Sugar Ray Robinson: A Hero with a Sweet Name but a Deadly Ring Warrior

There are scads of noteworthy appellations in boxing but "Sugar" might as well be the sweetest moniker of them all. Aptly, most boxers who were labeled this alias have enjoyed fruitful careers in boxing and an elite few attained boxing stardom beyond compare. There is Sugar Shane Mosley, a fearless warrior who is recognized for his gallant bluster against the world's most avoided fighters such as Antonio Margarito, Miguel Cotto, and Vernon Forrest. He is a fighter who defies the summon of retirement, much like Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, and despite his diminished skills, Mosley still maintains his fervent passion to conquer in the ring against the best younger fighters of today. Currently, Mosley holds a record of 46 wins, 39 of which coming by way of knockout, and only had lost six bouts in his stellar career, all by decision.

Another great fighter who spectacularly dominated the sport in his prime was Sugar Ray Leonard. He was recognized as the Fighter of the Decade for the 1980s by successfully defeating the best in the business such as Roberto Duran, Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. His bout against Hagler was highly disputed because of the "hold and punch tactic" that Leonard implemented throughout the fight. Nonetheless, Leonard won the fight, adding Hagler to his list of victims in the ring. Leonard was the first boxer to acquire world championship titles in five different weight divisions. He also won a boxing gold medal for the United States in the 1976 Olympics held at Barcelona, Spain.

The most recognized among the elite fighters named Sugar was none other than the legendary warrior Sugar Ray Robinson. He turned professional at an early age of 20 after a successful stint in the amateurs, of which he won the Golden Gloves featherweight crown. Robinson bested Tommy Bell in 1946 to claim the welterweight world title, and he triumphantly defended his title without any loss in this weight category until 1950. His glorious achievements in boxing, however, were realized in the middleweight division. Robinson took this weight category by storm, starting out with a devastating knockout victory against Jake La Motta in 1951. Since becoming the middleweight champion of the world, Robinson won 134 of his next 137 boxing clashes. He retired as the middleweight champion in 1952 but three years later, he returned to the ring and regained the middleweight crown with a victory over another boxing legend, Carmen Basilio. Robinson was the first boxer ever to recapture his championship title after retiring from the sport. By staying undefeated as the welterweight champion from 1946 to 1950 and becoming the first fighter to win the middleweight world diadem five times in the 1950s, Sugar Ray Robinson had proven himself to be a lethal executioner with a sweet-sounding name.

Robinson was recognized as the best pound for pound fighter of his generation in his prime, and even in multiple boxing forums of today, he is perpetually ranked in the top three spots of the Sweet Science's greatest fighter of all time paradigm. Robinson epitomized the genuine character of a true champion with his humble and dignified demeanor-a sweet person indeed but undoubtedly a deadly ring warrior.

Sources:

Contributor, "Article: Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Returns to the Big Screen for Long Awaited Mega-Fight with WBA Champ Sugar Shane Mosley in Movie Theater Boxing Event on May 1." High Beam Research.
Steve Webster and Emily Snyder, "Sugar Ray Leonard." The Official Site of Sugar Ray Leonard.
Contributors, "Sugar Ray Robinson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008.

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