Shortly earlier than the primary spherical that night time in 1950, the referee known as the 2 boxers collectively. However as an alternative of listening to directions, Sugar Ray Robinson stared down his opponent, a tough hitter named George Costner, who started utilizing Sugar as a nickname. Costner boasted that he could be the one Sugar within the field. However now Robinson's elegant ego flashed in the course of the ring.
''We higher contact the gloves as a result of that is the one spherical,'' Robinson stated. “Your identify isn't Sugar, mine is.”
Two minutes and 49 seconds later, Ray Robinson was the one Sugar on the bottom. And when boxing old-timers speak about nice fighters, Sugar Ray Robinson, who died yesterday aged 67, remains to be the one Sugar standing. However as an alternative of defending his moniker, he ought to have copyrighted it. For many who assume Sugar Ray Leonard is a candy fighter, the unique Sugar Ray would match him with any hand.
''I used to be a gladiator,'' he as soon as stated. ''And like a real gladiator, I by no means misplaced. One thing occurred that prevented me from successful.''
Not usually. The phrase ''pound for pound, greatest'' was coined for him throughout his reign from 1946 to 1960 as welterweight champion or a report five-time middleweight champion.
''Your rhythm ought to set the tempo,'' he as soon as stated. ''When you do, then you definately'll break into your opponent's rhythm. You make him struggle your struggle.
That's what boxing is about.''
Good-looking and decently dressed, he basked in that elegant ego. Earlier than his comeback struggle in San Francisco in 1955, he was engaged on the street alongside the seaside when he handed Carl (Bobo) Olson, then the middleweight title holder. ''Hey, Carl,'' he known as. As they handed, Olson replied, ''Hello, Ray,'' they usually every saved working. However later, Robinson's coach, George Gainford, requested him why he didn't name Olson a ''champion.''
''He's not a champion,'' Robinson stated. ''He simply has my title.''
5 months later, Robinson knocked out Olson to regain his title. He additionally gained it in 1951 on the Polo Grounds when he all of the sudden knocked out Randy Turpin with a determined shot, bleeding from the butt of his head.
''Somebody counted my strokes later,'' he as soon as stated. ''They counted 31 blows in 25 seconds.''
Along with his most well-known single punch: the left hook that dethroned Gene Fullmer, he gained the middleweight title for the fourth time.
''Fullmer appreciated to throw a proper hand to the physique,'' he defined. ''And when he did, his jaw was open for a left hook.''
Lean with lithe muscle tissue, Sugar Ray Robinson had 110 knockouts in his 175-19-6 report spanning greater than 1 / 4 of a century. He made about $4 million in these years earlier than multi-million greenback purses. He additionally spent that a lot. When he sailed to Europe on the Liberte, his barber and his golf professional have been amongst his entourage of practically a dozen household and mates. He parked his flame pink Cadillac convertible in entrance of his Harlem nightclub on Seventh Avenue subsequent to his dry cleaners, barber store and lingerie retailer.
''I’m a blessed man,'' he appreciated to say. ''The Chosen Man.''
Sugar Ray Robinson even selected Muhammad Ali, then often known as Cassius Clay, as one of many younger heavyweight's mentors. However in response to Robinson, the supply required him to affix the black Muslims.
''I instructed Cassius I didn't consider in a black Muslim faith,'' he as soon as recalled saying. ''I’m a Christian who believes in God.''
However as has occurred with the funds of many different boxers, Robinson's cash disappeared in taxes and dangerous investments. He continued to field till he was 44, when Joey Archer, a comfortable puncher, knocked him down with a 10-round determination victory in Pittsburgh in 1965. A couple of months later, Robinson was honored on the outdated Madison Sq. Backyard amongst different presents. , an enormous trophy inscribed with the phrases ''world's biggest fighter.'' That night time, he and his third spouse, Millie, returned to their residence on Riverside Drive.
''I needed to put the trophy on the ground,'' he as soon as recalled. ''The one desk was a metallic cardboard desk with skinny legs. The one different piece of furnishings within the residence was an outdated scratched picket mattress. However I knew it wasn't supposed to finish like that for me.''
Not that. He and Millie moved to Los Angeles the place he acted in films and TV exhibits. He additionally based and ran the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Basis till he was stricken with Alzheimer's a number of years in the past. Till his dying, he existed virtually as if his reminiscence was in a cotton cocoon.
However now, as earlier than, in boxing, the phrase “pound for pound, the very best'' will all the time reside on as a tribute to the one Sugar standing.