Sugar Ray Robinson is one of the defining fighters in boxing history.

Born Walker Smith Jr., Robinson combined speed, power, balance, footwork, combination punching and ring intelligence at a level rarely seen in a single fighter. He became world champion at welterweight, won versions of the world middleweight championship five times and defeated a remarkable collection of champions across a professional career spanning 25 years.

Robinson’s influence extends beyond his record. The term “pound-for-pound” became closely associated with discussions of his greatness because comparing him only with fighters from his own weight class seemed inadequate.

His résumé included victories over Jake LaMotta, Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Randy Turpin, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio, Fritzie Zivic and many others. The International Boxing Hall of Fame describes him as considered by many the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history.

Career Snapshot

Robinson turned professional in 1940 and immediately began building an extraordinary résumé.

He won his first 40 professional fights before encountering Jake LaMotta in their second meeting in February 1943.

LaMotta defeated him by decision.

Robinson responded by beating LaMotta only three weeks later.

It would be years before Robinson lost again.

By the time Robinson finally received an opportunity to fight for the vacant world welterweight championship in December 1946, he had already accumulated dozens of professional victories.

He defeated Tommy Bell by decision to become champion.

Robinson subsequently defended the welterweight title against challengers including Jimmy Doyle, Bernard Docusen and Kid Gavilan.

By 1951, Robinson was ready to move permanently into the middleweight championship picture.

His opponent was extremely familiar.

Jake LaMotta.

Robinson stopped LaMotta in the 13th round of their sixth meeting to become middleweight champion.

The fight became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

What followed was one of boxing’s most remarkable championship careers.

Robinson lost the championship to Randy Turpin and regained it. He retired, returned, regained the championship again, lost it to Gene Fullmer, knocked Fullmer out in their rematch, lost the title to Carmen Basilio and then regained it from Basilio.

By the time his championship years ended, Robinson had become a five-time middleweight champion.

Career Highlights

• World Welterweight Champion
• Five-time World Middleweight Champion
• Commonly credited with a final record of 174-19-6 with 109 KOs and two no contests
• Began his professional career 40-0
• Defeated Jake LaMotta five times in six fights
• Defeated Hall of Famers including Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Randy Turpin, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio and Fritzie Zivic
• Produced one of boxing’s most famous one-punch knockouts against Gene Fullmer
• Challenged Joey Maxim for the world light heavyweight championship
• Fought professionally for 25 years
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990

Best Fights

Best Win: Jake LaMotta VI

Robinson challenged Jake LaMotta for the middleweight championship on February 14, 1951.

It was their sixth fight.

Robinson used his speed early before increasingly dominating as LaMotta tired.

By the later rounds, Robinson was landing punishing combinations against a champion who refused to go down.

The referee finally stopped the fight in the 13th round.

Robinson became world middleweight champion, and the brutality of the contest earned it the enduring nickname St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Best Fight: Carmen Basilio II

Robinson’s 1958 rematch with Carmen Basilio came after Basilio had taken the middleweight championship from him by split decision.

Their second fight was another grueling 15-round battle.

This time Robinson emerged with the split decision and regained the middleweight championship.

At 36 years old, Robinson had once again reclaimed a world title in one of the most competitive periods of his career.

Most Spectacular Win: Gene Fullmer II

Gene Fullmer defeated Robinson by decision to take the middleweight championship in January 1957.

Their rematch four months later produced one of boxing’s most famous knockouts.

In the fifth round, Robinson caught Fullmer with a perfectly timed left hook.

Fullmer went down and could not beat the count.

The punch became one of the signature moments of Robinson’s career, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame notes that it has been described as “the perfect punch.”

Most Underrated Win: Kid Gavilan

Kid Gavilan became a great welterweight champion in his own right.

Robinson beat him twice.

Their second meeting in 1949 was for Robinson’s welterweight championship, with Robinson winning a 15-round decision.

Victories like these demonstrate the depth of Robinson’s résumé beyond the handful of fights most frequently associated with his career.

Boxing Style & Skill Breakdown

Robinson was an unusually complete offensive fighter.

He could box while moving forward or backward, attack from different angles and generate knockout power without sacrificing speed.

His combinations flowed naturally between head and body.

