Sugar Ray Robinson, Boxing Genius, Dies
On April 12, 1989 – 1989: Exactly eight years to the day later, another beloved former champion dies. Sugar Ray Robinson, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, dies at age 67 in Culver City, Cal. Robinson’s skills, resiliency and longevity in the ring were legendary. He was 85-0 as an amateur and then won his first 40 fights as a pro before losing to Jake LaMotta, whom he defeated in their five other bouts. Robinson, who was born Walker Smith Jr., was welterweight champ in the late forties and middleweight champ for a record five times in the fifties.
Many considered the sweet fighting Sugar Ray to be, pound-for-pound, the greatest fighter ever.
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