Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow - the middleweights by Eric Armit Jul 28th 2008

In the latest part of his fascinating series, Eric Armit looks at the stars of yesterday, today and (perhaps) tomorrow. This issue - the middleweights. Yesterday Sugar Ray Robinson Let me start with a couple of confessions. Firstly, in my opinion, Sugar Ray Robinson was the best fighter ever to lace on a glove and secondly as Steve Farhood pointed out, great as he was as a middleweight (a five-time champion), he was probably an even greater welterweight. In a 25-year career, starting in 1940 and ending in 1965, his record was either 173 or 175 wins (depending on which version you believe) 19 losses and 6 draws with either 108 or 109 inside the distance. However, the 19-6 reflects the latter years when he was but a shadow of the real Sugar Ray. A much better indicator of his greatness is that from 1940, up until before he lost the middleweight title in his first fight with Randy Turpin, his record was 130-1-1 with one no contest and he was unbeaten in his last 91 fights, and that against the very best welterweights and middleweights in the world. Born Walker Smith Jr in Georgia on May 3 ,1921, after the family moved to New York Walker started boxing as an amateur and in order to hide it from his family he took the name of another fighter Ray Robinson. He won the New York Golden Gloves title at featherweight in 1939 and at lightweight in 1940 in an amateur campaign given as 85-0. He had his first pro fight in October 1940, as a lightweight, at Madison Square Garden and by July 1941 (in his 21st fight in nine months) was beating future world lightweight champion Sammy Angott over ten rounds and fought again just seven days later. In fight number 25, in a battle of unbeaten fighters he took a clear unanimous verdict over future world welterweight champion Marty Servo who was unbeaten in 44 fights at the time. This was followed by two wins over former welterweight champion Fritzie Zivic and in 1942 he repeated his wins over Angott and Servo and took a unanimous verdict over Jake LaMotta. By February 1943 he had run up 40 wins, but that record came to a halt when he faced “The Bronx Bull” in a return in Detroit. With a 16lbs weight advantage LaMotta would not be denied and knocked Ray through the ropes in the eighth with only the bell saving Ray, and won a unanimous decision. Ray's incredible level of activity was such that he was back in the ring winning a ten round fight two weeks later and just three weeks after their epic battle he faced LaMotta again, and, despite taking a nine count in the seventh round won a clear unanimous decision. Now a full welterweight, Ray beat a fading Henry Armstrong in August 1943 and kept busy whilst trying to land a title shot. In 1945 the accomplished Tommy Bell was outpointed and Ray also registered two more wins over LaMotta, the first a unanimous decision but the second a hotly disputed split verdict. A surprise in May that year saw Chris Dundee's boy Joe Basora hold Ray to a draw. A busy 1946 saw Ray have 16 fights. He beat Angott again, but had to come back from being on the floor and badly hurt to kayo Art Levine. Finally, in his last fight in December 1946 Ray faced former victim Tommy Bell for the welterweight title which had been vacated by Marty Servo and again had to climb off the floor to win the unanimous verdict. It had taken Ray five years and almost 70 fights to get there. His first defence in June 1947 was stalked by tragedy as his opponent Jimmy Doyle was saved by the bell when out cold at the end of the seventh round, but never recovered consciousness and died the following day. His next defence was in June 1948 when he staged a strong finish to outpoint Bernard Docusen and in September he decisioned future welterweight champion Kid Gavilan in a non-title fight before giving the Kid a title shot in July 1949, which Ray won on a unanimous decision. By now he was eyeing the middleweights. Jake LaMotta had won general recognition as world champion after beating Marcel Cerdan in June 1949, but the State of Pennsylvania did not agree. In June 1950 Ray met Frenchman Robert Villemain, who had beaten LaMotta in a non-title fight, for the vacant Pennsylvanian version of the title in Philadelphia and won an easy verdict and defended the title with a first round kayo of Basora in August and twelfth round kayo of Bobo Olson in October. Whilst waiting for a shot at the real title Ray took an amazing European tour which consisted of five fights in 28 days, all wins and all against top class fighters such as Villemain, Jean Stock, Luc Van Dam and finally, on Christmas Day Hans Stretz. Finally in February 1951 in Chicago, Ray and LaMotta met for the last time in their incredible series and for the only time the fight ended inside the distance with Ray stopping the “Bronx Bull” in the thirteenth round to become world middleweight champion. In May he was off on what was supposed to be another European holiday - Ray Robinson style. He had six fights in five different countries in 41 days, winning five and having one declared a no contest after he was first disqualified for kayoing Gerhard Hecht with a kidney punch only to have the result change to no contest. Nine days after the last of these fights, on July 10, 1951, he faced Randy Turpin in Earls Court and lost his world title in one of the biggest shocks to hit world boxing and still one of the best results ever achieved by a British fighter. On the balance side, these days a fighter seems to need at least three months to prepare for a fight, Ray was having his seventh fight in just over seven weeks. Two months later, at the Polo Grounds in New York, in front of a crowd of over 61,000, Ray again found Randy a handful and with the fight even poised, and Ray badly cut, he found the punch to