Unlike fighters dependent upon a single dominant weapon, Robinson could alter the way he fought according to his opponent.

Strengths

Hand Speed

Robinson’s hands were exceptionally fast.

He could land combinations before opponents had time to reset, particularly when transitioning from defense to offense.

Power

Robinson was not merely a fast point-scoring boxer.

He could punch.

His 109 commonly recognized knockouts demonstrate unusual finishing power for a fighter who spent much of his prime at welterweight and middleweight.

Combination Punching

Robinson could connect punches together fluidly.

Jabs became right hands.

Right hands became hooks.

Head attacks transitioned into body punches.

That unpredictability made conventional defense extremely difficult.

Footwork

Robinson maintained balance while moving in virtually every direction.

He could attack while advancing, counter while retreating and reposition himself without sacrificing punching leverage.

Left Hook

Robinson’s left hook became one of his signature weapons.

The knockout of Gene Fullmer remains perhaps the most famous example.

Ring Intelligence

Robinson could change tactics during fights.

He was comfortable leading or countering and could transition between aggressive exchanges and mobile boxing depending on what an opponent presented.

Weaknesses

Robinson’s greatness did not make him unbeatable.

Physical pressure could disrupt him.

Jake LaMotta demonstrated that a sufficiently strong and determined opponent could make Robinson uncomfortable by forcing close-range exchanges.

Randy Turpin defeated him through physicality and disciplined boxing.

Gene Fullmer’s awkward pressure also troubled him.

Later in Robinson’s career, age and an enormous accumulation of fights gradually reduced the athletic advantages that had once separated him from nearly everyone else.

Style Matchups

Robinson could adapt to almost any style.

Slow fighters struggled with his speed.

Aggressive fighters risked walking into combinations.

Pure boxers had to contend with his power.

The fighters who caused him the greatest problems generally combined physical strength, durability and pressure with enough skill to prevent Robinson from simply controlling the fight at distance.

Physical Attributes & Ring IQ

Robinson stood approximately 5’11” (180 cm) with a 72½” (184 cm) reach.

Those dimensions gave him excellent size at welterweight while remaining effective as he moved into middleweight.

But Robinson’s physical measurements explain only part of his success.

His greatest advantage was the way his physical abilities worked together.

Speed did not compromise power.

Movement did not compromise balance.

Aggression did not eliminate his ability to counter.

He could change the pace and geography of a fight without abandoning his offensive threat.

That versatility is one reason his style influenced generations of fighters who followed him.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta

Robinson and Jake LaMotta fought six times between 1942 and 1951.

Robinson won five.

LaMotta won one.

But that simple record understates the significance of their rivalry.

LaMotta handed Robinson the first defeat of his professional career in their second meeting on February 5, 1943.

Only 21 days later, Robinson defeated him in their third fight.

They eventually met for a sixth time with LaMotta’s middleweight championship at stake.

Robinson stopped LaMotta in the 13th round of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and became middleweight champion.

The rivalry connected two dramatically different styles.

LaMotta attempted to impose strength, pressure and durability.

Robinson answered with speed, combinations and movement.

Over six fights, Robinson proved more adaptable.

Sugar Ray Robinson and Jimmy Doyle

One of the darkest events of Robinson’s career occurred during his first defense of the welterweight championship.

Robinson fought Jimmy Doyle in Cleveland on June 24, 1947.

Doyle was knocked out in the eighth round and never regained consciousness. He died the following day from injuries suffered in the fight.

The tragedy deeply affected Robinson.

Over time, another story became attached to the fight: Robinson reportedly said that before the bout he had dreamed that Doyle would die in the ring and initially did not want to fight.

According to Robinson’s later account, people around him convinced him that the dream should not prevent the contest from taking place.

The dream story has been repeated extensively in biographies and historical accounts, but it comes principally from Robinson’s later recollections rather than independent evidence recorded before the fight.

What is certain is that Doyle died following the contest, making the fight one of the most tragic episodes of Robinson’s career.

Who Beat Sugar Ray Robinson?

Robinson’s final record contains 19 losses, but the timing of those defeats matters.

He began his professional career 40-0 before Jake LaMotta defeated him in 1943.

