How good do you think Ray Robinson was............

[prinzemanspopa]

I just think it's a darn shame that an elite black athlete would draw the colour line against his own people.There are so many elite blacks from that era that were just as great,if not better than Robinson and he never gave them the chance that they deserved.

[NChristo]

I just think it's a darn shame that an elite black athlete would draw the colour line against his own people.There are so many elite blacks from that era that were just as great,if not better than Robinson and he never gave them the chance that they deserved.

Who ?, just wondering.
Only 3 elite black boxers that he didn't face in that era (that I can think of) is Eddie Booker (At the end of his career as Sugar Ray was on the rise),Charley Burley and Holman Williams. Don't think it was so much the colour line, he didnt face Burley because he wouldn't be getting enough money or somthing like that, not sure about Holman Williams.

[GeorgiaRED]

I need to watch more SRR fights but from what I hear he was the best.

Floyd is overrated IMO.

[SugarRayCurtain]

Never seen much Robinson I'm guessing ?, he didn't use much head movement and he didn't get hit "a lot".
Floyd is not faster then Robinson.


Mayweather in no way is beating LaMotta, out of most of the boxers back then LaMotta is probably the worst for Mayweather. He's going to walk through everything May can throw and pressure him for the whole fight.

Nightmare for Floyd ......

he got hit a whole lot more than Floyd

Against Carmen Basillio he just stood on the ropes and took a pounding, Mayweather would never ever let that happen because his defence was better.
As i said Mayweather is techincally better with his shoulder role techique, Robinson relied on his reflexes.

[NChristo]

he got hit a whole lot more than Floyd

Against Carmen Basillio he just stood on the ropes and took a pounding, Mayweather would never ever let that happen because his defence was better.
As i said Mayweather is techincally better with his shoulder role techique, Robinson relied on his reflexes.

Anyone against the ropes with Carmen Basilio is going to take a beating the guy was a pit bull, yes even Floyd and his "amazing" shoulder roll -.-.

[TheGreatA]

Anyone against the ropes with Carmen Basilio is going to take a beating the guy was a pit bull, yes even Floyd and his "amazing" shoulder roll -.-.

Robinson was also 37 years old. It's safe to say that Floyd too would have his problems with Basilio at that age.

[CarlosG815]

Thanks, I needed a good belly laugh.

How's the view from the bandwagon? You don't know anything about SRR or the opposition he fought, so don't pretend that he fought the best fighters that ever lived and modern day fighters wouldn't last in that era. It isn't true. Boxers are better conditioned and better trained than ever before, and that can not be said about fighters from the 40's.

People will always throw up excuses for guys like Larry Holmes taking a fight with Tyson on such short notice, but then forget that when Chuvalo fought Ali he took the fight on 2 weeks notice, and I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of guys that SRR fought took fights on short notice, maybe as short as a week before and up to the day of. People then worked full time jobs and boxed on the side, whereas professionals today live boxing and it is their day job.

You wanna ride the "Everybody from 80 years ago is better than anybody today" bandwagon, good for you, I'm not surprised, Jeffries, as I've already got you pegged as a guy with no opinion of his own who would rather just agree with his buddies and believe whatever you read without watching any fights.

[TheGreatA]

How's the view from the bandwagon? You don't know anything about SRR or the opposition he fought, so don't pretend that he fought the best fighters that ever lived and modern day fighters wouldn't last in that era. It isn't true. Boxers are better conditioned and better trained than ever before, and that can not be said about fighters from the 40's.

People will always throw up excuses for guys like Larry Holmes taking a fight with Tyson on such short notice, but then forget that when Chuvalo fought Ali he took the fight on 2 weeks notice, and I can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of guys that SRR fought took fights on short notice, maybe as short as a week before and up to the day of. People then worked full time jobs and boxed on the side, whereas professionals today live boxing and it is their day job.

