Sugar Ray (Paperback)

~ (Author), Dave Anderson (Author) "In my big years, a five-dollar bill was tip money..." (more)
Key Phrases: bootleg fights, world middleweight title, welterweight title, Edna Mae, New York, Sugar Ray (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sugar Ray Robinson (1921–1989) was hailed as the finest boxer to ever enter a ring. Muhammad Ali once called him "the king, my master, my idol"—and indeed, he was the idol of everyone who had anything to do with boxing. But for African Americans, he was more than a great boxer. In an era when blacks were supposed to be humble and grateful for favors received, he was a man whose every move in and out of the ring showed what black pride and power meant.Sugar Ray grew up during the Depression in the ghettos of Detroit and New York, rose through the amateur boxing ranks, became Golden Gloves champion at the featherweight at the age of eighteen, and become world welterweight champion in 1946 and middleweight in 1951. Robinson had it all, but later lost it all; and in this classic autobiography he tells it all with remarkable candor. Here is Sugar Ray: the dazzlingly handsome champion with a craving for fast cars and fast living; the kid who was terrified of elevators; the young GI who, together with Joe Louis, combated racial discrimination; the honest fighter who refused a million dollars to throw a fight against Rocky Graziano; the boxer who dreamed he would kill his opponent in the ring, and did so the following night.This Da Capo edition is supplemented with a new foreword and afterword by Dave Anderson about Sugar Ray's last years in Los Angeles and the legacy he left behind, and with eight new pages of stunning photographs.

About the Author

Dave Anderson, sports columnist for the New York Times, has covered boxing for over twenty-five years. Winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary, he has written seventeen books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 380 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030680574X
• ISBN-13: 978-0306805745
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #469,310 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a knockout! A great read for anyone., March 23, 1998

By A Customer

This book goes straight into the heart and mind of one of boxings greatest fighters. Sugar Ray tells the tale of a true champion, and in doing so it tells the tale of a man who came from an unfavourable begining to reach great prestige and distinction. This book was a knockout!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A far greater excuse for a screenplay than "Raging Bull", October 6, 1998

By A Customer

First read "Sugar Ray" in 1970, as a student in high school and back then i read it two times. I can still recall the illustration by LeRoy Neiman on the original cover. To this present day the most influential reading in my life, along with David Halberstam's "The Reckoniing

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars decent read, October 19, 2005

By	Charlie Atan (Sane People's Hospital) - See all my reviews

it is what it is. you get Sugar Ray's story right from the man himself. its concise and thorough and entertaining and inspirational