Robinson: Modern Times

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Gainford Eyes Europe




Trainer George Gainford who travels with Sugar Ray Robinson in a few days for Cuba was quoted today saying that the pound-for-pound king may travel to Europe once again to display his wares.

Top of the list of opponents is WBA mandatory challenger Michel Trabant of Germany. Beyond that the usual national champions would be expected to be enticed into the ring.

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Mosley Seeks Respect




He was the best lightweight in the world, after Sugar Ray Robinson left the division, so they say. He's the second best welterweight in the world, after Sugar Ray Robinson, so they say. Shane Mosley want what they say to change. He wants a bit more respect.

"When we fight it'll be the fight of my life. I'll be making a point not just that I'm the best welterweight fighter right now, but pound-for-pound and whose the rightful "Sugar"."

Happy to talk Mosley answered several questions.

How close is the fight to being done?

"We've both signed. I'm surprised it hasn't already been announced, I think Robinson wants to do it after he gets back from Cuba."

Is the fight in May?

"That's right. We'll both have tune-ups on the same card before then, either February or March."

How will you go into the fight, as the champion or challenger?

" In my heart, I feel like I'm a champion all the time."

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Robinson Cuba Exhibition




Sugar Ray Robinson, pound-for-pound king, sharpened his timing and tested his reflexes last night before a packed house to close out Cuba's national amateur boxing championship.

Toying with his sparring partner Anthony Jones of Detroit for six rounds, Robinson went the full distance with only one hiccup - in the third he dropped Jones with a left hook, but quickly helped his partner up and made sure he was okay before continuing.

Displaying his footwork and unique jabbing-circling style, Robinson did let the punches go but afterwards admitted he had no intention of hurting Jones or himself.

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Robinson-Mosley: It's On!




The superfight between Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Shane Mosley is on, and will take place at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas on May 6.

The divisions best fighters will meet in a 147-pound unification showdown on HBO PPV.

“This has the potential to be one of the most exciting fights I've ever witnessed," said HBO broadcaster Larry Merchant. “I think this is going to be such an entertaining, action-filled fight."

The only thing that had held the fight up was a wait for the WBA, to sign off on the bout, which they did after Robinson agreed to meet his mandatory prior to the May contest taking place.

“I've waited so long to unify the division,” said Robinson. “I'd like to thank Shane, the WBC, WBA and the IBF."

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Robinson-Mosley: Double Header




HBO liked the idea of the Sugar Ray Robinson/Sugar Shane Mosley doubleheader so much they wanted to make it pay-per-view, so Robinson walked across the road and struck a deal with ABC's ESPN.

Robinson's fee is believed to be $4 million, some of which he will have to pass onto HBO to "rent out" Mosley from his broadcasting contract with them for the card to go ahead.

A date and venue have been announced, February 12 at the historic Blue Horizon boxing venue in Philadelphia.

Opponents are expected to be confirmed later this week.

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Robinson-Mosley: Opponents Details




Sugar Shane Mosley will face Aaron Davis of New York, in a ten-round over-the-weight match.

Their fight will precede one between Sugar Ray Robinson and Michel Trabant for the WBA & WBC welterweight titles on a free-to-view card that is expected to easily fill the 1,500 capacity arena.

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Aaron Davis Who?




Many fight fans, particularly those new to the sport are scratching their heads at the announcement that Sugar Shane Mosley will climb into the ring against Aaron Davis on February 12th.

Let's overlook the fact he hasn't fought a professional bout since September 1997 and peak at some of the names on his record.

Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor, Julio Cesar Vasquez, Bronco McKart and Jose Luis Lopez.

Sound familiar? They should do, as they cover the last decade pretty well. Davis was the WBA welterweight champion for six months, beating Breland for the title and then losing it to Taylor.

So how does a former champion, who hasn't fought for nearly three years get a shot at one of the hottest fighters today?

Easy, be a sparring partner to the best fighter in the world.

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Mosley Focused




"When Robinson called and said he wanted Shane to fight Davis, I said to myself 'What's the play?'" said Mosley's father and trainer, Jack Mosley.

"Everyone says that Robinson is a tricky businessman, so I picked up the phone and spoke to him.

After talking it through I realized two things, where in the world can Shane get this type of exposure? and secondly, maybe Robinson's not as bad as they make out, he's just trying to get his pal some work - and that's the reason why we took the fight."

