Editing Sugar Ray Robinson (section)

{{Short description|American boxer (1921–1989)}}
{{For|other boxers named "Sugar Ray"|Sugar Ray (disambiguation)}}
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{{EngvarB|date=April 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox boxer
| name = Sugar Ray Robinson
| image = File:Sugar Ray Robinson 1947.jpg
| caption = Robinson in 1947
| realname = Walker Smith Jr.
| nickname = 
| weight = {{plainlist|
* [[Lightweight]]
* [[Welterweight]]
* [[Middleweight]]
* [[Light heavyweight]]
}}
| height = 5 ft 11 in
| reach = 72+1/2 in
|birth_date = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1921|5|3}}
| birth_place = [[Ailey, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1989|4|12|1921|5|3}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| style = [[Orthodox stance|Orthodox]]
| total = 201
| wins = 174
| KO = 109
| losses = 19
| draws = 6
| no contests = 2
| medaltemplates = 
{{MedalSport| Men's [[amateur boxing]]}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[New York Golden Gloves]]}}
{{MedalGold | 1939 New York | Featherweight}}
{{MedalGold | 1940 New York | Lightweight}}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Intercity Golden Gloves]]}}
{{MedalGold | 1939 Chicago | Featherweight}}
{{MedalGold | 1940 New York | Lightweight}}
}}

'''Walker Smith Jr.''' (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as '''Sugar Ray Robinson''', was an American [[professional boxer]] who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]] in 1990.<ref>[http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/inductees/modern/robinson.html Sugar Ray Robinson]. [[International Boxing Hall of Fame]].</ref> He is often regarded as the greatest boxer of all time, [[Pound for pound|pound-for-pound]]<!--DO NOT change to "one of the greatest". The cited sources do indeed say "the greatest".-->,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dan|date=May 12, 2020|title=Sugar Ray Robinson Again Named Greatest Boxer of All Time|url=https://www.ibroresearch.com/2020/05/sugar-ray-robinson-again-named-greatest-boxer-of-all-time-2/|access-date=June 2, 2021|website=IBRO|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905183534/https://www.ibroresearch.com/2020/05/sugar-ray-robinson-again-named-greatest-boxer-of-all-time-2/|archive-date=September 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Carlson|first=Dave|title=The 100 Greatest Pound for Pound Boxers Of All Time|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/557861-the-100-greatest-pound-for-pound-boxers-of-all-time|access-date=September 5, 2021|website=Bleacher Report}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ESPN: All-Time Greatest Boxers|url=https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/greatest/featureVideo?page=greatest110|access-date=September 5, 2021|website=ESPN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ESPN: Boxing – AP Fighters of the Century list|url=https://static.espn.go.com/boxing/news/1999/1208/221260.html|access-date=September 5, 2021|website=ESPN|archive-date=June 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615150430/https://static.espn.go.com/boxing/news/1999/1208/221260.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Eisele |first=Andrew |title=Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years |url=https://www.liveabout.com/ring-magazine-fighter-rankings-4153939 |access-date=September 5, 2021 |website=LiveAbout |date=February 22, 2018}}</ref> and is ranked as such by [[BoxRec]] as of April 2025.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://boxrec.com/en/ratings?r%5Brole%5D=proboxer&r%5Bsex%5D=M&r%5Bdivision%5D=&r%5Bcountry%5D=&r%5Bstance%5D=&r%5Bstatus%5D=&r_go=| title=BoxRec ratings: world, pound-for-pound, active and inactive| access-date=July 22, 2020| website=BoxRec}}</ref>

Robinson was a dominant amateur, but his exact amateur record is not known. It is usually listed as 85–0 with 69 knockouts, 40 in the first round. However it has been reported he lost to [[Billy Graham (American boxer)|Billy Graham]] and Patsy Pesca as a teenager under his given name, Walker Smith Jr. He turned professional in 1940 at the age of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 129–1–2 with 85 knockouts. From 1943 to 1951 Robinson went on a 91-fight [[Winning streak (sports)#Professional|unbeaten streak]], the sixth-longest in professional boxing history<ref>{{cite web |title=Sugar Ray Robinson's record |url=http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=9625&cat=boxer |access-date=May 21, 2013 |website=BoxRec}}</ref> behind [[Pedro Carrasco]] with 93,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/16028 |title=Pedro Carrasco |website=BoxRec |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> [[Jimmy Wilde]] with 95,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/9023 |title=Jimmy Wilde |website=BoxRec |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> [[Buck Smith]] with 102,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/6117 |title=Buck Smith |work=BoxRec |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> [[Packey McFarland]] with 104,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/6117 |title=Buck Smith |website=BoxRec |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> and [[Young Griffo]] with 107.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/10698 |title=Young Griffo |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref> Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year. He retired in 1952, only to come back two-and-a-half years later and regain the middleweight title in 1955.

He then became the first boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five times (a feat he accomplished by defeating [[Carmen Basilio]] in 1958 to regain the middleweight championship). Robinson was named "fighter of the year" twice: first for his performances in 1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his efforts in 1951. Historian [[Bert Sugar]] ranked Robinson as the greatest fighter of all time and in 2002, Robinson was also ranked number one on [[The Ring (magazine)|''The Ring'']] magazine's list of "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years".<ref>{{cite web| first=Andrew| last=Eisele| title=Ring Magazine's 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years| url=http://boxing.about.com/od/history/a/ring_80_best.htm| work=About.com Sports| access-date=December 16, 2017| archive-date=January 8, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108035508/http://boxing.about.com/od/history/a/ring_80_best.htm| url-status=dead}}</ref> He was named the best boxer of all time, pound for pound, by the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO) in both of its all-time ratings, in 2006 and 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IBRO All-Time Ratings - Pound For Pound 2006 |url=https://www.ibroresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/01-Pound-for-Pound-2006.pdf |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=International Boxing Research Organization}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=31 December 2019 |title=IBRO All-Time Ratings - Pound For Pound Results |url=https://www.ibroresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/01-IBRO-Pound-for-Pound-2019.pdf |access-date=11 December 2022 |website=International Boxing Research Organization}}</ref>

Renowned for his classy and flamboyant lifestyle outside the ring,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/athlete/sugar-ray-robinson |title=Sugar Ray Robinson |website=[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]] |language=en-us |access-date=January 30, 2020}}</ref> Robinson is credited with being the originator of the modern sports "[[Wiktionary:entourage|entourage]]". After his boxing career ended, Robinson attempted a career as an entertainer, but it was not successful. He struggled financially until his death in 1989. In 2006, he was featured on a [[commemorative stamp]] by the [[United States Postal Service]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2006/html/pb22175/pb13e-s_007.html|title=Philately – Sugar Ray Robinson Stamp |publisher=United States Postal Service |access-date=May 11, 2023}}</ref>