Boxing History: August 25, 1950 Sugar Ray Robinson KO 1 Jose Basora, Scranton. Retains Pennsylvania World Middleweight Title.
Robinson ends matters in just 52-seconds.
Robinson set the standard to witch all fighters would aspire, regarded by most as the best fighter ever to grace the ring.
Sugar Ray Robinson (born Walker Smith Jr.; May 3, 1921 — April 12, 1989) was an American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson’s performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create “pound for pound” rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. Robinson was 85–0 as an amateur with 69 of those victories coming by way of knockout, 40 in the first round. He turned professional in 1940 at the age of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 128–1–2 with 84 knockouts. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year.
He retired in 1952, only to come back two and a half years later and regain the middleweight title in 1955. He then became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times, a feat he accomplished by defeating Carmen Basilio in 1958 to regain the middleweight championship. Robinson was named “fighter of the year” twice: first for his performances in 1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his efforts in 1951. He defeated other Hall of Fame fighters such as Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Gene Fullmer, Randy Turpin, Carl ‘Bobo’ Olson, Henry Armstrong, Rocky Graziano and Kid Gavilan. Robinson engaged in 200 pro bouts, and his professional career lasted nearly 26 years.
Robinson was a fluid boxer who possessed power in both hands and a fast jab. In 1951 TIME said “Robinson’s repertoire, thrown with equal speed and power by either hand, includes every standard punch from a bolo to a hook—and a few he makes up on the spur of the moment.”[2] Robinson stated that once a fighter gained a certain amount of skill, his boxing technique became reflexive. Robinson was named the greatest fighter of the 20th century by the Associated Press, and the greatest boxer in history by ESPN.com in 2007. The Ring magazine rated him the best “pound for pound” boxer of all-time in 1997, and its “Fighter of the Decade” for the 1950s. Muhammad Ali, who repeatedly called himself “The Greatest” throughout his career, ranked Robinson as the greatest boxer of all time. Other Hall of Fame boxers such as Joe Louis and Sugar Ray Leonard said the same. Renowned for his flamboyant lifestyle outside the ring, Robinson is credited with being the originator of the modern sports “entourage”. After his boxing career ended, Robinson attempted a career as an entertainer, but struggled, and lived in poverty until his death in 1989. In 2006, he was featured on a commemorative stamp by the United States Postal Service.
Named Fighter of the Year for 1942 and 1951 by The Ring Magazine.
Named Fighter of the Year for 1950 by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Named Fighter of the Decade for the 1950s by The Ring Magazine.
Inducted into The Ring Magazine Boxing Hall of Fame in 1967.
Inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in 1981.
Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
Named Welterweight Fighter of the Century, Middleweight Fighter of the Century, and Fighter of the Century by the Associated Press in 1999.
The Ring Magazine ranked Robinson as the best fighter of the last 80 years in 2002.
The Ring Magazine ranked Robinson as the 11th greatest puncher of all-time in 2003.
Inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
The United States Postal Service honored Robinson with a stamp in 2006.
Historian Bert Sugar ranked Robinson #1 in his 2006 book Boxing’s Greatest Fighters.
ESPN ranked Robinson as the greatest fighter in history in 2007.
