18.05.2022
My second Wednesday lesson was "Learn from the Fight". We rejoined Sugar Ray Robinson in the second fight of his comeback campaign and discovered Ralph Tiger Jones in perhaps the greatest moment in his boxing career.
Sugar Ray Robinson versus Ralph Tiger Jones 19.01.1955
Sugar Ray Robinson had retired his title and his career in boxing after his unsuccessful attempt to rest the light heavyweight crown from Joey Maxim back in 1952. For two and a half years he focused his attention on showbusiness where he worked as professional singer and tap dancer. Unfortunately this venture proved unsuccessful and after a tour of Europe he made a decision to return to boxing. His first opponent had been easy enough. Joe Rindone was knocked out in round six, proving Robinson still had power in his punches. He began his comeback trail to the world middleweight title currently held by Bobo Olson, a man Robinson had defeated twice. However, in order to get there he needed to win back his contender position and he needed some warm-up bouts. His next opponent appeared to be the perfect journey man, Ralph "Tiger" Jones, who was also considered to be a gatekeeper any prospective contender had to beat in order to win fights with the ranked contenders. Ralph Jones was born on 14th March 1928 in Brooklyn New York. Jones turned pro in May 1950. He won his first nine boxing matches before being knocked out in round six of a rematch with Henry Burroughs in 1951. This would be the only knockout defeat in his entire career. However, the defeat proved to be quite significant. In their first match it had been reported that Jones had easily outpointed Burroughs, even toying with him over the four round contest. The knockout was a shock, especially since Burroughs was only a newcomer who soon gave up professional boxing. Jones had been turned from being considered a hot prospect to the gatekeeper of the middleweight division. His opponents included the likes of Kid Gavilan who beat him twice, although he would beat the Kid much later in their respective careers. He was also defeated by top contender Rocky Castellani twice and future world welterweight champion, Johnny Saxton. His victories included top welterweight contender, Johnny Bratten. He was also defeated by future world champion Joey Giardello who he would beat later in his career. In 1954 he had shown a moment of brilliance that endeared to fans when he made a stunning comeback in his fight with Bobby Dykes (career record: 120-23-8, with 57 KOs). Trailing on points, Jones had rallied his strength in the tenth and final round and knocked Dykes down twice. After the second knockdown the referee had stepped in awarding Jones with a technical knockout. By the time he was matched with Robinson, Jones's record was
32
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12
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3 with only a few of the victories coming in way of a knockout. By comparison, Sugar Ray Robinson had an incredible 132-3-2 record at this time. After beating Dykes Jones had won a decision over Billy McNeece and then lost his next five fights prior to facing Robinson. Nevertheless, he had become a very popular fighter, sharing the title "Mr Television" with comedian Milton Berle due to Jones being a regular on Gillette Cavalcade of Sports’ Friday Night Fights. He was known to be an aggressive and exciting fighter with sharp defensive skills and had one of the most under-rated chins in the sport. Jones was not blessed with an especially powerful punch - only 13 of his 52 careers wins came via KO - and seemed to come somewhere between a swarmer and a pressure-fighting out-boxer. At a push I would consider him a very calculated swarmer who leant more into his defensive rolling and slipping than his volume of punches. Robinson would have a lot of difficulty trying to work out his peculiar style. He stood at 5'8" and, for this fight, weighed in at 159 lbs, which was the same as Robinson. The bookies cast Jones as the 8-1 underdog.
7,282 spectators attended the Chicago Stadium, Illinois for this televised event.
Round 1 - Jones surprised everyone by coming out aggressive in the opening round, taking the fight to Robinson. He took the centre and was visibly stockier than Robinson. Jones carried a medium level conventional boxing guard and exhibited deep rolling head movement. His defensive yet aggressive style was already on display. Robinson's jabs and hooks were not successful as he tried to negotiate tracking Jones ever moving head. Instead the former champion elected to go to the body throwing kidney shots off his right and two-fisted attacks to Jones's ribs. The latter landed on Tiger's arms. Meanwhile, Jones's forward momentum allowed him to score more shots to Robinson's head. As the round progressed, it appeared Robinson was better negotiating the outside and steering clear of the ropes where Jones had unleashed his main attacks. A late exchange saw glimmers of Sugar Ray's brilliance, but it was quite short-lived. Jones safely secured the first round and Robinson went to his corner with a bleeding nose.