Robinson then went approximately eight years without another defeat. The Hall of Fame notes that after the LaMotta loss, he did not lose again until Randy Turpin upset him in 1951.

Among the fighters who defeated Robinson were Jake LaMotta, 
Randy Turpin, 
Joey Maxim, 
Ralph Jones, 
Gene Fullmer, 
Carmen Basilio, 
Paul Pender, & 
Joey Archer.

Many of Robinson’s defeats occurred after his prime. The International Boxing Hall of Fame notes that 16 of his 19 career losses came after his 1955 comeback, including five defeats in his final 15 fights.

That context is important when evaluating his final record.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Randy Turpin

Robinson traveled to London to face Randy Turpin on July 10, 1951.

Turpin shocked the boxing world by defeating Robinson over 15 rounds and taking the middleweight championship.

The defeat ended Robinson’s extraordinary run without a loss.

Two months later, they met again at the Polo Grounds in New York.

Robinson regained the championship by stopping Turpin in the 10th round before a crowd of more than 60,000.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Joey Maxim

Robinson attempted to accomplish something even more ambitious in 1952.

He moved up to challenge Joey Maxim for the world light heavyweight championship.

The fight took place outdoors at Yankee Stadium in oppressive heat.

Robinson was leading on all three scorecards after 13 rounds.

But the heat had become overwhelming.

Robinson could not answer the bell for the 14th round, giving Maxim the victory by technical knockout.

Even the referee, Ruby Goldstein, had been replaced during the fight after suffering from the heat.

It became the only stoppage loss of Robinson’s professional career.

Remarkably, it was not Maxim’s punches that had broken Robinson down.

It was the conditions.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Gene Fullmer

Robinson and Gene Fullmer fought four times.

Fullmer’s strength and aggressive style presented Robinson with considerable difficulty.

Fullmer defeated Robinson by decision in January 1957 to win the middleweight championship.

Robinson responded spectacularly.

In their May rematch, Robinson landed a short left hook in the fifth round that knocked Fullmer out.

It was the first knockout loss of Fullmer’s professional career.

Their third fight ended with Fullmer winning a decision, and their fourth ended in a draw.

The second fight remains immortal because of Robinson’s knockout.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio defeated Robinson by split decision in 1957 to take the middleweight championship.

They fought again in March 1958.

Once again, the fight lasted 15 rounds.

This time Robinson received the split decision.

At 36 years old, he had regained the middleweight championship for the fifth time.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Henry Armstrong

Robinson fought another fighter who would become synonymous with pound-for-pound greatness when he faced Henry Armstrong in August 1943.

Armstrong was considerably older and nearing the end of his legendary career.

Robinson won the 10-round decision.

The fight therefore shouldn’t be interpreted as both men meeting at their absolute peaks.

But historically, it connected two fighters who became enduring standards for greatness across weight divisions.

Was Sugar Ray Robinson the Greatest Boxer Ever?

There is no objective formula capable of establishing one boxer as the greatest across every era and weight class.

But Robinson’s place in that discussion is unusually persistent.

His case rests on a combination of longevity, championship success, quality of opposition, dominance during his prime, ability across weight classes and the completeness of his boxing skills.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame says Robinson is considered by many to be the greatest fighter in history pound-for-pound.

Perhaps the most extraordinary statistic comes from the middle of his career.

At one stage, Robinson’s record stood at approximately 128-1-2, with additional no-contest accounting depending on the historical record system being used.

His only defeat during that enormous stretch had come against Jake LaMotta, a fighter Robinson ultimately defeated five times.

Whether that makes Robinson the greatest is ultimately a matter of criteria.

It unquestionably explains why the argument has survived for generations.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard never fought.

They belonged to different generations.

Leonard was born in 1956, near the end of Robinson’s career.

The shared name was not coincidental.

Leonard’s famous “Sugar Ray” nickname followed Robinson’s legacy, although the two fighters developed distinct styles and careers.

Both became welterweight champions and major figures in their respective eras, which naturally leads to hypothetical comparisons.

But there was never an actual Robinson-Leonard fight.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Muhammad Ali

Robinson and Muhammad Ali also never fought.

They competed in dramatically different weight classes and generations.

