Sugar Ray Robinson: Floyd Mayweather JR, Sugar Ray Leonard & Shane Mosley answer the Challenge
By Mike “Rubber Warrior” Plunkett
Sugar Ray Robinson is widely considered by boxing historians as the greatest fighter of all-time. As a God-given talent there has never been anybody quite like him, but there was more to him than just exceptional skill and ability. He was a ring general par excellence and behind it all there was an indomitable will to win. He fought during a time when top contenders kept active on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. There were no big cable contracts or pay per view platforms. It was an ongoing round-robin of competition, often against men ten and fifteen pounds bigger, and he excelled at it going an amazing 73-1-1 before getting his first crack at a world title.
Having stated all of that there have been some rare and extraordinary fighters that have come up and done amazing work at welterweight over the decades since Robinson left the sport. Great fighters that have captivated fans with the sort of extraordinary God-given talent and fighting spirit we saw from Robinson himself. Not coincidentally, two of them even adopted the “Sugar” moniker while the third has over the course of time proclaimed himself as the greatest fighter of all-time, often measuring himself against Robinson to make his point, a direct qualification in itself that indeed Ray Robinson remains the consensus #1 greatest fighter of all-time.
Rather than simply parroting the usual party line on Robinson, or merely dismissing the greats that came after him without giving it a second thought, I’ve decided to have a little fun and pit the original Sugar Ray against three exceptional modern-day multi-division world champions. For the purposes of this article, I’ll be pitting the March 1950 variant of Robinson that destroyed rival George Costner in less than one round against the September 1981 version of Sugar Ray Leonard, the May 2010 Floyd Mayweather JR and the Shane Mosley of June 2000. The distance for each bout will be twelve rounds. Three exceptional fighters considered as great practitioners of the sweet science versus the man generally regarded as the greatest fighter of all-time.
Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Sugar Ray Leonard
This dream match-up features the grace, power, speed and all-round brilliance of Robinson against the fast, flashy and explosive combination punching and superb footwork of Leonard.
Over the years I’ve seen this fantasy match-up discussed on the various boxing forums around the web and even in a few of the more popular boxing publications. Typically old-timers dismiss Ray Leonard as a talented modern day fighter, often likening him to a poor man’s version of Ray Robinson, but the reality is that this would have been a terrifically compelling match-up for fans between two ring tacticians of the highest order, two very willing gunslingers, not to mention between two very intelligent all-time greats that when pushed to the brink would take chances and fight. Both were extremely proud and unwilling to submit.
Standing 5’10 with a 74” reach, Leonard stood a hair shorter than Robinson but enjoyed a two inch reach advantage. Possessing excellent ring acumen and with hand and foot speed that would rival Robinson’s Leonard would look to implement a tactical game of cat and mouse.
Both Leonard and Robinson would start cautiously in round one looking to get a good feel for the task at hand while getting a sense of the timing required to gain an advantage. Flicking left jabs by Robinson would see the flat-footed former Olympic gold medalist reflexively move his head in exaggerated fashion while at the same time posing the dare for his foe to continue. With a minute left to go Leonard would have found the timing he was looking for and begin moving from side to side while answering Robinson with his own left jab. Rounds two through five would see both take turns looking to set a distinct pace; both would have limited success setting the other up for right hand counters and on the occasion when Robinson would get in close Leonard would be quick to fire off crisp two-handed salvos before tying up his foe.
Having managed to significantly nullify Robinson’s left jab, Leonard would look to keep the matter an outside fight and hope for the upper hand with brisk staccato flurries over the closing seconds of each round. Sensing the shift in momentum and realizing the tactic, Robinson would find success at the end of the sixth by forcing Leonard to the ropes and matching him on the inside in a prolonged exchange.
Round seven would see a completely different type of fight develop with an emboldened Robinson attacking at the bell and again forcing Leonard to the ropes. With neither champion giving ground the round would end with no obvious advantage to either man, save for the fact that Robinson would have succeeded in forcing Leonard out of his strategy.
