Sugar Ray Robinson

Lore & Background

Robinson was born in Ailey, Georgia, and moved to Harlem at age 12. He originally aspired to be a doctor but switched to boxing after dropping out of DeWitt Clinton High School in ninth grade. He used the ID card of a youth named Ray Robinson to enter his first amateur tournament, and the name stuck. A spectator later called him 'sweet as sugar,' giving rise to 'Sugar Ray Robinson.' He idolized Henry Armstrong and Joe Louis as a youth. He married at 16, had one son named Ronnie, and divorced at 19.

Reader's Guide

Robinson turned professional in 1940 at age 19. By 1951 he had a professional record of 129–1–2 with 85 knockouts. From 1943 to 1951 he went on a 91-fight unbeaten streak, the sixth-longest in professional boxing history. He held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in 1951. He retired in 1952, returned two-and-a-half years later, and regained the middleweight title in 1955. He became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times, accomplished by defeating Carmen Basilio in 1958 to regain the middleweight championship. He was named 'fighter of the year' in 1942 and again in 1951.

Did You Know?

• Robinson's amateur record is usually listed as 85–0 with 69 knockouts, 40 in the first round, but this is disputed and his exact amateur record is not known.
• He reportedly lost to Billy Graham and Patsy Pesca as a teenager under his given name, Walker Smith Jr.
• Robinson is credited with being the originator of the modern sports 'entourage'.
• After boxing, he attempted a career as an entertainer but was not successful, and struggled financially from 1965 until his death in 1989.
• In 2006, he was featured on a commemorative stamp by the United States Postal Service.