The shocking knockout in the infernal heat of New York that no one expected

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There is hardly a boxer on the planet who has never been at least knocked down - regardless of the class of even the greatest, there is always the danger that even they will be sent to the floor by a surprise blow that they did not expect. And statistics show that even one of the most legendary boxers - Sugar Ray Robinson - has a knockout loss in his memorable career. Although the defeat was not after a "classic" knockout, but a consequence of a technical decision by the judge. But what exactly is going on?

In June 1952, Sugar Ray was scheduled to face Joey Maxim in an attempt to regain the world lightweight title. Robinson is now past the age limit for boxing, but continues to fight in an attempt to get back on top, but mostly for the money he needs to maintain his high standard of living.

The duel was supposed to take place on June 23 at Yankee Stadium, but due to heavy rain, the match was postponed two days later. On June 25th, the clash will finally take place, but New York is in the midst of a record heat wave that will play a major role during the match.

From the start, Sugar Ray took a serious advantage on points, the dynamic of his game was great, and Maxim had no answer to the rapid strikes thrown by the former champion. It is clear to all that Robinson will win on points even if he fails to knock out his opponent. In the late rounds, however, Sugar Ray is in serious trouble as the then bantamweight champion appears to be gaining momentum in an attempt to turn the fight around.

By round 11-12, Robinson was fighting both hypothermia (a condition in which the body's thermoregulation does not work normally and the body's temperature is higher than normal) and Maxim's increasingly heavy punches. This led to the 13th round, where he was sent on his back in the arena, but managed to make it to his corner at the end of the round to try to gather his strength and enter the ring. Despite Maxim's strong few rounds, a points win for Robinson is assured as long as he can hold his own in the ring and not get knocked out. At the gong to start the 14th round, however, Robinson failed to enter the ring, and the referee stopped the match, awarding a TKO victory to Maxim.

Analysts and experts are adamant that in cooler temperatures, Robinson would have stayed in the ring and finished what he started in the early rounds, but the unbearable heat had a serious impact on the legend's inability to fight at the end of the bout. Thus, in game #200 of Robinson's career, he was stopped before the end of the match for the first time. Although he was not actually knocked out by his opponent.

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