Round 2 - Robinson became more proactive on the outside, moving side to side although his familiar dancing footwork wasn't evident. Jones continued to stalk holding his guard up, rolling, slipping and jabbing. His left hook unbalanced Robinson a few times. After some cautious flurries, Robinson decided to stand his ground and went after Jones with a vicious rear uppercut. This technique usually works well on a swarmer but only when thrown as a counter. Here Robinson used it as an opener and entered into a heated exchange. Jones was more than happy to get into it and drove his opponent back to the ropes. They eventually clinched and clinched again forcing a referee separation. Jones continued the pace and cornered Robinson with a volley of shots, coming in from different angles. Robinson had begun trying to fend him off with the jab but ended up hanging onto the ropes with his right hand as Jones unleashed a damaging combination. Ray escaped the onslaught and moved out of the corner onto the ropes where it was he who was displaying rolling defences as Jones continued to pound. Finally he got back a semblance of rhythm and began throwing a left hook at Jones, although it was noted this wasn't his legendary hook. Moving to the outside, Robinson began throwing combinations and trying more with his right uppercut. With 15 seconds to go he failed to land any of his jabs to the ducking Jones who continued to stalk and corner. A solid right hook glanced off Tiger's defences and although this was a more even round I still would have given it to the swarmer. His bleeding nose was now accompanied by a far more troublesome gash on his right eyelid.
Round 3 - Here Robinson worked harder from the outside and took the fight to Jones immediately with one-two combinations. He knew his best plan was to keep the fight going from the outside and try to land his bigger punches from long range whilst carefully negotiating the mid-range. Early on he caught Jones with a hard right and Tiger clinched but it didn't seem What he didn't want to do was fight off the back foot as he had been doing in the previous two rounds. He also appeared to now be looking to land one of his signature low jabs. Jones soon got him back-peddling as he drove forward and Robinson circled round trying to pick him off with jabs and missing with his left hook. Jones's own jabs appeared to be getting through at one point. When they clinched, Jones did not seek to bully as Turpin had but he kept busy. The round ended with a more even and lively exchange.
Round 4 - Again, Robinson started hard. He hacked away with right hooks to the head and left kidney that were set up with his jab. Jones moved in with a stance that was never square on but nevertheless had some similarities with the peek-a-boo. His head movement, for example, was fairly consistant whenever he edged past long range. In this round I noticed tight slipping in addition to his big rolling actions. Jones also pulled back out of range of Robinson's larger punches, especially his hooks, before pushing him back. As he moved Robinson ever closer to the ropes he checked him with a left hook and began to work his way through his opponent's guard. Robinson fired back and this time won a brief exchange, punching Jones backwards. However, Tiger was back just as quickly. The exchanges were more regular now and Jones was back on the front foot with Robinson escaping to the outside. He landed single shots upstairs and downstairs methodically. Robinson then landed two of his own off the ropes before moving out into the ring. Jones continued to pursue. Rallies became more infrequent as both men played roles as attacker and defender. Jones kept closing in and taking Robinson's jabs on his glove, blocking his left hook and stopping his scything low right hook on his left arm. He replied with his own variety of tight jabs, hooks and rear uppercuts that Robinson did well to avoid for a while. Jones then kept the pace up and his left hook caught Robinson in the head followed by a volley of shots. The former champion was driven into the ropes by them. Robinson tied up Jones and tried to come out with his blistering hooks, but Jones immediately responded by getting on the inside and continued to do more damage forcing Robinson to clinch and hang on until the referee separated them. Jones then cornered Robinson and rolled off a few straight shots before the bell rang.
