2. “Sugar” Ray Robinson
The story of “Sugar” Ray Robinson has so many sub-plots it is impossible to know where to begin. First of all, his name is Walker Smith. When he was a teenager he stole the identity of someone named Ray Robinson in order to enter an adult boxing tournament. He then proceeded to keep the name his entire career.
By the mid-40s, Robinson had beaten every top challenger, but couldn’t get a title shot. He needed to amass 74 wins before finally getting a title opportunity. Robinson wouldn’t play ball with the mafia, and they conspired to keep him out of title contention for years.
He finally got a shot in 1946, and defeated Tommy Bell for the vacated welterweight title. Robinson would win the middleweight title in 1951 as well. Eventually, his dominance in both divisions led to creation of pound-for-pound rankings.
