Cassius Clay worked the corner for Sugar Ray Robinson in Jamaica

More than 50 years ago, something historical occurred in Jamaica, and many persons looking on, perhaps, never realised its significance. It was the night of Saturday, March 6, 1965, at Sabina Park, in Kingston, Jamaica, that world heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali and declared to all the world that he was "the greatest", appeared at the ringside as a second for a boxer, Sugar Ray Robinson, who the world today recognises as one of the greatest boxers to have graced the boxing ring.
Robinson, who still has an unmatched ring record, was a many-time world champion, as a welterweight and a middleweight, and was in Jamaica to fight another renown American fighter, Jimmy Beecham, on a fight card promoted by Lucien Chen. World famous trainer Angelo Dundee, the man who guided both Clay and Robinson, was asked by Chen to get Clay to come to Jamaica with Robinson to add some pizzazz to the card. Clay not only came, but agreed to be Dundee's assistant at the ringside.

GREAT SHOWMAN

Clay (Ali), who was one of the greatest showmen to grace the boxing scene, had just started to make his mark on the world scene after winning the world heavyweight title by scoring a sensational victory over Sonny Liston. He was still, however, humble enough and man enough to carry the bucket with water, ice and sponges and act as a second, for Robinson.
I saw it happen and enjoyed the moment, and it is only now, looking back over 50 years, that one recognises the significance of that gesture. The heavyweight champion of the world assisted his trainer that night in working the corner of a boxing icon.
Robinson was, without doubt, one of the greatest boxers the world has seen. He boxed from 1940 to 1965, so when he fought in Jamaica in 1965 at age 44, he was on his farewell tour. What a tour it turned out to be! He had 14 fights that year, won eight, including a knockout victory over Beecham, lost five, and one was ruled a no-contest. After his fight on November 10 that year, a loss to Jimmy Archer on points, he decided to end his career. His phenomenal record then was 173 victories (108 by knockout), 19 losses and six draws. Wow!!!!
When Clay was introduced to the public that night, he was his usual exuberant self and declared that he was glad to be in Jamaica and wanted to fight here one day. The opponents he had in mind then were Floyd Patterson and George Chuvalo, but that, he said, would be after he beat Sonny Liston a second time. He did fight and beat all three men, but, unfortunately, not in Jamaica.

MEMORABLE NIGHT

The Robinson fight, that memorable night in March, was dramatic and short. Robinson seemed anxious to end the fight, and it was surmised that he wanted to take care of business quickly because there was a steady drizzle.
Fighting with what was referred to as "tigerish ferocity and dramatic swiftness", he stalked Beecham, distracted him with jabs, and then a left to the body and a right to the head put him down for the first time. He was put down two more times in quick succession and was counted out at one minute 48 seconds on the second round by referee Emilio Sanchez. Long after the fight ended and he recovered his senses, Beecham struggled with his manager to allow him to go back into the middle to "finish" Robinson.
Clay, the man who later made a remarkable career as Muhammad Ali, his Muslim name, died last month (June 3), and the world paid tribute to him in many magnificent ways. He made two other memorable visits to Jamaica, one in 1974, when he was given the keys to the City of Kingston, and the other in 1987.

Review: Sugar Ray Robinson’s Bouts and Biography, With a Bite Thrown In

I’ve never formally met Reginald L. Wilson. But if I see him on the street, it will be tough not to give him a bro-hug. Indeed, even though he portrays a hard-hitting fighter in “Sugar Ray,” this friendly actor exudes warmth, and that helps make a fairly good play quite a bit better.

A one-man show about Sugar Ray Robinson, “Sugar Ray” packs a lot into 75 minutes. Embodying that former champion, Mr. Wilson recounts the boxer’s teenage years, his womanizing, his marriages, his major bouts, his retirement and his eventual comeback.

The play is primarily anecdotes and casual storytelling, and would be far less successful if done on a traditional stage. But the location here is a character in itself: the New Harlem Besame restaurant, the former site of Robinson’s own restaurant and business offices, on a section of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard that’s been renamed Sugar Ray Robinson Way.

Mr. Wilson holds court in front of, and sometimes amid, the restaurant tables, occasionally ad-libbing in response to audience members and commenting on fight films that are projected onto a screen. As directed by Woodie King Jr., from a script by Laurence Holder, he tells the tales with an ever-present smile and only a few props.

