What with one thing and another, Ray’s victory over LaMotta gave the game about as glorious a shot in the arm as anything that has happened since Ezzard Charles trounced Joe Louis. In the middleweight class, with LaMotta eliminated by the weight situation, Robinson is confronted with the title ambitions of France’s Laurent Dauthuille, who last summer had Jake whipped in the fifteenth, but was stopped in the closing half minute, Dave Sands of Australia, triple champion Down Under, Randy Turpin of England and Gene Hairston of New York. He is eager for such a fight.Īlso in the offing is another, a seventh meeting between Robinson and LaMotta, who definitely is a middleweight no longer, and now will go into the light heavyweight division. It is conceivable that Sugar Ray will try for a match with Joey Maxim.

Robinson may not be content with defending the middleweight title. Now we are to have a series of welter eliminations involving, in the order of their ranking by The Ring Magazine, Kid Gavilan, of Cuba, Billy Graham, New York, Charley Fusari, New Jersey, Johnny Bratton, Chicago, Eddie Thomas of England, and possibly Johnny Saxton, Robinson’s Harlem protégé. In the third place, it aminated the light heavyweight class, in which Joey Maxim has been playing solitaire.

Robinson abdicated as welter king just as soon as his achievement of the middleweight title became official.

In the second place, it left the welterweight championship of the world open.

Sugar ray jake lamotta