Rounds eight and nine would continue to feature long moments of infighting capped by holding with no discernable advantage. Leonard would have a mouse under his left eye while Robinson would appear to be the slightly fresher of the two. Early in round ten a sharp Robinson right hand would catch Leonard on the point of the chin in ring center after a brief exchange, flooring him. Up at four, Robinson would leap in for the kill and be met with a desperate surge of counters from Leonard. At the bell to close out the round a snapping left hook would stagger Robinson who would grab and hold on. The crowd would roar its approval.
The last two rounds would see Leonard looking to use his mobility to set-up Robinson for quick bursts of counter-punches. Robinson would look to force exchanges along the ropes. Tiring, both would enjoy limited success and as the bell would sound to close out the match at the end of round twelve, both would be embroiled in a heated exchange that would go down to the wire.
The scorecards would reflect the closeness and competitiveness of the match. Robinson would be awarded a majority decision that would leave fans clamoring for a rematch.
Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Floyd Mayweather JR
That many would dismiss the chances of Floyd Mayweather JR outright in this matchup, I believe it would be a very tough assignment for Sugar Ray given Floyd’s extraordinary punch placement and slippery defense. Historically, defensive stylists gave Robinson fits and in “Money” we have one of the greatest defensive fighters of the last half century.
Mayweather would slip a high percentage of Robinson’s shots and his spot-on return fire would find the mark. On the other hand Sugar Ray’s hand and foot speed would suggest that he would enjoy a much higher success rate than any of Floyd’s previous opponents, forcing the type of uncomfortable encounter “Pretty Boy” was known for avoiding. Standing 5’11 to Mayweather’s 5’8, Robinson would be at a distinct height advantage. But Floyd’s 72-inch reach and would negate some of that advantage given that it was only a half inch shorter than Robinson’s.
Over a twelve round distance Robinson would have to adjust his approach in order to find success and in doing so what we would in effect witness three smaller battles over the course of the match. The first two or three rounds would see Robinson circling to his left from the outside trying to reach a cautious Mayweather with a busy flicking left jab whilst “Pretty Boy” would find success timing Ray and countering with quick pinpoint right hands. Both men would take turns landing sharp punches with Mayweather having a higher rate of success due to his defensive superiority. Before long a frustrated Robinson would be lured into Mayweather’s game and looking to pull out all of the stops in an effort to force exchanges. For his part Mayweather would look to make Robinson second guess his advances while capitalizing on the breathing space with increasing right hand counters, building up points on the score cards.
The middle rounds would see Robinson working Mayweather to the ropes where he would enjoy heightened success during increasingly brisk exchanges, all the while getting marked up as the crowd hollered its approval with each picturesque Mayweather counter salvo. With twenty seconds to go in round seven and with four of the first six rounds in Floyd’s favor, Robinson would land a sharp loaded right hand square on Mayweather’s jaw, forcing “Money” to hold on for dear life.
Having given Floyd cause for pause, and having successfully shifted the momentum of the event in his favor, Robinson would again rock Mayweather with another right hand early in round eight and proceed to position him for the finish but the five-division champion would have too many angles and too much reactive reflex to allow a sustained target. Rounds nine through twelve would demonstrate the underrated fighting spirit of Mayweather, who would enjoy limited success countering in close, but Robinson, otherwise unfazed by Floyd’s sharp counters, would push the envelope, sweeping the rounds with his superior aggression and work rate. The decision would be unanimous; the winner – Ray Robinson.
Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Sugar Shane Mosley
Some have suggested that this would be a mismatch given that Shane Mosley started fighting professionally as a lightweight but the reality is that for the first twenty or so fights of his career Ray Robinson fought at or just slightly above the lightweight limit of 135lbs., so in fact this is a realistic matchup given that both men eventually grew into the welterweight division.
Two inches shorter than Robinson at 5’9 but having an inch and a half advantage in reach Sugar Shane matches up well having a similar frame to many of the welterweights and middleweights of Robinson’s day.
In my opinion this dream match has the potential to be the most fun. Both Robinson and Mosley look to press the issue with their respective opponents and against each other nothing would change. In the case of the Californian, his power boxing style meshes nicely with Robinson’s seek and destroy mentality. Both could be troubled by defense and angles but in this matchup they would be jockeying for the openings, looking for the opportunity to land their bombs. Equally true, both had at-times, porous defense, especially when drawn into prolonged exchanges. This bout would be a war.
