RingSide Report

World News, Social Issues, Politics, Entertainment and Sports

Remembering Lightweight Contender Robin Blake

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

Pink shorts and a future law enforcement officer with a pop in his punch. I can see the headlines…

It would describe a 41 fight professional career that saw this fighter reach title contention with the IBF in 1985.

“Rockin” Robin Blake, 33-8, 21 KO’s, was a boxer about whom I knew nothing much until my Publisher “Bad” Brad Berkwitt asked me to go a looking. So, a looking I did go. And you know what – what a story!

Now when Brad asks, there may not be a Mission Impossible theme tune going on in the background but that fedora, pinkie ring and THAT New York thing… well even hundreds of miles across an ocean it has power, let me tell you…

Then he tells me that Robin is in our forum! Well that’s the way to take off pressure!

So, let me be clear, at the end of the day if you are looking for a breakdown of Blake’s style, I aint yer guy. What I do know is a tale, a story, a fireside tragedy or fairytale that will dance as wonderfully as the fire that warms you. Rockin Robin Blake has many features of the tragic, the politic and the keeping the faith about it as any I have read and many I have written.

This was a guy with a style all of his own and a career that gets little by way of attention now but should be lauded up there with some of the best in our business. Here’s why…

Now a Texas Police Officer, but long before donning that uniform, he got to the summit through determination and effort that shone past the many in his wake. His problem? It could be argued that he was, perhaps, more than a little stuck in the shade of a golden time that gave us greats and perhaps forgot to remind us of upon whose shoulders they had stood. It tells me why it is that I had heard very little about him.

Blake was born into a household with a father who would take him to the gym from an early age so that Blake was destined to box and amassed 300 amateur fights from the age of 7!

His ascent through the amateurs was to bring him close to the very top. The pinnacle of any amateur career is always going to be the Olympics; in 1980 Blake was on the cusp.

Had he accepted their offer to join the Olympic team in their visit to Poland, given to Blake at JFK Airport, he would have been lost to us. That Olympic team took an ill fated LOT flight, 5055 that crashed and killed them all in Europe.

At the time, Blake had been to East Germany and he opted to avoid new travel plans. I don’t believe in fate and there is no evidence that Blake does or did either. As a God fearing man in later interviews you could see his faith making him understand that a purpose was already in place for him; just a pity that one man got in the way of that destiny later.

In 1981 Blake turned professional and went through 16 opponents without loss in 2 years. 1983 saw him fight a further 7 times but would include his first loss. Before that fight, his last of that year, Blake had just come off his 22nd straight win against Melvin Paul. It was his 6th stoppage of the year and people were beginning to avoid him.

He was tired and knew he wanted to chase Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini for the WBA title that Mancini held; he was now the no 1 contender.

Enter THAT man; Dave Gorman. Gorman was Blake’s manager at the time, learning at the beginning of a career that would see him being in charge of careers including Donald Curry, Gene Hatcher and Steve Cruz.

Some time off and some relaxation was in order for Blake after a gruelling first few years in the pro game. That must have been in his mind as he went to dinner after the Melvin Paul fight. That meal must have been a very strained affair because it was allegedly at that point he was told by Gorman, we want you to fight Tyrone Crawley and we want you to do it in 3 weeks.

Tyrone Crawley was, like Blake, a future world titlist, so no push over.

Blake was tired.

22 professional fights in just over 2 full years was not the correct preparation for another fight within a month. What he did not know was his agreement was a side issue. The fight was sold out, happening in his home town and due to be broadcast live on ESPN.
It had been all set up BEFORE his 22nd win against Melvin Paul.

With his back against the wall, Blake, young and now fully aware that the fight would be in his home town, reluctantly took it to avoid letting his fans down. As a young man he probably was unaware that home town guys are more forgiving than you think…

He was now no 1 in the WBA but went in as a tired fighter against someone who was gathering his own reputation within the division.

It was writing on the wall; Blake lost.

As he reflected on how the hell he had got there, Paul, the guy he had beat in his 22nd fight, bypassed him and got a shot at the new IBF title.

Politics, boxing, sucks at times.

Many thought from there on in, Blake was never the same. It could be argued that the promoter lost his golden goose as it took another 20 months before his world title shot in 1985 against another man named Paul this time Jimmy Paul…

The wall had been wiped of its previous wisdom and we awaited what would be written on it then.

Las Vegas in June of that year saw the showdown. Nip and tuck in the early rounds, Paul began to look likely to keep his belt as the fight progressed. By the 12th round Blake was taking heavy punishment and was well behind on the scorecards – he needed a knockout. He got knocked down himself with a glove touching canvas.

At 2 minutes and 42 seconds of the 14th round the referee stepped in and called the fight off. His method of doing so was another strange chapter in the story. Instead of explaining and consoling the defeated fighter he ran over to raise the winner’s hand.

That should only come after the ring announcer announces the result!

Tough fights followed as he continued on until retirement in 1990 and became one of the USA’s finest. A Texan who had a glittering amateur career, he was never to reach the heights of his teammates from the amateur days like the aforementioned Cruz, Curry or Hatcher. He was though a fan’s favourite and one that shoulda, coulda, woulda had the right person been guiding his career and listening to him way back when.

Whilst it was a career filled with promise it was also a fortunate career, as he did not take THAT flight that saw the following boxers and officials lose their lives:

Kelvin D. Anderson
Elliot Chavis
Gary Tyrone Clayton
Walter Harris
Byron Lindsay
Andre Mccoy
Paul Palomino
Byron Payton
George Pimental
Chuck Robinson
David Rodriguez
Lemuel Steeples
Jerome Stewart
Col. Bernard Callahan
Thomas “Sarge” Johnson
Joseph Bland
John Radison
Junior Robles
Lonnie Young
Delores Wesson
Dr. Ray Wesson
Steve Smigiel

[si-contact-form form=’2′]

Leave a Reply