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Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949)
was an American
tap dancer and actor of stage and
film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the
frenetic manner of the
jitterbug in favor of cool and
reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on
busy, inventive feet and an expressive face. A figure in both
the black and white entertainment worlds of his era, he is best
known today for his dancing with
Shirley Temple in a series of
films during the 1930s.
Sugar Ray Robinson (born Walker
Smith Jr., May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989) was a professional
boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time,
Robinson's performances in the
welterweight
and
middleweight
divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound
for pound" rankings, where they
compared fighters regardless of weight. He was inducted into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame
in 1990. Robinson was 85–0 as an amateur with 69 of those
victories coming by way of
knockout,
40 in the first round. He turned professional in 1940 at the age
of 19 and by 1951 had a professional record of 128–1–2 with 84
knockouts. Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to
1951, and won the world middleweight title in the latter year. He
retired in 1952, only to come back two and a half years later and
regain the middleweight title in 1955. He then became the first
boxer in history to win a divisional world championship five
times, a feat he accomplished by defeating
Carmen Basilio
in 1958 to regain the middleweight championship. Robinson was
named "fighter of the year" twice: first for his performances in
1942, then nine years and over 90 fights later, for his efforts in
1951. He defeated other Hall of Fame fighters such as
Jake LaMotta,
Carmen Basilio,
Gene Fullmer,
Carl 'Bobo' Olson,
Henry Armstrong,
Rocky Graziano
and
Kid Gavilan.
Robinson engaged in 200 pro bouts, and his professional career
lasted nearly 26 years.
Robinson was a fluid boxer who possessed
power in both hands and a fast jab. In 1951
TIME
said "Robinson's repertoire, thrown with equal speed and power by
either hand, includes every standard punch from a bolo to a
hook—and a few he makes up on the spur of the moment."[2]
Robinson stated that once a fighter gained a certain amount of
skill, his boxing technique became reflexive.
Robinson was named the greatest fighter
of the 20th century by the
Associated Press,
and the greatest boxer in history by
ESPN.com in
2007.
The Ring
magazine rated him the best "pound for pound" boxer of all-time in
1997, and its "Fighter of the Decade" for the 1950s.
Muhammad Ali,
who repeatedly called himself "The Greatest" throughout his
career, ranked Robinson as the greatest boxer of all time. Other
Hall of Fame boxers such as
Joe Louis
and
Sugar Ray Leonard
said the same.
Renowned for his flamboyant lifestyle
outside the ring, Robinson is credited with being the originator
of the modern sports "entourage".
After his boxing career ended, Robinson attempted a career as an
entertainer, but struggled, and lived in poverty until his death
in 1989. In 2006, he was featured on a commemorative stamp by the
United States Postal Service. |
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