We're talking prime Ray (1951) vs prime Dick (1962) for the lineal middleweight title, 15 rounds. How does this one play out?
I think most would agree that in 1951 Robinson was nearing the end of his prime. Tiger in 1962 was still in the middle of his prime. He'd had a rough start in boxing. He became a pro in 1952 before he knew anything about fighting. His early years he was losing to guys making their ring debut and those losses would remain forever on his record. It took Tiger five years as a pro before he was any good. Over the succeeding years he grew into a terror. I contend that Tiger from 1960 to 1963 was the equal of any modern middleweight including Marvin Hagler -- and was a better middleweight than Robinson. He had the physical strength, the hunger and aggression, the stamina and the arsenal to beat the great Sugar Ray in his prime. To defeat Tiger, Ray would have to knock him out.
Robinson from the St Valentine’s Day massacre massacres him, he’d hit Tiger at will. The pressure would only play into Robinson’s hands. Robinson could counter effectively with hard punches and stay in the pocket and pick his punches.