At the first bell both Robinson and Mosley would slowly begin to circle each other, flicking out left jabs. Two solid Robinson left jabs followed by straight right hand would have the crowd cheering and Mosley holding and smiling in disdain. Towards the end of the round a crackling inside right uppercut by Mosley would drive Robinson back into the ropes. A follow-up barrage capped by a deadly looking right hand lead would graze Robinson, who at the bell nods his approval as he taps Mosley’s outstretched gloves in a show of respect.
Round two would start much like the first with both men circling each other in ring center probing for the opening. Mosley’s left jab would time and again come up short, whereas Robinson’s would find the mark given his pure commitment to land it on its intended target. Moving side to side on the balls of his feet, Mosley slowly maneuvers Robinson towards a neutral corner and ducks under a well-timed right hand before countering with a compact left hook, rocking Ray again into the ropes. A fierce exchange on the inside at the bell hints that Mosley is more than up to the task in close quarters.
Not one for avoiding a fire fight, Robinson switches gears in the third and both he and Mosley take turns flurrying and holding. The referee is forced to separate both men just before the bell to end the round, each looking to establish their strength and dominance, even when tying up in close.
Round four and five see Robinson resume an outside fight. Having for the most part established a tactical advantage, Ray begins to showboat as Mosley starts to reach more with his right hands, shots that only occasionally land. The Robinson left jab has marked-up Shane’s features. In Mosley’s corner between rounds there is a growing sense of desperation.
In the sixth Mosley makes a concerted effort to time Robinson’s left jab as he looks to slip past it by dipping to his right. Midway through the round Mosley dials in the perfect sequence as he slides under Robinson’s jab, catching him high on the top of the head with a powerful right hand. Backed into the ropes, Robinson covers up as Mosley unleashes a two-handed barrage to the head and midsection. With less than ten seconds left in the round and exchanging furiously with the composed Robinson, Mosley is caught by a sharp right uppercut followed by a compact left hook, dropping him at the bell.
The scene of near chaos in Mosley’s corner is in stark contrast to the confident calm in the Robinson corner. Enswell is applied to Mosley’s right eye as his trainer implores him to move in and out behind a doubled-up left jab rather than staying too long on the inside to present Robinson with countering opportunities. In the seventh Mosley resumes bouncing on the balls of his feet behind a series of ineffective half left jabs seemingly designed as a distraction of sorts as opposed to being an offensive tool. Each time Robinson manages to mount any decent offense with his left jab or lands with the right Mosley would be quick to tie him up.
In the eighth the Mosley jab suddenly begins to find the mark. Sensing his range and taking the bait, Shane begins surging forward once again and follows through with the right hand. Backing slowly to the ropes behind his doubled-up left jab, Robinson times the rejuvenated Mosley with an explosive straight right hand, landing it flush to the point of his chin and dropping him face-first onto the third rope. Up at the count of nine, Mosley finds himself backed to the ropes forced to find a way to ride out the remaining minute left in the round. Caught flush by a long Robinson right hand, a desperate two-fisted flurry designed by sheer instinct catches Ray who responds with a flicking left followed by a wild overhand right that knocks out Mosley’s mouthpiece. Fighting on sheer instinct, Mosley continues to look to land his right hand. Launching it with all he has left, he is caught on the inside by a shorter, quicker Robinson right hand at the precise moment he throws it, dropping him face-first into the canvas. The referee quickly waves the fight off without bothering to even issue a count. Bedlam ensues. Sugar Ray Robinson is announced as the winner at 2:49 in round eight.
Keeping in mind that these type of dream fights are strictly a subjective exercise designed to stimulate the imagination, and that great fighters from different eras are being thrust into a questionable context given the period of their origins, it’s a fun way to measure and perhaps to some extent realize that the gap isn’t necessarily as wide or as close as some might expect. The mesh of styles, strengths and character punctuate the scenarios in a way that leave us with more questions and perhaps a slightly raised pulse. But it’s all we have given the disparity in eras. Watch for an upcoming article on the middleweight Sugar Ray Robinson as he meets three modern middleweight greats.