Sugar Ray Robinson Weakness?

The commentator for SRR-Dykes on youtube mentions how Robby is dominating on the inside with "cannonading" that is not readily visible on the screen, and that this infighting is making the difference from the outset of the match. The thudding of Ray's right into Bobby's ribs is quite audible though. (It can also be heard in the Fusari film.) Dykes was a rare example of an opponent who was both lighter and taller than Robinson, so SRR took it to him at close quarters.

"Weakness" is a relative term here. One typically makes the most of physical advantages. When the situation presented itself, he seemed fine at close range, and his right to the body is a surgically applied and deadly staple in his arsenal.

Concerning Fritzie Zivic, he was already a veteran of over 140 fights spanning more than a decade. Cochran, Armstrong, Burley, Angott, Conn, Davis, Jenkins and Ambers were among the opponents he'd shared the ring with by then, and it's hardly surprising that he would be such a phenomenal learning experience for Robby. (On the other hand, it's frightening how Ray was able to dominate the veterans he did during his rookie year.)

 

I disagree. I would say that a defensive cutie might be more of a handful for Robinson than a pressure fighter. We may not have really seen him tested in that department, so pressure fighters may have given him more trouble by default. I would speculate that his offensive nature might get the better of him to an extent, and he doesn't have some of the stylistic assets of, say, a Napoles or a Duran to force you into an offensive contest. I give Leonard a good chance of beating him behind the jab, for instance.

 

Perhaps the fact that he fought brutal wars at the top end of the sport into his mid-forties?

Also, even slicksters like Pep and Conn have had dementia pugilistica.

 

"At his peak, Sugar Ray was the best-disciplined fighter in the trade. He valued his looks too much to take a chance getting hurt in the ring. When it came time for him to stop, his willpower was like iron. He could sleep next to Venus without touching her."-Harry Wiley

 

Yeah, you can look at it that way, i agree to an extent, it does mean that he could be hit though, which does qualify his defence as not being his strongest, that's what the thread is asking after all. But i agree with you fully on his weakness not being anything that's getting exploited unless its once in a blue moon.

 

Blame Joe Louis for Conn's

I think Pep's can be attributed to his ridiculously long amateur and pro career combined. That is a lot of ring time and although i think fighters today are shamefully inactive, fighting that much in your life is bound to give you serious brain damage. even if you don't get hit much

 

I was thinking that myself, and it certainly works in the case of say Mayweather (for other reasons too), but a big durable mobile Welter like Leonard might not be the kind of man you can walk down.

 

Maybe the SRR of pre 1949.?.? The 1950 and above SRR was lining up bitches two at a time in camp....... Plus, he was hooked on them damn Snicker bars........ Ray said that in some interview yrs after the fact....

MR.BILLhat

 

Right and that accumulative amount of damage is not good for any fighter. Even a defensive wizard say he gets a few fights per year and only gets hit 30 times a year, that's gonna build up and put "wear & tear" on the body.

 

People may or may not buy into this, but I think the SRR of 1951 and 155 1/2 pounds who massacred Jake LaMotta on Valentine's Day, was still in his peak yrs and at the height of his skills in or near age 30....... SRR began to slip around 1953, but was still great enough to come back and win the title / titles........

MR.BILL

 

We do have footage of a young SRR dealing with HOFer Angott, who is boxing as a defensive cutie, dancing in reverse. Ray looks fine, stalking forward behind a downward stabbing offensive jab, and putting The Clutch on the deck. Sammy is clearly in survival mode. (Both weighed the same for this one, just over 136, so Robby didn't have the weight pull he enjoyed for Dykes.) Based on the Angott footage, I wouldn't advocate this kind of strategy as a means for trying to defeat Ray. SRR resembles something like a WW Hearns in that situation.

A come forward slip and counter specialist might provide a few headaches though, and Napoles could do that very well.