turn the fight around and battered Randy to defeat in the tenth round. In March 1952 he defended his title with a points win over Olson and six weeks later in another defence climbed off the floor and then kayoed Rocky Graziano in three rounds with a right hand that in one of the most iconic images in boxing sent Rocky's head in one direction and his gum shield flying out over the crowd in the other. Two months later in Yankee Stadium he challenged Joey Maxim for the world light-heavyweight title. Outweighed by 16lbs Ray dominated the fight and was just six minutes from a third world title but the over 100F was just too much and a totally exhausted Ray retired at the end of the 13th round and also retired from boxing. He returned to the ring in 1955, losing in only his second fight back to Ralph Jones, but in December 1955 regained the middleweight title with a stunning, one-punch, kayo of Olson. He lost the title on points to Gene Fullmer in January 1957, but became champion for the third time in May as he kayoed the rock-chinned Fullmer with the most perfect left-hook ever thrown. He dropped the title again in September 1957 on a split decision to the amazingly brave Carmen Basilio who had to overcome a swelling that left him one-eyed, but took it back and became middleweight champion for the fifth and last time in another split decision in March 1958. These two fights were voted “Fight of The Year” in each year by Ring Magazine. In January 1960 he lost his title on a split decision to Paul Pender and a return bout in June ended the same way. Even at almost 40 years of age Ray still was not finished. The National Boxing Association had been recognising Gene Fullmer as champion since he halted Carmen Basilio in 1959's Fight of the Year, and in December 1960 Ray and Gene fought to a 15 round draw for the NBA title. A return in June 1961 was won clearly by Fullmer, and effectively the career of Ray Robinson was over. He fought on until November 1965, but it with all due respect to guys such as Terry Downes and Mick Leahy who beat Ray here, this was just a shadow of the real Ray Robinson. Ray died in California in April 1989. He had it all. A great jab, wonderful reflexes, a dancer's footwork (literally, as he had his own travelling dance show which he took to Paris) a good chin, lightning fast hands and a devastating punch in both of them. The punches that put away Graziano and Fullmer are studies of perfection. He dodged no one and fought to a schedule that would be inconceivable for a world class fighter today and to list all of the past, current and future world champions he faced would take up the rest of this page. There will never be another like him. Record: 175 wins (109 inside the distance), 19 losses, 6 draws. 1 no contest Today Kelly Pavlik The “Ghost” is generally recognised as the current “King” of the middleweights, although during these days of multi-titles Arthur Abraham may wish to dispute that. Born in Youngstown, Ohio on April 4, 1982, after flirting with martial arts he was inspired to settle for boxing by another Youngstown native, the former IBF lightweight champion Harry Arroyo. He started boxing in 1994. He competed unsuccessfully in the 1998 US Junior Olympics at 139lbs but in 1999 he was the National Police Athletic League junior champion and National Golden Gloves junior champion at 147lbs. The following year he was US Under-19 champion and in 2000 won a bronze medal in the US Championships at 156lbs, losing to Sechew Powell. He competed in the Olympic trials for the 2000 Olympics but losses to Anthony Hanshaw and Jermain Taylor saw him eliminated. He turned pro in June 2000 and was brought along slowly, winning his first 14 fights inside the distance and was not really tested until he faced Fulgencio Zuniga for the vacant NABF title in October 2005. It was a tough fight with Kelly being floored in the first round and the Colombian suffering a severe cut before retiring on his stool at the end of the ninth round. Inside the distance wins over Bronco McKart and Leonord Pierre followed in 2006, but Kelly had to climb off the floor before kayoing Jose Zertuche in eight rounds in January 2007. He really looked like a future champion in pounding the tough Colombian Edison Miranda to defeat in seven rounds. Once again he had to climb off the floor in his title challenge against Taylor in September 2007 almost being stopped in the second round. However, he just got stronger and stronger and left a beaten Taylor slumped on the floor in the seventh round to lift the WBC and WBO titles. He was less impressive in an overweight points win over Taylor in February and in his most recent outing had no trouble in crushing an over-matched Gary Lockett in three rounds in June. 6'2” tall, his father Michael is his joint manager and two of Kelly's brothers fought as amateurs. Kelly is a heavy handed , aggressive fighter with an exciting style. Record: 34 fights, 34 wins (30 inside the distance). Future Joe Greene I considered Australian Daniel Geale, Gennady Golovkin from Kazakhstan and even Ireland's John Duddy, but in the end have gone for New York Joe Greene. In 2002 Joe won the US National Silver Gloves title and collected the US national Junior Olympics title in the same year. In 2004 he had a great year winning the gold medal in the National Golden Gloves, a silver medal in the World Under-19 championships and a gold medal in the US Under-19 championships. He also competed in the Olympic trials but lost to Andre Dirrell. He turned pro in March 2005 and has won his 19 fights and includes experienced Francisco Mora and Joshua Okine in his list of victims. Still only 22, and a southpaw, he is a relentless pressure fighter but still very much a work in progress. Record 19 fights, 19 wins (14 inside the distance).

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.