“Sugar Ray” Robinson Essay

By Ben Harter

Jake LaMotta, Randy Turpin, Carl Olson, the list goes on. These are all people that “Sugar Ray” Robinson has defeated. “I fought Sugar Ray so many times I almost got diabetes!” Jake LaMotta would say in an interview about Sugar Ray. From being poor to worldwide fame, anyway you cut it, “Sugar Ray” Robinson is one of the best middleweight boxers in the world.

Walker Smith Junior’s life would change the night that he decided to step into the ring with a stranger for the first time. They were amateur fights in New York where people could have their fifteen minutes of fame under a spotlight. Walker didn’t have his own ID card to box, his mother wouldn’t allow it, and so he had to use one for a kid named Ray Robinson. A stringy little kid, he wasn’t expected to win. He couldn’t believe that he had just won his first fight. (Robinson pg. 46)

Soon he would keep going to the bootleg fights every Saturday night until his mother found out. She was mad at first, but when she saw the $900 he had made over the course of the fights, she changed her mind. “Well, maybe you can keep fighting, but if you start to get cut up, I’ll have to make you stop.” she said. (Robinson pg. 65)

With an undefeated record of eighty-nine wins, zero loses; “Sugar Ray” won the Golden Gloves when he was only fifteen years old. From then on he would start to box professionally, keeping his name, Ray Robinson. His first loss would be the first and only one that Jake LaMotta would get on him. A total of six fights, Robinson and LaMotta would be one of the greatest boxing rivalries along with Fraizer and Ali. (Robinson various pages)

As well as his boxing career, Robinson was just as big outside of his career with his ability to sing and dance. He would do many shows but said he hated the touring. (Robinson pg. 233) He quit once he started to plan a comeback to boxing because of his business and money decreasing.

His comeback was not well received. He started to lose fights in rows and boxing critics did not do him any favors in their articles. (Robinson pg. 247) At this point he was thinking about retirement. He retired with a ceremony in Madison Square Garden that ended with him getting a trophy that said “Worlds Greatest Fighter” (Robinson pg. 365) as well as a standing ovation. He lived a modest life after that. He bought an apartment with Millie Bruce, his second wife, and lived out the rest of his days in New York. (Robinson pg. 368)

Transactional. I would like to know of any questions you had about my piece. Thanks :)

Multi-Genre Paper Poem

Sugar Ray Poem

By Ben Harter


Once there was a man named Sugar Ray
And with his money he loved to play
With all the proceeds from his fights
He would party most of his nights

For all his friends who loved to spend
He would always have money to lend
But when the government wanted a cut
Old Sugar Ray was stuck in a rut

All his money he started to lose
So he put back on his boxing shoes
His comeback didn’t go down well
With tickets being a problem to sell

Four million dollars came and went
With most going toward the government
When asked, he would always say:
“I wouldn’t have had it any other way.


I would like for people to give me feedback on what I should do to make my poem better.

Transactional