, too. Legends of their time Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Joe Louis were known to frequent Robinson’s place.
His pink Cadillac wasn't cheap and he paid for the vast entourage who travelled with him, but during his heyday, he is said to have amassed a fortune of $4million. However, in his autobiography, Robinson says he was declared bankrupt by 1965.
He died in 1989 with a net worth nowhere near that of a man his talent, popularity and success deserved.
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Had a record of 128–1–2 with 84 KOs by the time he was 21
Robinson had an extraordinary record. In the amateurs, it’s said he was 85-0 with 69 knockouts, although it was reported he did in fact lose twice before he turned pro, but under his real name.
He turned pro in 1940 and six years later was a world champion. During an eight-year period from 1943 to 1951, Robinson went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak, which, somehow, is only the third longest in boxing history.
He was an extremely active fighter and would often have multiple fights in the same month during his world tours. In 1964 he fought 10 times and in September and October of that year, Robinson fought four times, twice in France and twice in the UK.
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Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali praise
The late Ali said of the six-time world champion: “That man was beautiful. Timing, speed, reflexes, rhythm, his body, everything was beautiful.
“I’d say I’m the greatest heavyweight of all time, but pound-for-pound, I still say Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest of all time.”
Tyson said: Wasn’t he amazing? Listen right, Sugar Ray Robinson had 40 fights, he went 40-0. And then he lose one fight.
“After he lost that one fight, he went 80 fights undefeated. The record was like [128-1]. Unbelievable.”
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Legendary Jake LaMotta rivalry
Every legend needs a dance partner and Robinson had that in Jake LaMotta aka The Raging Bull, a man he faced six times - the first being at Madison Square Garden in 1942 on Robinson's middleweight debut.
LaMotta himself had 106 fights with 83 wins, but lost five of the six encounters with Robinson. It sounds a one-sided feud, but every fight was close and LaMotta knocked Sugar Ray down on several occasions.
Despite their rivalry inside the ring, Robinson was LaMotta's best man at his sixth wedding - yes, sixth - and whenever LaMotta was asked who his three toughest opponents were, he would answer: "Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Robinson."
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