Mosley, the fighter, was willing to oblige.

"The reason I'm motivated for Aaron Davis is the big picture," Mosley said. "It's not going to be a walk in the park and I know the significance of this is tremendous."

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Mosley Takes Decision




Sugar Shane Mosley, one of the sport’s most exciting performers at any weight, took a hard-fought but deserved decision over the game Aaron Davis on the Robinson-Trabant undercard at The Blue Horizon.

The 28-year-old Mosley, 151, Pomona, California, dropped only three rounds, as he backed up Davis, 158, New York, from the start and boxed masterfully down the stretch.

He pounded the bigger man throughout, and while a stoppage never looked likely, the two exchanged blows throughout which produced plenty of fireworks.

“I thought Aaron won,” said Pee Wee Beale, who trains Davis. “I had us winning by two or three points. Mosley threw harder punches probably, but Aaron threw more punches. He was busier the whole night long.”

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Robinson Utterly Devastating




The fight was over in a meagre 300 seconds, but the partisan crowd of 1,500 that packed the Blue Horizon was not the least bit disappointed.

That’s because the best fighter, pound-for-pound, in the world had chosen their city, their venue to host his latest title defense.

Robinson gave mandatory challenger Michel Trabant, from Germany, the once-over for the first round, then went to work.

Exploding with a right uppercut and several left hooks, the 21-year-old challenger was on wobbly legs when Robinson rained down punches in accurate bunches, flooring the German who could not beat the count of referee Frank Cappuccino.


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World Boxing Association Welterweight Title (15th defense by Robinson)
World Boxing Council Welterweight Title (12th defense by Robinson)


Robinson landed 67 of 157 punches (43%) and Trabant connected on 12 of 12 (100%).

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Golden Boy in Split Victory




Oscar de la Hoya ended the the unbeaten record of Felix Triniad Jr. to successfully defend his WBC light middleweight title.

The hugely-hyped clash at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas managed to do something that is becoming rarer and rarer in boxing - it lived up to its billing.

US judge Lou Filippo scored the fight a 115-113 Trinidad. Japan's Ken Morita saw it 116-114 for De la Hoya and Thailand's Anek Hongtongkam also scored it for De la Hoya with 115-113.

"I thought I won the fight easily. I didn't think it was even close. I thought I won by at least six points," said De la Hoya.

Naturally, Trinidad disagreed.

"I thought it was a very close fight...but I felt much stronger than De la Hoya."

Trinidad, known to his adoring fans as Tito, seemed to be in full control in the early rounds especially after putting De la Hoya on the canvas in round 3.

But when he failed to out-boxed the Mexican-American who seemed to tire considerably more than the Puerto Rican down the stretch his unbeaten record came to an end at 35 fights.

Before the two had left the ring the close decision - and the cash to be made from a re-match - immediately had tongues wagging about a sequel.

Trinidad's promoter, Don King, is keen on the idea but De la Hoya sounded less than enthusiastic.

"I demonstrated my boxing skills tonight and I think my fans could see that. I won the fight. Do we need to fight again? I don't think so."

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De la Hoya-Trinidad PPV




According to multiple industry sources, the De la Hoya-Tinidad HBO PPV card was a minor box-office success, selling 375,000 subscriptions, at best.

HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg said if those figures were correct than he would be pleased.

"I think the fight is a victim of the Robinson question," Greenburg said.

"No matter what either fighter did, it was almost guaranteed to be viewed as a letdown.

Oscar because after such a long wait, when they met he was stopped very quickly. So he's rebuilding. He's comfortable at the weight. He's a champion again and I think this fight went a long way towards audience acceptable which at HBO we look forward to seeing grow.

Felix had never done more than six-numbers with a pay-per-view event on his own and with the failure to meet Robinson after so much time spent negotiating he needed victory to justify his claims.

Was it the biggest fight ever? No. But we had a very entertaining fight on a pay-per-view card and a historic night in that Felix Trinidad Jr lost his first professional fight.

All in all, we're very happy with the event as a whole."

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Ray Robinson



Shane Mosley




Here's four key questions about the May 6 megafight in Las Vegas.

1. Will it be a good fight?

Despite fans having had little time to demand this fight, unlike the Robinson-De la Hoya fight or the never-to-be Robinson-Trinidad fight, they have lucked out here as this may just be the best possible match up between two fighters in any of the weight class right now.

