Ringside Report Looks Back at World Champion Steve Robinson
By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart
Wales is a proud Celtic nation. Like Scotland it has battled against marauding squads of English who have subjugated its heritage and its culture as conquering foes are apt to do. But it is a fiercely proud nation.
Welsh boxing has been a leveler and in a British boxing sense it has provided us with the only undefeated world champion in Joe Calzaghe as well as one of the most enigmatic trainers who rode his luck and developed his skill in Joe’s father Enzo.
If anyone’s story deserves a biopic, Enzo Calzaghe’s does.
But to leave Welsh boxing and its legacy there would be to forget a stream of exceptional fighters, including The Cinderella Man, Steve Robinson, 32-17-2, 17 KOs. Robinson stands as an exceptional story, even for a sport filled with would be maniacs and often time liars. He even has an argument over his nickname. In an interview given to Wales Online, he was to remark, “Cinderella Man? I like it. I’m not sure I love it. “I’d rather be known as Steve Robinson, world champion.”
Battling at feather and super featherweight, Robinson was active between the years of 1989 and 2002. A world champion in extreme circumstances, his WBO title was eventually lost in the ring to a Yemeni legend from Sheffield!
His debut, on the 1st of March was a 6 round win over 6 rounds against Alan Roberts at the Star Leisure Centre in Cardiff. On his third – he experienced his first loss against a similar novice on Nicky Lucas by ½ a point! He was to continue to pick up a few losses in his early career.
But the story that made him was the one where he was stacking shelves in a department store and then he got a call. In the interview with Wales Online he picks up the story far better than I can. “I was just having some pie and chips and had a phone call from my trainer, who was saying there was a big fight for me ‘in a few days’ time’. I said ‘When? Where?’. He said ‘In two days. In Newcastle. It’s to fight John Davison for the world title.” Two days later he had beaten John Davidson and was now the WBO featherweight champion!
His way up to that opportunity included winning the Welsh title in 1991 against Peter Harris on points, then in 1992 losing in the super featherweight title fight against Neil Haddock on points. In 1993 he took on Paul Harvey for the strangely titled vacant WBA Penta-continental featherweight title. He won widely on points. But no matter what that belt was meant to signify it as 1993 when his boxing career took on an entirely new poignancy.
On the 17th of April 1993, English fighter, John Davidson was due to take on the featherweight Columbian champion Ruben Palacios, but Palacios failed a medical. He failed an HIV test not once, not twice, but thrice. Palacios had won his title in London against Colin MacMillan, but his failed test meant he would not return to London to defend it. Ed Levine, WBO president was quoted by Steve Bunce in his wide sweeping tales of British boxing from 1970 as having said, “Ruben left Colombia to earn good money and he is returning with a death sentence.” Palacios went on a downward spiral after the test, collecting drugs charges and ended up succumbing to his dreadful disease in his 41st year in a hospice in 2003.
Davidson needed another guy with which to share the ring! The title was now vacant, and they must have thought that Robinson was credible but likely to be the closest to a push over they could find; after all he had just two days to prepare… later on Robinson was to reflect upon that fateful evening with clarity. “…the pressure was always on him. It was never on me. I just felt I had nothing to lose.”
I as a tough fight and after holding everybody’s attention for the full twelve rounds it went to the judge’s score totals.
The first judge ruled for Robinson.
The second, for Davidson.
Each had won by a single point.
115 – 114 for….
The new WBO champion of the world, Steve, The Cinderella Man Robinson!
The memo had been replaced by a fairy tale. The home fighter had lost to a guy who had only prepared for two days.
Steve Robinson was the first Welsh world champion since Howard Winstone in 1968. In July his first defense, against Sean Murphy was over in by the ninth round. Murphy has been one of AJ’s trainers!
Then came Colin McMillan, the guy who had lost he belt to Palacios. In front of 3,500 fans Robinson won a unanimous decision and took home £250,000 as McMillan was apparently sent to hospital with a damaged right hand.
1994 saw three defenses of his belt as he beat Paul Hodkinson in March in Cardiff, knocking him out in the final round, then Freddy Cruz in Cardiff in June widely on points, and finally then legendary British fighter, Duke McKenzie was knocked out in the 9th in October.
Notably, Robinson had not only defended his title valiantly, but he had also done so against the cream of British talent, defending his title and retaining it for 2 ½ years!
But 1995 was on the horizon and a fighter that Freddy Cruz had once described as “a boy,” and then got brutally beaten by and stopped for the first time in 57 fights was waiting in the wings!
Before he got there, Robinson was to defend successful twice more – against Domingo Nicolas Damigella in February on points and then in July, against Pedro Ferradas by stopping him in the 9th round.
His final world title defense – against the legend in his own wake, Prince Naseem Hamed was on the 30th of September 1995 in Cardiff – as all his defenses had been. Robinson, though he didn’t know it, was the next victim of the emergence of the Prince who would be King. It as to be Hamed’s first outing at featherweight. Ironically Robinson’s training did not go smoothly. Forced to defend against Nas before a deadline which if not met would men he was stripped of his title, Robinson trained for 3 ½ weeks. Given how he won his belt, it seems strange that he lost it for the same reason – a lack of preparation.
He had to marry, go on honeymoon and start anew life whilst training and what suffered was his performance. Robinson as he was later to admit, was guilty of underestimating Nas. Everyone thought Robinson would win but just how good Nas was, was still to become apparent. Robinson, knocked out in the 8th round, came away with the right amount of respect and knowledge to KNOW how good Nas was.
Robinson was not finished with the sport.
His final fights were almost all always fought for titles – against Billy Hardy on the 1st of February 1997 for the EBU belt – lost on points, then a string of WBO intercontinental fights which he won in 1997 stopping Alric Johnson in the 7th, defending against Andrew Matabola and Julio Sanchez Leon as well as Tomas Santos Serrano – all in 1997, and all won by knockout or stoppage.
But here was his return for proper world titles? Robinson was a black man in a Welsh body. In later years he as to reflect upon the inherent racism of the time. Again, in the Wales Online article he was at his most erudite when he remarked, “I never said anything at the time, but I definitely feel like my race held me back. If I was a different color, I might have had a bit more recognition from the press. Maybe if I’d been white and English it would’ve been different. I feel like I should have had that little bit more.”
By 1998, things were beginning to wane and in London, in October a split decision draw against Welcome Ncita for that WBO belt.
1999 though gave him a run of European titles and defenses as he began in April by winning the EBU featherweight title against Manuel Calvo in Leganes, on a split decision win, then defended it in October with a 10th round stoppage win in Cardiff against Claude Chinon. He then beat John Jo Irwin on the 4th of December 1999 but lost it to Hungarian Istvan Kovacs on the 23rd of June 2000. In that March, he also lost his intercontinental title to Juan Carlos Ramirez when he was knocked out in the 11th round.
His final fight, against Steve Conway came on the 27th of April when he lost on points, and was quoted as saying, “I don’t want to end it this way but there you are – it’s happened. I’ve seen the great heights and I’ve some fantastic memories, but I’ve beaten better men than Steve Conway and I just think it’s time to call it a day.”
The twinkle in his eye and his desire to give back is still there. He tells a tale of when he last met Nas at the 02 Arena. He was able to show off his six pack whilst Nas appears to have found an overactive buffet table.
After leaving the ring for the final time he opened a boxing gym in his native Cardiff and trains professional fighters, hoping that one day he shall win a world championship as the man behind the man behind the gloves! One of his fighters is his own eldest son, Jake, who is now 9-0 professionally. Who knows if the son shall emulate the father but Steve’s legacy is well assured through the work he has continued after he left the ring.