Was he that convincing as a top 5 all time middleweight? In official middleweight championship contests after he returns to the ring after his layoff following the defeat to Maxim his record is Won - 4 Lost -5 Drawn - 1 He was past his peak by this stage and nearly all fighters decline after the age of 35 but even before Sugar Ray's lay off he showed signs of frailty at middleweight against Turpin. Was Sugar Ray just merely on par with the likes of Turpin, Fullmer, Bastillo and Paul Pender at middleweight or was it simply a case of Robinson being too old to dominate those opponents?
It was simply a case of Robinson being too old to dominate those opponents. With exception: that left hook on Fullmer would have 'iced' oodles of MW's. 131-1 (LaMotta beat him in the early 40's via decision) Outweighed by 16 pounds and kicked his ass three weeks later with, roughly, the same weight disadvantage and beat him again, and again, prior to St. Valentine's day. Fought, at least, once a month for 12 frigging years. Given his 85-0 record as an amateur, after putting LaMatta on '***** street' he was a combined 216-1!!! Is there ANY argument? As a MW, well past prime given his protracted wars from the early 40's and beyond... Feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong, but IMO no one can touch Sugar as THE best pvp'er...
Yes j, I will feel free to correct you....Ray Robinson who I saw ringside as a welterweight and as a MW against Randy Turpin was the greatest all around fighter EVER. But based on the fact that Harry Greb time and again whipped a greater assortment of much heavier HOF fighters often spotting his opponents 10 to 30 pounds in a 300 bout career surely makes Greb as the best P4P fighter who ever lived...Ray Robinson great as he was never challenged LHs and heavyweights time and time again...I have Greb, then Robinson, Fitz, Armstrong, Langford, Ezzard Charles, Mickey Walker, Benny Leonard, Joe Gans in any order you wish except for Harry Greb, whose record is almost surreal...
Always puzzles me how a guy who wasn't the hardest puncher out there could retire with such a record, his face tells me he was no master boxer either.