You wanna ride the "Everybody from 80 years ago is better than anybody today" bandwagon, good for you, I'm not surprised, Jeffries, as I've already got you pegged as a guy with no opinion of his own who would rather just agree with his buddies and believe whatever you read without watching any fights.

No offense but you're the one who doesn't know a whole lot about Robinson's opposition. In the 1940's and 1950's, boxers fought more frequently than today and learned their trade for the most part by fighting hundreds of times in professional bouts.

They stayed in shape and were ready to fight at all times. This is why the likes of Mayweather and Hopkins call themselves "old school", because they stay in shape even while they're not boxing. The boxers of the mid-1900's didn't need 4 month training camps to get in shape, they were already in shape because they never let themselves go out of shape. Draining weight wasn't possible either because you had to fight many times a year and the weigh-ins were held at the day of the fight, as a result you don't have cases like James Toney, Jermain Taylor and Joshua Clottey who have to pace themselves by throwing a minimal amount of punches because they've had trouble making the weight.

To say they were less conditioned is simply ridiculous as they were forced to go 15 rounds in championship bouts. Today you have fighters that can barely go 12. Look at the training schedule of a Carmen Basilio and tell me he wasn't well-conditioned.

[CarlosG815]

No offense but you're the one who doesn't know a whole lot about Robinson's opposition. In the 1940's and 1950's, boxers fought more frequently than today and learned their trade for the most part by fighting hundreds of times in professional bouts.

They stayed in shape and were ready to fight at all times. This is why the likes of Mayweather and Hopkins call themselves "old school", because they stay in shape even while they're not boxing. The boxers of the mid-1900's didn't need 4 month training camps to get in shape, they were already in shape because they never let themselves go out of shape. Draining weight wasn't possible either because you had to fight many times a year and the weigh-ins were held at the day of the fight, as a result you don't have cases like James Toney, Jermain Taylor and Joshua Clottey who have to pace themselves by throwing a minimal amount of punches because they've had trouble making the weight.

To say they were less conditioned is simply ridiculous as they were forced to go 15 rounds in championship bouts. Today you have fighters that can barely go 12. Look at the training schedule of a Carmen Basilio and tell me he wasn't well-conditioned.

Jake LaMotta is one guy in particular who was well known to always have issues making weight with his out of camp eating habits. And honestly what makes you believe that fighters today can "barely go 12 rounds?" Fighters today could fight 20 rounds if they had to, it's all mental. If you can fight 12 you can fight 15, if you can fight 15 you can go 20 if need be. There is nothing to suggest that fighters can not go 15 rounds today, so what are you talking about?

GreatA please list all the great fighters that Ray Robinson faced and what they did for a day job, what notice they took the fight on, and what their accomplishments prior to Ray and post Ray.

[$Bullsfam$]

No offense but you're the one who doesn't know a whole lot about Robinson's opposition. In the 1940's and 1950's, boxers fought more frequently than today and learned their trade for the most part by fighting hundreds of times in professional bouts.

They stayed in shape and were ready to fight at all times. This is why the likes of Mayweather and Hopkins call themselves "old school", because they stay in shape even while they're not boxing. The boxers of the mid-1900's didn't need 4 month training camps to get in shape, they were already in shape because they never let themselves go out of shape. Draining weight wasn't possible either because you had to fight many times a year and the weigh-ins were held at the day of the fight, as a result you don't have cases like James Toney, Jermain Taylor and Joshua Clottey who have to pace themselves by throwing a minimal amount of punches because they've had trouble making the weight.

To say they were less conditioned is simply ridiculous as they were forced to go 15 rounds in championship bouts. Today you have fighters that can barely go 12. Look at the training schedule of a Carmen Basilio and tell me he wasn't well-conditioned.

You need to be green K'd and BADLY. To bad I can't give out anymore today but your definitely getting some tomorrow.

Beautiful post. I could give Carlos credit if he said boxers today are bigger/stronger maybe since I think it's obvious they have more muscle and size then the fighters back then since the science in getting bigger is so much better then back then. But to say they weren't in shape is ludicrous.