The Boxing Career of Sugar Ray Robinson
"Pound for pound, the best." The claim has been used to describe many boxers, but it was invented for Sugar Ray Robinson.
Never mind the weight class. When it came to boxing, Robinson was as good as it got.
Muhammad Ali called Sugar Ray "the king, the master, my idol."
"Robinson could deliver a knockout blow going backward," boxing historian Bert Sugar said.
Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, then was the middleweight champion five times between 1951 and 1960. At his peak, his record was 128-1-2 with 84 knockouts. And he never took a 10-count in his 200 fights, though he once suffered a TKO.
His one early loss was to Jake LaMotta, his career-long rival. They fought six times, and Robinson won five.
As 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.
But Robinson's legacy was not made on boxing alone. He was one of the first African-American athletes to become a major star outside of sports. 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 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.
After making an estimated $4 million in the ring, Robinson spent himself into destitution by the mid-sixties. Then he reinvented himself by getting into show business -- acting and even singing. But he would al...
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...ight five times in 36 days for as little as $1,100 a night. Soon after losing a 10-round decision to Joey Archer, the 44-year-old Robinson announced his retirement -- this time for good. He finished with a record of 175-19-6 with two no-decisions, according to The Ring.
In his later years, Robinson resumed a show-business career that enabled him to rally his finances. He moved to Southern California with his third wife, Millie. By 1986, he made one of his last public appearances as the best man at a wedding. The groom: Jake LaMotta.
Robinson, suffering from Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, died at age 67 on April 12, 1989, in Culver City, Calif.
Sugar Ray Leonard, who took Robinson's name, said, "Someone once said there was a comparison between Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson. Believe me, there's no comparison. Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest."
He had to face racism and discrimination. The turning points were when he joined a major league. Little kids were very inspiring because they did not care what color they were or what race they are from. When he met Branch Rickey they both made a bond. As same as Ru they both tried to change their country but Robinson had help and did not start changing the way of baseball. He changed the way his country thought about baseball and Black people. He made them think that baseball should be open to everyone. He also faced many life changing experiences that lead to him to having impact on his country. He also was not the only one who did this besides from Feng Ru. He was one of the men who changed baseball
Jackie Robinson went on to win rookie of the year that season, 6 world series, and most importantly show African-Americans they can are just as good as Cauc...
In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). [20] Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack (himself an accomplished athlete and silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics)[19] and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports. [ 21][22] [33] While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian. [34] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.
Branch Rickey had been around baseball all his life. He was a player, coach, manager, and team owner for over sixty years. Branch Rickey was nominated into baseball’s hall of fame and on his plaque it mentions his signing of Jackie Robinson. Branch Rickey chose Robinson because he knew he would be able to take all the abuse and keep his cool. Also, he knew Robinson was an outstanding ball player. Branch Rickey has always wanted to integrate baseball since early in his career. Rickey was looking for a strong person who would be able to take the public scrutiny, avoid confrontation, and also a talented ball player. Rickey set his eyes on Robinson because he has had experience in integrating other sports. Robinson attended UCLA and lettered in four other sports.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.
James Braddock took his father’s lessons to heart when he practiced fighting in the old schoolyard before he reached his teenage years. He practiced for several years to be an amateur fighter. When Braddock first started boxing he avoided professional competitions for two years. Instead, they froze the title, which means Braddock earned money touring the country giving public appearances and boxing exhibitions. In 1926, he entered the professional boxing circuit in the light heavyweight division.
Whether it was on the football field, on the basketball court, or out on the baseball field, Robinson encountered quite a bit of success wherever he went. (cite) Despite the talents of many African American baseball players, many were deemed inferior to their white counterparts. The sense of inferiority led many baseball players and owners of the teams in the Negro leagues to adjust to the status quo, however, Robinson was not one to simply seek to fulfill the status quo. Robinson was unwilling to conform with what mainstream society tried to force him to conform with, he constantly told his teammates that they should always be ready, someday one of them would be signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball (cite to pg 48). Unlike many of his peers, he felt a different calling in the sport of baseball.
Jack Dempsey was best known for his intriguing knockouts and his fists of steel (“Biography”). In his fight against Jess Willard, former champion, Dempsey knocked him down seven times within three minutes (Smith). This was the boxing match that began Dempsey’s reign as heavy weight champion of the world (Hadden 161). After the fight he earned the nick na...
