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Pep said Robinson wiped him out.
We talked for awhile. I was afraid he would laugh at me if I asked him if he fought Sugar Ray Robinson. Finally I said, “Willie, there’s a rumor in town that you once fought Sugar Ray in Norwich.”
Without hesitation he said, “That’s true. I fought him for the Du-Well A.C. It was 1938, and that fight was upstairs in a downtown building. Sugar Ray fought under the name of Ray Roberts. Ray always used that name when he fought in the amateurs.”
Willie continued, “Ray’s real name was Walker Smith. He wiped me out that night, and it was my only amateur loss. I was a flyweight at 105 pounds, and Sugar Ray, a welterweight.”
According to this Hartford Courant newspaper article Robinson only weighed 1 lb more than Pep that night.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3273...obinson-v-pep/
We talked for awhile. I was afraid he would laugh at me if I asked him if he fought Sugar Ray Robinson. Finally I said, “Willie, there’s a rumor in town that you once fought Sugar Ray in Norwich.”
Without hesitation he said, “That’s true. I fought him for the Du-Well A.C. It was 1938, and that fight was upstairs in a downtown building. Sugar Ray fought under the name of Ray Roberts. Ray always used that name when he fought in the amateurs.”
Willie continued, “Ray’s real name was Walker Smith. He wiped me out that night, and it was my only amateur loss. I was a flyweight at 105 pounds, and Sugar Ray, a welterweight.”
According to this Hartford Courant newspaper article Robinson only weighed 1 lb more than Pep that night.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3273...obinson-v-pep/
Ray 17 and Pep 16 when they fought, and years later when both developing alzanheimers they interviewed Pep.
I saw da fight jack and it was magnificent, pt being Peashooter ain't the monster Ray was, so there is no functional size advantage against Pep.
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