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Product Code: ESPNDVD010
SUGAR Ray Robinson took boxing into a new era at the end of the second world war and eventually went down in history as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of them all. He held the world welterweight title from 1946 until he moved up to middleweight and beat Jake La Motta in 13 rounds in the St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago on 14 February 1951.
Robinson and La Motta grew up in the business side by side and slogged out a six-fight series that ended with that historic fight in 1951.
Their first meeting was in New York in October 1942. Robinson, taller, slicker, a little bit older and more experienced, won on points. Robinson twice outpointed La Motta in 10-round fights, in New York and Chicago, in 1945.
La Motta eventually succeeded against the Frenchman Marcel Cerdan, but fate brought them back together just that one more time in 1951, when the Bronx Bull was beginning to slow down. Robinson was born Walker Smith into financial poverty in Detroit. When he was 12 they found a new home in Hell's Kitchen, New York. By 1940 Walker Smith had become Ray Robinson and was a professional fighter. By 1950 he was looking at the middleweight crown and he stopped La Motta in 13 rounds to become champion proper.
He defended his title against Randolph Turpin at Earls Court, London, in July 1951 and lost a gruelling fight on points. He later won the middleweight title for the third time with a spectacular second round knockout of Olson in December 1955.
Robinson boxed on until December 1965, when he retired after 202 professional fights. He died in April 1988, after suffering from Alzheimer's Disease for several years.
Jake La Motta was from the Bronx, New York. They based the Robert De Niro movie Raging Bull on his life story. At 18 he was boxing professionally in New York. At 20 he outslugged Robinson. Years later he disgraced himself before the Kefauver Commission, which was investigating corruption in boxing, when he admitted he took a dive against Billy Fox in 1947 because he was frustrated at being ignored - the Mob promised him a title shot if he lost to Fox, so he did.
His championship reign ended with the defeat by Robinson in February 1951. He fought on with hard fights against good middleweights like Bob Murphy, Norman Hayes and the talented deaf-mute Eugene Hairston, but finally retired in 1954 when, slow and old, he lost on points to Billy Kilgore in Miami.
La Motta was ostracized after his 'bribe' admission but later made a living with personal appearances, especially after Raging Bull was acknowledged as one of the great boxing movies of all time.
The fights on DVD (Robinson & La Motta)
9 Dec 1955 CARL OLSON v RAY ROBINSON, Chicago
18 May 1956 RAY ROBINSON v CARL OLSON, Los Angeles
23 Sep 1957 RAY ROBINSON v CARMEN BASILIO, New York
25 Mar 1958 CARMEN BASILIO v RAY ROBINSON, Chicago
16 Jun 1949 MARCEL CERDAN v JAKE LA MOTTA, Detroit
13 Sep 1950 JAKE LA MOTTA v LAURENT DAUTHUILLE, Detroit
5 Mar 1952 JAKE LA MOTTA v EUGENE HAIRSTON, Detroit
9 Apr 1952 JAKE LA MOTTA v NORMAN HAYES, Detroit
11 Jun 1952 JAKE LA MOTTA v BOB MURPHY, Detroit
14 Apr 1954 JAKE LA MOTTA v BILLY KILGORE, Miami
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