This was a time when blacks were being discriminated against, the military was segregated, blacks were not allowed to play Major League Baseball. When he started boxing early in the 1930's hero worship was not achievable in any professional sports, there were none that were able to command the attention away from whites, however that would all change. Joe Louis began his boxing career at the Brewster Recreation Center. In his first amateur bout, Louis was knocked down 7 times, but he rapidly improved over the years, he captured the 1934 National AAU Lightweight Crown and turned to the professional level later in that same year. Louis won his first 27 fights, 23 of them by knockout, beating people of fame like Primo Carnera and Max Baer. His first defeat was against Max Scheming at Yankee Stadium, he was knocked out in the 12th round. This was Louis greatest defeat, and the start of his greatest challenge.
For example one piece of reasoning is on (“Jim Crow, Meet Lieutenant Robinson: A 1944 Court-Martial”) it says, “There were so many problems with the bus situation that battalion commanders and the company commanders almost let us have trucks at will to go to the town . . . rather than mess with what went on with the bus.”. This shows that he was willing to stay strong and fight for his rights because he wanted his country end segregation so bad he was willing to go to jail for it but luckily he received court martial. Another reason is as shown on (USA Today) and it says, “As a board member of the NAACP, he traveled across the country in an effort to build morale among African Americans fighting for racial justice in their local communities.”. This also shows he had the ability to stay strong and fight for his right because if he was willing to travel across the country to fight for his country that means he really wanted his country to come to peace and end segregation. One last reason you could tell he had the ability to stay strong and fight for his rights is as written on(USA Today), “As a friend of Martin Luther King Jr., Robinson helped to lead civil rights campaigns in Albany (Ga.) and Birmingham.”. This also shows that he had the ability to stay strong and fight for his rights because he was willing to be a leader to lead his country to end segregation. As you can
Ali proved to be a strong-willed individual that did leave a huge impact on America, but what impact had increased as time continued and his faults have been somewhat forgotten. Those believing that Muhammad was more of a hero than Jackie Robinson most likely feel that Ali’s action of standing up against the United States government, when he was drafted, was an act of courage and bravery. The main reason why Ali didn 't wish to go to war in Vietnam was because he believed he shouldn 't be fighting for a country that ultimately didn 't support his own people within its own borders. Ali has developed into a figure of courage after the time that his happened. In the 1960s when this originally happened, Ali had more enemies as a result of his religious and social views and ideas than fans. Today we see that what he did may be considered heroic, but back when it actually occurred, Ali was seen as a nuisance to America. He was spreading word and influencing people to act against their own country in a time of war. Since Muhammad Ali’s retirement from boxing the course of time has faded criticism of Ali and left mostly just the positive parts of his life and career. As a society we’ve buried the controversial side of Ali’s existence in our minds and history simply remembers his greatness as an athlete. Robinson had an impact on
Jackie Robinson overcame many struggles in life such as being included in the civil rights movement, facing discrimination, and he achieved being the first black man in major league baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia on Hadley Ferry Road. It is a blue-collar town of about 10,000 people. Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even though he achieved this major goal he still had trouble getting there. He and his siblings were raised by his single mother. Jackie attended Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College. He was a great athlete and played many sports. He played football, basketball, track, and of course baseball. He left school in 1941, worked as an athletic director and played semiprofessional football for the Honolulu Bears before being drafted to the Army in 1942. While he was in the army he became close friends with Joe Louis. The heavyweight used his popularity to protest about the delayed entry of black soldiers. Two years later he got the honor to be second lieutenant in 1943. After an accident where he refused to sit in the back of an unsegregated bus, military police arrested Robinson. A duty officer requested this and then later he requested that Jackie should be court martialed. Since this happened Jackie was not allowed to be deployed overseas to the World War II. He never saw combat during the war. Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.
In 1947 Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers desperately wanted Robinson to play for him and his team. He would become the first black MLB player since 1889 when baseball became discriminated. In his first year he was the Rookie of the Year. He debuted in the International League with the Montreal Royals. This the led to Branch’s interest in Robinson since he was considered one of the best players in the International League and considering it was his first time playing with white men.
According to Jessie Jackson, "A champion wins a World Series or an Olympic event and is hoisted on the shoulders of the fans. A hero carries the people on his shoulders" (Robinson 3). This is what made Jackie Robinson a hero to African-Americans. Robinson's achievement goes beyond the statistics and championships he earned on the field. He opened the door for his entire race to play professional sports and gain acceptance as more desegregation took place. After fighting in World War II from 1941 until 1944, Jackie played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues from 1944 until 1946. In 1946, he was selected as the best person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
"In his early days in the Army, he established himself as a fighter for civil rights"(Weidhorn 40-1). The U.S. Army was segregated about the time Robinson enlisted. He felt for the first time in his life what it was like to be a second-class citizen as a part of his daily life. Jackie had too much pride though, to let things stay the way they were. Many blacks accepted how things were in the army. Robinson knew that if he tried hard enough, he could change things. One particular event caused Robinson to stand up for his rights, almost to the point of being court-martialed from the Ar...