robinson, sugar ray

"Sugar Ray Robinson was one of the most iconic figures in sports and possibly the greatest boxer of all time. His legendary career spanned nearly 26 years, including his titles as the middleweight and welterweight champion of the world and close to 200 professional bouts. This illuminating biography grounds the spectacular story of Robinson's rise to greatness within the context of the fighter's life and times. Born Walker Smith Jr. in 1921, Robinson's early childhood was marked by the seething racial tensions and explosive race riots that infected the Midwest throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After his mother moved their family to Harlem, he came of age in the post-Renaissance years. Recounting his local and national fame, this deeply researched and honest account depicts Robinson as an eccentric and glamorous-yet powerful and controversial-celebrity, athlete, and cultural symbol. From Robinson's gruesome six-bout war with Jake \""Raging Bull" LaMotta and his lethal meeting with Jimmy Doyle to his Harlem nightclub years and thwarted showbiz dreams, Haygood brings the champion's story to life"--.

Chronicles the 1940s and 1950s racism during the life and career of professional boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

Presents the biography of boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson and chronicles his early childhood in Georgia and Detroit and his development as a boxer in the 1950s.