Evening star., 1952-06-26
Robinson Ahead
Until Collapse
AFTER er13thRound
Joey's Body Punches
As Well as 100 Degree
Weather Take Toll
By ChorIes M. Egon

NEW YORK, June 26.-It took
1877 professional fights over a 13-
year period-plus the hottest June
Us in New York's history-to bring
1T about. but Sugar Ray Robinson
finally has the three little words,
knocked out by" behind his
name in the record books.
That may be the last entry, too,
in the fabulous record of the great
Negro boxer whose try for joey
Maxim's light-heavyweight cham
|pionship ended in sudden failure
in the muggy 96.5 heat at Yankee
Stadium last night. 1t is more
than likely that Robinson-he was
80 last month, according to Nat
Fleischer's ring record book-may
decide that he's had enough fight
ing.
Certainly, that was the way he
felt when he stumbled toward his
dressing room after being unable
to answer the bell for the 14th
round in a dramatic ending that
had the surprisingly large crowd
of 1888 limp with excitement.
Most of these fans. of course,
were limp even before this hap.
lpened because an unofficial ring
side thermometer registered 1O4
degrees when the scheduled IS
rounder started. and there wasn't
a breath of air stirring anywhere.
Robinson Looks Like Victor.
Until the 18th round, it had
seemed certain that Robinson was
going to lift the cautious Maxim'S
title and join old Bob Fitzsim-
mons and Henry Armstrong, the
only winners of world champion
ships in three weight divisions.
Sugar Ray had won at least nine
of the first IL rounds, although
some of these were fairly close
and some ringside observers had
felt that the middleweight cham
pion might be winning all the
battles and still lose the war.
That's just the way it turned
out.
Even in the early stages of the
tight, when he at least resembled
the haShy Robinson of old for a
minute or so in each round, Sugar
Ray had taken quite a beating
around the body in the infighting.
and this took its toll.
Maxim Leads in Infighting,
Maxim, who'll never be con-
fused with Jack Dempsey or
Mickey Walker whenever. tigerish
qualities are being discussed,
usually had the better of it in
close quarters despite some spec
tacular flurries by Robinson. It
was here that the Cleveland
Italian got some dividends out of
his weight advantage-173 pounds
to 1571a-because his lighter rival
seemed to cave in all at once.
Against bigger men, and some
|of the nondescripts in his own
division, Maxim always has ap-
peared to be fast and a clever
boxer. He looked slow and none
too adept against his lighter rival,
but usually managed to land some
telling body punches in the
|clinches.
While he was piling up his big
lead in rounds-one Judge, Harold
Barnes, had it 1913 and the other.
Artie Aidala, scored it 9-3-1 for
|Robinson-it usually was Sugar
Ray who seemed the more tired at
the end of each round. Even be-
fore the fatal 18th, he had wob-
bled toward a neutral corner once
when the bell ended round.
Referee Replaced.
After the 10th round: no one
was particularly surprised when
Ruby Goldstein, the starting ref
cree, had to be replaced because of
near-heat prostration. But the
two fighters were so tired by that
time that little Ray Miller, an
ex-featherweight who took over
as referee, broke their clinches so
convincingly that it appeared he
could take either one of the two
principals If the need arose.
Before Miller took over, Robin
son had done more out-and-outl |
holding than in any of his previ-
GUS fights and Goldstein, a former |
featherweight himself, didn't seem
to have the energy to do anything
about it.
Maxim didn't get any shot in
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