Sugar Ray Robinson's Top Five Matches - Part 5

Sugar Ray Robinson's Top Five Matches - Part 5

The match after which his opponent lost his life

Sugar Ray Robinson is mostly known as the greatest boxer of all time, who almost no one talks about. Long years in the professional ring and dominance in the welterweight and middleweight divisions have made the Georgia native one of the biggest names in the sport. The number of qualities with which he achieves more than decisive victories against world champions or far more experienced boxers is a real proof of his power. We've already recalled four of Sugar's best opponents in the pro ring, and it's time for the last one to wrap up our ranking.

At number five we put Ray's fight with Jimmy Doyle. The reason is not a spectacular rivalry, a contested matchup, or outright dominance. The reason to dwell on this match and place it among Robinson's top five matches is the story, both during the fight and before and after it. Unfortunately, this match will go down in history as the match where Sugar killed his opponent. Yes, the story has a tragic ending…

Conquered the welterweight world title and still a young and progressive boxer, Ray Robinson must make his first defense. The date is June 24, 1947, and the rival is the even younger but very ambitious Jimmy Doyle. The match was played in Cleveland, Ohio, but Sugar initially did not want to enter the ring. The reason is more than strange at first glance. The night before their match, Ray dreams that he is killing his opponent in the ring. Eventually, a Catholic priest convinces him to fight, but his prediction, or rather premonition, comes true.

Robinson goes into the match as a clear favourite, and this has been proven since the early rounds. Doyle looks unable to stay long in the match, but still manages to counterattack his opponent well on several occasions and stabilize the match. After seven rounds, it was clear that Ray would win the fight regardless of when it ended, but the challenger was determined to take the maximum risk.

The eighth part also proves fatal to Jimmy. A school left hook finds his head and he falls backwards. The referee immediately stops the match and the TKO victory is awarded to Sugar. Doyle is unconscious and is rushed to hospital. The next day he died. This is the first death of a boxer in a championship match. The doctors' conclusion was that the young boxer had an older problem that came after his loss to Artie Levine in March a year earlier. However, the Cleveland Boxing Commission described Doyle's head injury as entirely different and that he died from the impact of the fall in the ring.

Sugar Ray Robinson never looked at sports the same way after this tragedy. He does, however, make a huge gesture to Jimmy Doyle's mother. The 22-year-old boxer is going into the match where he will receive just over $11,000 to help his mother buy a house. The money from Robinson's next 4 vs goes to the same cause, and in addition to that, he is giving away $50 a month for 10 years, which goes to the parents of the tragically killed competitor.