Though I worry about viewers unfamiliar with Robinson’s career — it helps to have a general knowledge of Jake LaMotta, Joe Louis and other fighters of the era to appreciate the stories fully — Mr. Holder’s breezy script is otherwise easy to follow. Early scenes in which Robinson (1921-1989) recalls his mother and a late one where he remembers a conversation with Muhammad Ali are especially touching.

“Sugar Ray” is at its best during those reflections, and while a tighter story line (and some nuance) would be welcome, the structure allows Mr. Wilson to hold the floor with ease. (Dinner after the show is included with the $49 ticket price; I’ll do double duty as restaurant critic here and recommend the tilapia with peppers.)

At the end of Mr. Holder’s script, we experience only a little sorrow for the champ, despite his constant money problems and his early death. That’s partly because seeing a life this full makes it easy to feel happy for Robinson, and partly because an actor this upbeat makes it hard to feel sad.

Sugar Ray Robinson Biography

Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and by 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times.

Synopsis

Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson was born in 1921. He turned pro in 1940 and won his first 40 fights. Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed "pound for pound, the best." By 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. He finished his career in 1965 with 175 victories. Robinson died in Culver City, California, in 1989.

Early Years

Sugar Ray Robinson was born Walker Smith Jr. on May 3, 1921, although the location is a source of debate. Robinson's birth certificate lists his place of birth as Ailey, Georgia, while the boxer stated in his autobiography that he was born in Detroit, Michigan. What is known is that Robinson grew up in Detroit, and he was 11 years old when his mother, tired of her husband's absence from the family's life, up and left the city, moving herself, her son and two daughters to Harlem.

But New York proved rough in other ways. With little money—Robinson helped his mother save for an apartment by earning change dancing for strangers in Times Square—the Smiths built their new life in a section of Harlem dominated by flophouses and gangsters.

Fearful that her son would get pulled into this shady world, Robinson's mother turned to the Salem Methodist Episcopal Church, where a man by the name of George Gainford had just started a boxing club.

It didn't take much for Robinson, who'd been a neighbor of heavyweight champ Joe Louis back in Detroit, to strap on fighting gloves. For the first bout of his career in 1936, he borrowed the Amateur Athletic Union card of another boxer, whose name was Ray Robinson, to enter the ring. Robinson wouldn't go by his birth name for the rest of his career. The nickname "Sugar" came from Gainford, who had described the young boxer as "sweet as sugar"; reporters soon began using the moniker.
"Sugar Ray Robinson had a nice ring to it," Robinson later said. "Sugar Walker Smith wouldn't have been the same."

The young boxer quickly moved up the ranks. He won his first Golden Gloves title (featherweight) in 1939, and then repeated the accomplishment in 1940. He turned pro that same year.

Pro Career

In a career that spanned 25 years, Robinson amassed 175 wins, 110 knockouts and just 19 losses.
Robinson began his career with an astonishing 40 straight victories and was called the "uncrowned champion" by boxing fans on account that the mob, who Robinson refused to play nice with, denied him the chance to fight for the world welterweight title until after the war. When Robinson finally did get his shot at the belt in 1946, he took home the crown with a unanimous 15-round decision over Tommy Bell; Robinson would hold the welterweight title until 1951. Six years later, Robinson captured the middleweight title for the first time by defeating Jake LaMotta. By 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times.

Robinson's ability to cross weight classes caused boxing fans and writers to dub him "pound for pound, the best," a sentiment that that has not faded over the years. Muhammad Ali liked to call Robinson "the king, the master, my idol." Robinson inspired Ali's famous matador style, which he used to defeat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title in 1964. In 1984 The Ring magazine placed Robinson No. 1 in its book "The 100 Greatest Boxers of All Time."

Outside of the ring, Robinson relished his celebrity, parading around Harlem with a pink Cadillac and making appearances at his high-profile Harlem nightclub. Wherever he went, he brought a large entourage of trainers, women and family members. Robinson, who was unapologetic for his lavish spending, is estimated to have earned more than $4 million as a fighter, all of which he burned through, forcing him to continue boxing much longer than he should have.

Robinson finally retired from the sport for good in 1965. Two years later, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Personal Life

In his later years, Robinson worked in show business, even doing some television acting. The work greatly helped salvage his finances and was the reason he eventually settled in Southern California with his second wife, Millie. Robinson, who had a son from a previous marriage, helped raise Millie's two children.

In his last years Robinson battled Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. He died at the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, on April 12, 1989.