How did Ray Robinson navigate such a gifted path as a pro ?

There is plenty knowledge , I like it .

 

Take Ray out of the picture . I like LaMotta now . Legend as well .

 

To be fair Mugabi got his title shot without having to get past anyone of real note. SRR had an immensely more challenging path than Mugabi.

 

True that .

 

Thomas Hearns tricked Mugabi into that one

 

Hearns had also done preciously little
at MW before he got his shot. Not to mention Duran. You could similarily that SRR had an easy road to his fight with Maxim, but it's utterly untrue to say that his road to the WW and MW titles was easy.

 

Name some of the black fighters (of roughly same era as Robinson) who had a tougher path.

 

Keep in mind that Sugar Ray Robinson was fighting in the lightweight division at the beginning of professional career, so the win over Sammy Angott in their first bout was a case in which Robinson was fighting someone in his weight division.

- Chuck Johnston

 

Yes but i fully respect what Hearns, Duran and SRR did at the lower weights prior to higher weight title shots. Top shelf fighters are routinely given world title fights at higher weights.

 

Robinson's path was "easy," only in the sense that he was good enough to win virtually all his fights against the best fighters of his era. He was also lucky because from the beginning he was well known in NY because of a fabulous amateur career. If he had stumbled early on, he might have had to work his way up along a path similar to other black fighters of the era. But because of his talent and hard work, he avoided that quagmire. In essence, his path seemed "easy" only because he was a cut above everybody, whether they were white, black or chartreuse.

 

Surprised he didn't go after the light weight title.

 

Yeah, I have no problems with it really. Just to put it in perspective.

 

I think he was growing so fast and making so much money as a contender that he was out of the division before he could focus on a title.

 

Some say Sugar Ray avoided Charley Burley and the rest of The Black Murderers' Row.

Robinson was very active, and fought his share of bum of the month types after winning the welter weight title vs Tommy Bell.

I'm not saying he didn't meet top competition, but there is an omission of some types of fighters. From what I've read Sugar Ray didn't play ball with the mob and had to wait for his title shot at welter weight. Perhaps he just had a lot of fights, and was so skilled people just wanted to see him and didn't care if he was an African American.

 

You just couldn't help yourself, could you.

What "type of fighters" from Robinson's own weight class is missing from his record, you'd say?

If you even think of saying "Burley" you do know how much you open up for how GGG ducked Kovalev and Ward (who wanted Golovkin), don't you?