We have two peak fighters, the best two fighters not only at welterweight but arguably (Mosley?) in the sport and one of them (Robinson) is the sport's biggest star by some distance.

Mosley likes to employ "power boxing" and when has Robinson even been in a bad fight?

2. What titles are at stake?

Simple. Every alphabet title that seems to matter, so that's Robinson long held WBA and WBC welterweight titles and Mosley's newly won IBF welterweight title.

There is also the status as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter, which should Mosley beat Robinson, he would have a good claim to the title.

3. Who has the most to lose?

Robinson. Yes he has already achieved incredible things in the sport. Yes he is a future Hall of Famer. Yes he is undefeated, and yes, Trinidad aside, he has fought everybody he possibly could have. But it's for precisely all of the above, in particular perhaps his unblemished record, that should he lose some will be quick to rip a stripe or two off of him.

Mosley while a former lightweight champion, and probably the best in the class for a time, has not yet begun to build his legacy and should he lose this fight, as is general consensus, then no considerable harm should befall his reputation.

4. Who will win?

Mosley is priced as a 6-1 underdog and that area seems a fair reflection. He is an offense fury who likes to throw an almost wild like amount of punches, astonishingly quick hands and feet, with serious power in both hands.

However the favourite, unbeaten in 89 fights is something of an underrated defensive wizard, something which is rarely mentioned due to the raving, and rightly so, about his offensive strengths.

Upset? A braver man than me would pick against Robinson.

Robinson by late stoppage.

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Ray Robinson



Shane Mosley

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Almost 8 Years Ago Now




"Sugar Ray Robinson, fresh from his Olympic success began his professional career in this, the state of Nevada, on the undercard of the second James Toney versus Mike McCallum meeting.

Today Robinson, or simply Sugar Ray, is the most accomplished and popular fighter of his generation.

A fighter who has made a career out of facing the best the sport has to offer.

Tonight his opponent is Shane Mosley, former lightweight champion and widely recognized as the number two welterweight in boxing.

The two famous Sugars go head-to-head.

Sugar Ray Robinson versus Sugar Shane Mosley. Up Next."

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It's Time




"For the main event of the evening. Sugar Ray Robinson versus Sugar Shane Mosley.

Brought to you by TVKO pay-per-view entertainment, from HBO."

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As We Wait




"For the fighters to make their ring walks. Emmanuel what do you expect to see in this fight?

'I believe there will be a lot of intensity. It'll be key to the fight.

I think both guys really want to win this.

Ray because he's waited so long to unify the division and Shane because he knows that if he loses tonight, it may be the only opportunity he'll get a big-name fighter into the ring.

Intensity and speed.'

"How about power, does either fighter have an advantage there? Their knockout percentages are about the same. 94 Robinson, 91 Mosley."

'Yes, but Shane hasn't been in with the guys that Ray has. Very durable guys. But nevertheless, certainly I feel the advantage goes to Ray."

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Ladies And Gentleman...




From the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Sugar Ray's and Main Events are proud to present twelve rounds of boxing to unify the welterweight championship of the world.

Sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

At ringside, assigned to score this bout on a 10-point must system are; Mark Green, Daniel Van De Wiele and Daniel Talon.

And when the bell rings, your referee in charge of the action, Vic Drakulich.

And now ladies and gentlemen, for those in attendance and the millions watching around the world.

Let's get ready to rumble.

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Introducing First...




... fighting out of the blue corner, wearing black with silver trim and weighing in at one-hundred-and-forty-seven-pounds.

He brings a perfect record professional record to the ring tonight. Consisting of 35 bouts, 35 victories, with his punching power eliminating 32 of his opponents by knockout.

This evening he enters this contest as the IBF welterweight champion.

From Pomona, California.

He is the undefeated, former lightweight champion of the world and the current IBF welterweight champion of the world.

Sugar Shane Mosley

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And Across The Ring...




... fighting out of the red corner, wearing white with black trim and officially weighing in at one-hundred-and-forty-seven-pounds.

With a professional record of 89 fights, 89 victories including 84 knockouts.

Ladies and gentlemen... the former super featherweight world champion, former lightweight world champion, former junior welterweight world champion, former light middleweight world champion, former middleweight world champion and current welterweight champion of the world...

From Harlem, New York City.

Number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

Sugar Ray Robinson