Round 5 - In familiar fashion, saw an aggressive Robinson trying to set the pace at the start of the round. After some circling Robinson fired off some jabs, shuffled and moved to the outside. He negotiated his way from outside of range to long range and then decided to bring in his power hand. He tried his trademark jabbing whilst circling to the left punctuated by a hook from the same hand. Jones bobbed and weaved out of the way AND began taking the lead with his own jabs and coupled them with a rear uppercut. He began dropping hard right hand hooks to Jones's body and head as Jones momentarily retreated. Jones then immediately fought back and Robinson slipped. The two touched gloves and resumed the fight. This time they both closed into close range and began milling on the inside. As they came out, Jones began landing his own powerful left hooks, one of which clearing hurt Robinson and broke his posture. Sugar backed into the ropes doing his best to avoid Tiger's deliberate stalking onslaught. He got out of trouble and continued his fight from the outside. Jones followed him, slipping and counter-punching as Robinson flicked out his jabs. A good right hook caught Tiger on the chin but he barely acknowledged it. The fight then went back and forth with Jones hunting Robinson into the corner and almost swatting him away with his short rear uppercut. Robinson then appeared to get his footing and open fire with an explosive combination that forced Tiger to clinch. After this the fight turned back to Jones pursuing and Robinson trying to score points from the outside, inevitably ending up in close range exchanges. It appeared that Robinson was more holding his ground rather than be backed away into the ropes, testing Jones's chin with those power punches. He would move on and then make a stand. By the end of the round Robinson was clearly exhibiting the most damage on his bloodied face. By comparison, Tiger Jones looked unmarked.
Round 6 - Familiar Robinson double jabbing in the centre of the ring, body jab/right hook to the kidney combinations kicked things off. However, it was Jones's power jabs that were making a difference as he stunned the boxer-puncher twice with them before landing a hard left hook to the head. Variations of this behaviour were repeated. Robinson's trademark combinitions and fast outside work seemed to fall harmlessly on his opponent's gloves who patiently stalked and threw back, eventually catching him with his left hook again. Both began mixing in body shots between this repeating pattern eventually resulting in aggressive clinch where they almost topped over. Another respectful touch of gloves announced a change of routine as they resumed fighting. Robinson began switching angles and landing some hard punches that Jones rolled with and didn't answer. This proved to be a much better round for Robinson although Jones showed no signs of backing down or wearing out as he kept coming forward eating up Robinson's shots and firing in with his own close range punches.
Round 7 - Perhaps concerned that Robinson had caught a second wind and found his famed rhythm, Jones took the lead early in this round for a change. He was less plodding in his pursuit and after driving Robinson into one corner with a barrage of punches, tracked him down to another corner and lunged into his opponent. Here he stayed unleashing his punches as Robinson deflected, ducked, parried, slipped and weaved the best could. They inches along onto the ropes where Robinson connected with a few hooks to Jones's face but took far more in return. Jones burrowed deep into Ray's body with short hooks. Robinson did his best to muffle the asault by gripping his opponent in a double collar tie and then deftly switched places. Jones didn't stay on the ropes for long and Robinson moved out of range. Tiger marched across the ring. He pursued him to all four corners, regularly beating him to the punch as he slipped Robinson's jabs. The last 15 minutes of the round some milling at close range but mainly Jones holding control.
Round 8 - Robinson stayed cautiously to the outside and Jones resumed his steady stalk. As the jabs came in from the outside so Tiger slipped and caught Ray. As the momentum of the fight increased, Jones pursued Robinson closer to the ropes and pinned him down for a short period. It became a battle for Robinson to stay out of the corners. Clinching brought them into the centre of the ring. As the fight moved back to the outside, Robinson's timing seemed off again as his hooks missed the mark.
