Robinson, Sugar Ray

Robinson, Sugar Ray, 1920–89, American boxer, b. Detroit. His real name was Walker Smith. He began boxing after three years of high school in New York City. Having won all his amateur fights (about 90), including the Golden Gloves featherweight title, Robinson turned professional in 1940. He won the welterweight championship in 1946 by defeating Tommy Bell and the middleweight championship for the first time in 1951 by knocking out Jake La Motta. When Robinson retired from boxing as middleweight champion in 1952 he had lost only three times in 137 bouts. Returning to boxing in 1955, he was the first boxer ever to regain a title after retiring. Robinson became the first man in boxing history to win a divisional (weight class) world championship five times when he regained the middleweight title in 1958 by defeating Carmen Basilio; he lost the title in 1960 to Paul Pender. In his prime, the swift, hard-punching Robinson was rated the best boxer, pound for pound, of his time.

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Robinson, Sugar Ray

 orig. Walker Smith, Jr.

(born May 3, 1921, Detroit, Mich., U.S.—died April 12, 1989, Culver City, Calif.) U.S. boxer. Robinson began boxing in high school in New York City and won all of his 89 amateur fights. He was six times a world champion, once (1946–51) as a welterweight (147 lbs) and five times (1951–60) as a middleweight (160 lbs). In 201 professional bouts, he made 109 knockouts. He suffered only 19 defeats, most when he was past 40. His outstanding ability and flamboyant personality made him a hero of boxing fans throughout the world, and he is sometimes considered the best fighter in history.