Sugar Ray Robinson, 67, Dies : Some of His Fights Against Top Names Became Legends

Sugar Ray Robinson, generally considered the best pound-for-pound fighter who ever lived, died today in a Culver City hospital emergency room after a long illness. He was 67.

A former world welterweight and middleweight champion, Robinson died at Brotman Medical Center. His wife, Millie, was with him.

Robinson had been reported to be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as well as diabetes and hypertension.

Robinson retired from boxing in 1965 after a record of 174-19-6 with 110 knockouts. He won the vacant world welterweight title Dec. 20, 1946, with a 15-round decision over Tommy Bell and never lost a fight to a welterweight the rest of his career.

He also won the middleweight title, stopping Jake LaMotta in the 13th round on Feb. 14, 1951, in Chicago.

Robinson--said to have been nicknamed Sugar by sportswriters because he fought so sweetly--was a sleek, handsome man from the streets of Harlem. He married his first wife, Edna-Mae Holly, in 1944, and their son, Ray Jr., was born five years later.

Some Fights Legendary

But they were divorced, and in the twilight of his boxing days he married Millie Bruce and moved to Los Angeles.

The so-called “man with the pink Cadillac” appeared “very flashy but he was a very modest, down-to-earth person,” boxing promoter Bob Arum said.

Robinson began his ring career in 1940, and his fights with some of the biggest names in boxing became boxing legends.

He won the world middleweight title from LaMotta, lost it to British fighter Randolph Turpin and then regained it from Turpin, defended his title by defeating Bobo Olson on points and kept it by knocking out Rocky Graziano with a perfect right.

It left Graziano stretched out on the canvas in Chicago with his right leg twitching.

Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, reached by telephone in Philadelphia, described Robinson as a pioneer and “the greatest little fighter that I’ve known.”

‘Opened the Door for Us’

Said Holmes: “A lot of times people say Muhammad Ali was the greatest of all time. He was the greatest of his time. . . .

“Sugar Ray Robinson was the man, along with Joe Louis. Those two guys opened the door for the rest of us. Anytime you get into a conversation about old-time greats, those are the two people everyone talks about.”

“Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest boxer that ever lived,” boxing promoter Arum said.

“Number one, he could box like (Sugar Ray) Leonard or Ali. Tremendous reflexes, great movement. He also had the power of a Tommy Hearns and he was a complete fighter. Every aspect of boxing--defense, offense, movement--Ray Robinson possessed. He was the complete fighter.”

Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Bob Dambacher said Robinson was pronounced dead at 10:09 a.m. at Brotman Memorial. “It appears to be of natural causes,” he said.