Robinson was primarily a welterweight and middleweight.

Ali was a heavyweight.

Their connection is historical rather than competitive.

Both became central figures in discussions of boxing greatness, and Ali publicly expressed enormous respect for Robinson’s ability.

A hypothetical fight between them is therefore not meaningful without accounting for the enormous natural size difference.

Legacy & Historical Ranking

Sugar Ray Robinson’s legacy extends beyond championships and statistics.

He helped establish the standard by which complete fighters are judged.

Speed.

Power.

Footwork.

Combination punching.

Defense.

Durability.

Ring intelligence.

Robinson possessed all of them.

He also accumulated an extraordinary résumé.

The International Boxing Hall of Fame lists fellow Hall of Famers Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer and Fritzie Zivic among the fighters Robinson defeated.

His career also crossed distinct eras.

He turned professional in 1940.

He became welterweight champion in 1946.

He became middleweight champion in 1951.

He retired, returned and won championships again.

And he continued fighting until 1965.

By then, boxing had changed substantially from the sport Robinson entered 25 years earlier.

Yet his name remained the benchmark.

Record Breakdown

Sugar Ray Robinson’s record illustrates one of the problems inherent in historical boxing statistics.

Modern fight-by-fight records commonly list:

174 wins

19 losses

6 draws

2 no contests

109 knockouts

The International Boxing Hall of Fame currently lists Robinson at 175 wins, 19 losses, six draws, two no contests and 106 knockouts.

Historical record discrepancies like this are not unusual for fighters with careers extending deep into boxing’s earlier record-keeping eras.

Robinson fought professionally from 1940 through 1965.

He was world welterweight champion and held versions of the world middleweight championship five times.

Notable Rivalries

Jake LaMotta

Robinson and LaMotta fought six times.

Robinson won five, while LaMotta handed Robinson his first professional defeat.

Their final meeting became the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Gene Fullmer

Robinson fought Fullmer four times.

Their rivalry included Fullmer taking Robinson’s championship and Robinson responding with one of boxing history’s most celebrated left-hook knockouts.

Carmen Basilio

Basilio and Robinson split two grueling 15-round championship fights.

Basilio won the first by split decision.

Robinson won the rematch by split decision to regain the middleweight championship.

Randy Turpin

Turpin shocked Robinson in London in 1951.

Robinson regained the championship by stopping him two months later.

Related Fighters

Jake LaMotta

Henry Armstrong

Joe Louis

Rocky Graziano

FAQ

What was Sugar Ray Robinson’s record?

Sugar Ray Robinson is commonly listed today with a professional record of 174-19-6 with two no contests and 109 knockouts. Historical sources differ slightly on the exact totals.

What was Sugar Ray Robinson’s real name?

Sugar Ray Robinson was born Walker Smith Jr.

How tall was Sugar Ray Robinson?

Robinson stood approximately 5’11” (180 cm) with a 72½” (184 cm) reach.

Who beat Sugar Ray Robinson first?

Jake LaMotta handed Robinson his first professional defeat on February 5, 1943. Robinson entered the fight with a 40-0 record.

How many times did Sugar Ray Robinson fight Jake LaMotta?

Robinson fought LaMotta six times. Robinson won five fights and LaMotta won one.

Did Sugar Ray Robinson kill a boxer in the ring?

Jimmy Doyle died from injuries suffered during his 1947 welterweight championship fight against Robinson. Doyle lost consciousness after being knocked out and died the following day.

Was Sugar Ray Robinson ever knocked out?

Robinson was never counted out from punches during his professional career. His only stoppage loss came against Joey Maxim in 1952, when extreme heat prevented Robinson from continuing after the 13th round.

How many times was Sugar Ray Robinson middleweight champion?

Robinson held versions of the world middleweight championship five times.

Did Sugar Ray Robinson fight Sugar Ray Leonard?

No. Robinson and Leonard belonged to different generations and never fought professionally.

Did Sugar Ray Robinson fight Muhammad Ali?

No. Robinson and Ali competed in different generations and dramatically different weight classes.

How did Sugar Ray Robinson die?

Sugar Ray Robinson died on April 12, 1989, at age 67. He had experienced health problems late in life, including Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.