Editing Sugar Ray Robinson (section)

===Early career===
Robinson made his professional debut on October 4, 1940, winning by a second-round stoppage over [[Joe Echevarria]]. Robinson fought five more times in 1940, winning all, four by knockout. In 1941, he defeated world champion [[Sammy Angott]], future champion [[Marty Servo]], and former champion [[Fritzie Zivic]]. The Robinson-Angott fight was held above the lightweight limit, since Angott did not want to risk losing his lightweight title. The Zivic bout, held at the [[Madison Square Garden]], drew a crowd of 20,551—one of the largest in the arena to that date.<ref name="Zivic">Nichols, Joseph C. (November 1, 1941). [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0813FD3F5E1A7A93C3A9178AD95F458485F9 Harlem Fighter Still Unbeaten], ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> Robinson won the first five rounds, according to Joseph C. Nichols of ''[[The New York Times]]'', before Zivic came back to land several punches to Robinson's head in the sixth and seventh.<ref name="Zivic"/> Robinson controlled the next two, and had Zivic hurt in the ninth. After a close tenth round, Robinson was announced as the winner on all three scorecards.<ref name="Zivic"/>

Robinson knocked out Zivic in the tenth round in a January 1942 rematch, only the second time Zivic had been counted out in more than 150 fights.<ref name="Zivic2"/> Robinson knocked him down in the ninth and tenth rounds before the referee stopped the fight. Zivic and his corner protested the stoppage; James P. Dawson of ''The New York Times'' stated "[t]hey were criticizing a humane act. The battle had been a slaughter, for want of a more delicate word."<ref name="Zivic2">Dawson, James P. (January 17, 1942). [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0A12F73D5D157B93C5A8178AD85F468485F9 "Robinson Knocks Out Zivic in Tenth Round to Score 27th Victory in Row"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> Robinson then won four consecutive bouts by knockout, before defeating Servo in a controversial split decision in their May rematch. After winning three more fights, Robinson faced [[Jake LaMotta]], who would become one of his more prominent rivals, for the first time in October. He defeated LaMotta by a unanimous decision, although he failed to get Jake down. Robinson weighed {{convert|145|lb|abbr=on}} compared to 157.5 for LaMotta, but he was able to control the fight from the outside for the entire bout, and actually landed the harder punches during the fight.<ref>Nichols, Joseph C. (October 3, 1942). [https://www.nytimes.com/1942/10/03/archives/robinson-takes-unanimous-decision-over-la-motta-in-garden-10round.html "Robinson Takes Unanimous Decision Over La Motta in Garden 10-Round Bout"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> Robinson then won four more fights, including two against [[Izzy Jannazzo]], from October 19 to December 14. For his performances, Robinson was named "Fighter of the Year". He finished 1942 with a total of 14 wins and no losses.

Robinson built a record of 40–0 before losing for the first time to LaMotta in a 10-round re-match.<ref name="Fall">[https://www.nytimes.com/1943/02/06/archives/robinsons-streak-ended-by-lamotta-harlem-fighter-suffers-first-loss.html Robinson's Streak Ended by LaMotta], ''The New York Times'', [[Associated Press]]. February 6, 1943. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> LaMotta, who had a {{convert|16|lb|abbr=on}} weight advantage over Robinson, knocked Robinson out of the ring in the eighth round, and won the fight by decision. The fight took place in Robinson's former home town of Detroit, and attracted a record crowd.<ref name="Fall"/> After being controlled by Robinson in the early rounds  LaMotta came back to take control in the later.<ref name="Fall"/> After winning the third LaMotta fight less than three weeks later, Robinson then defeated his childhood idol: former champion [[Henry Armstrong]], whom he only fought because the older man was in need of money. Robinson later stated that he carried the aged former champion.

On February 27, 1943, Robinson was inducted into the [[United States Army]], where he was again referred to as Walker Smith.<ref>Robinson and Anderson, p. 110.</ref> Robinson had a 15-month military career. Robinson served with Joe Louis, and the pair went on tours with the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]] division where they performed exhibition bouts in front of U.S. Army troops. Robinson got into trouble several times while in the military. He argued with superiors who he felt were discriminatory against him, and refused to fight exhibitions when he was told African American soldiers were not allowed to watch them.<ref name="businessman"/><ref>Robinson and Anderson, pp. 120–129.</ref>  In late March 1944 Robinson was stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, waiting to ship out to Europe, where he was scheduled to perform more exhibition matches. But on March 29, Robinson disappeared from his barracks. When he woke up on April 5 in Fort Jay Hospital on Governor's Island, he had missed his sailing for Europe and was under suspicion of deserting. He himself reported falling down the stairs in his barracks on the 29th, but said that he had complete amnesia, and he could not remember any events from that moment until the 5th. According to his file, a stranger had found him in the street on April 1 and helped him to a hospital. In his examination report, a doctor at Fort Jay concluded that Robinson's version of events was sincere.<ref>Robinson and Anderson, pp. 126–130.</ref>  He was examined by military authorities, who claimed he suffered from a mental deficiency.<ref>[https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221204/http://web.archive.org/web/20050207103215/http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/robinson_r.htm Ray Robinson], ''[[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]]''. Retrieved December 4, 2022.</ref> Robinson was granted an [[honorable discharge]] on June 3, 1944. He later wrote that unfair press coverage of the incident had "branded" him as a "deserter".<ref>Robinson and Anderson, p. 130.</ref> Robinson maintained his close friendship with Louis from their time in military service, and the two went into business together after the war. They planned to start a liquor distribution business in New York City, but were denied a license due to their race.<ref>Boyd and Robinson II. pp. 94</ref>

Besides the loss in the LaMotta rematch, the only other mark on Robinson's record during this period was a 10-round draw against José Basora in 1945.