Would you define Sugar Ray Robinson as at 'technician'?

As John Garfield posts "a Stone Cold Killer" in the ring.. Robinson's good looks and innate class in the ring, covered up his sheer viciousness in the ring...No fighter in recorded history threw such a combination of speed and POWER , with such evil intent...One of the great pleasures of my life was to see him in his welterweight prime...Beauty and power combined in one package...

 

I form the view that much or most more accurately, of his work, was instictive, born blessed he did not have to work like others on technique. Sometimes he fought frenzied, I don't believe he thought too much about anything in the ring, technicians train for eventualities and hone skills offensively and defensively
Ray was the greatest natural fighter of all time, normal didn't apply to him.

 

"You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone."

You'd certainly know. Spot on.

 

i think he is taken for granted on this board at times. My top-3 fighters of all-time, he and Greb and Langford, rotate and switch all the time, but it really has remained those three for years. The total package.

 

He could be bracketed in any number of descriptions. Guy had everything and excelled in them all. When he was in the mood he was poetic to watch

 

Check out Sugar Ray`s fight with Gene Fullmer in 1960 at Los Angeles. He was 40 years old and he boxed Fullme`sr ears off. He was a technician that night. They scored it a draw but Ray probably won 10 rounds.

 

He looks damn good in those fights considering his age and ridiculous amount of mileage he'd already put on his body. Those punches start to take a serious toll in the upper four divisions, particularly fighting at Middleweight. He should've been completely shot by then and it's ridiculous.

For all the critiquing there is for his Middleweight career, he left a unique legacy at the weight and ultimately I'm glad he came back in 1955 for fights with Olson, Fullmer and Basilio to be filmed. The way he disposed of Olson to win it back (after beating Castellani) in both fights, knocking Fullmer dead with the best left hook in history and having two wars with Basilio... I don't know that you can trade it for the prettier record that he had through 1952.

 

Fascinating stuff:
http://www.****************/boxing-history/11650-sugar-ray-robinson-greatest-all-time.html

 

Robinson had great technique, but I would not call him a "technician". He was more than a technician.

 

Great stuff guys. I also think he looked like the best example for "sweet science" against Graziano and even Maxim before exhaustion. Best fighter to watch on film imho. Too bad there's no Greb and almost no Langford footage but that's why we treasure what footage we're able to access.

 

No Kid Gavilan. :verysad

Although he strung together some incredible KO's to demonstrate his power and combination punching in many of his best wins at 160:

Jake LaMotta (TKO 13)
Randy Turpin (TKO 10)
Rocky Graziano (KO 3)
Carl Olson (UD 15) (KO 2) (KO 4)
Gene Fullmer (KO 5)
Carmen Basilio (SD 15)

All of these are great. Must've been a trip to watch him come back and reclaim the title in the fashion he does against Olson. :yep

 

It's not usually ever the case that you're either are a technician or not one. If SRR was any more of a technician than he was, he would be worse.