Sugar Robinson

Born Walker Smith Jr. on May 3, 1921 in Georgia, Sugar Ray Robinson is hailed, up to this very day, as the “greatest all-around boxer,” having fought and excelled in four weight divisions – Lightweight, Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light heavyweight. His impressive fighting statistics and top boxing form earned him the admiration of other boxing greats, including Muhammad Ali who praised Robinson by describing him as “the king, the master, and my idol.”

Sugar Ray fought a total of two hundred (200) boxing matches. He won one hundred seventy-three (173) of them, one hundred eight (168) of which were knockout wins. The most amazing detail about his boxing career is the fact that he had fought eighty-five (85) amateur matches and forty (40) professional matches before experiencing his first defeat. After his first loss, he continued winning one match over the other, never experiencing another failure until his 132nd fight, a match that took place in the waning period of his career.

Robinson’s boxing style is best described by analysts as “very fluid;” he had the capability to lash out with quick jabs, each single one carrying tremendous knockout power. His greatest athletic strength though, was his versatile fighting strategy, both his left and right fists were powered with speed and might, able to execute all types of hooks and bolos imaginable.

At the height of his stardom and financial prestige, Sugar Ray Robinson lived a high-end lifestyle, this spilled onto his boxing career as it was he who introduced the idea of a prizefighter having an “entourage”, indicative of a flamboyant characteristic.

Robinson was honored as a Ring Boxing Hall of Fame awardee in 1967, he was conferred the International Boxing Hall of Fame award in 1990 and became a Georgia Sports Hall of Famer in 2006. The very same year, the United States Postal Service revealed a commemorative stamp featuring the great boxer. Sugar Ray Robinson passed away April 12, 1989 in Harlem, New York.