Round 9 - Robinson moved between long and mid-range perhaps acknowledging his need to get a knockout. Since his rematch with Randy Turpin years before, he had added extra power into his body jab and that was evident here as he kept picking away at Jones's stomach. He coupled it with his customary right hook to the kidneys and began to pepper Jones's head. Jones took the shots and moved forward, slipping others before driving Robinson into the corner with another two-fisted onslaught. Knowing the cards and time were not on his side, Robinson got out of the corner and moved to the outside. He came in hard with his scything right hook to the kidneys. This was coupled with a short rear hand uppercut and another kidney shot before throwing combinations at close range. Jones clinched and the refereee separated the two. You could see the frustration on Robinson's face. We were then back to the outside with Robinson circling and Jones patiently stalking. Again Robinson picked with the body jabs, he shot upstairs and tried his left hook. Although none of these impacted on Jones, Tiger tied him up. He could sense the disruption in Robinson's style. When they returned to out-boxing it felt like Jones was back on his rhythm as he deftly slip/jabbed Robinson's jabs and went to the body with hooks as well as soundly deflecting other punches with a shoulder roll. The familiar pattern of Tiger chasing Robinson into the corners at an even pace continued. Just before the 15 second mark Robinson fought his way out of the corner with heavier punches and it really looked like he was rallying his efforts. However, what then followed was a series of exchanges that Robinson did not win and did not do well to exit. The bell rang as Sugar Ray took punishment with one of his gloves on the ropes. Overall this particular round was one of the closest in a match that had been dominated by Jones and I would say Sugar Ray Robinson won it by the narrowest of margins. Round 10 - Robinson knew he needed to stay off the ropes and out of the corners. He needed to inflict some huge damage on Jones who now only had to stay the distance. However, he kept back his rear hand and worked with his lead as he circled his opponent trying to set up combinations. The first third of the fight was mainly Robinson flicking out his double-jab/left hook and body-jab/right hook to the kidney combinations. Jones briefly fired back with two-fisted combinations to the body. Robinson shoulder blocked his opponent when he neared the corners. The jab exchanges became more prominent as Jones returned to his usual cornering and slip/jabbing. Clinches ensued probably because Robinson wanted to keep away from the ropes and corners. During one circuit of the ring Robinson purposefully gripped the ropes to disrupt Jones's frustrating plod. As they moved around it was Robinson who slipped Jones's jab and moved out of the way of his combination before moving back into the pocket with his own. He moved out and began firing straight shots which Jones avoided by returning to his big rolling defence that resulted in a clinch. After resting in the clinch Robinson attempted to spring a trap off the back foot. He delivered a classic counter to swarmers that he had no doubt perfected during his battles with Jake LaMotta. Jones ate up severate combinations without retaliating. The fight went to the centre of the ring with Robinson pulling out the stops. After each milling he moved out and Jones pursued. He kept away from the ropes and routinely drove back into the oncoming menace. At the 15 second mark Tiger was back to his big bobbing and weaving as Robinson piled on rear hand-led combinations, trying to land the knockout that would save him. The bell went with Sugar Ray taking the final round but not the fight. Referee Frank Sikora scored the match 94 - 99. Judge Ed Hintz had it 88 - 100. And Howard Walsh 89 - 98, delivering Sugar Ray Robinson his fourth defeat as a professional and Ralph Jones a well-earned unanimous decision that would remain the highlight of his career. Years later the punch counters of CompuBox calculated that Jones landed 322 of 407 punches (57%) and Robinson landed 176 of 514 (34%). "The former welterweight and middleweight titleholder...who started his comeback after 30 months as a song-and-dance entertainer by kayoing Joe Rindone two weeks ago, was handed the worst beating of his career by Jones....Time and again, Tiger drove Robinson into the ropes and mauled him pitifully." - Associated Press The reports of the time and in later years sadly did not give Jones enough credit for his performance on this night. Instead the dwelt more on Robinson's poor showing. Take these words from
's Jimmy Cannon for example: “There is no language spoken on the face of the earth in which you can be kind when you tell a man he is old and should stop pretending he is young … Old fighters, who go beyond the limits of their age, resent it when you tell them they’re through … what he had is gone. The pride isn’t. The gameness isn’t. The insolent faith in himself is still there … but the pride and the gameness and that insolent faith get in his way … He was marvelous, but he isn’t anymore.” However, Robinson's career was far from over and some would argue some of his greatest moments were ahead of him. Visibly battered, he said of the fight "I never figure to win them all... You’ve got to figure you’ll get beat somewhere along the line. I don’t want to quit. This was a test. Like my manager said, it was just too tough for a second fight on a comeback." Looking at it from a teaching perspective, the Jones fight demonstrated the nuances of boxing styles. Perhaps Jones was another Randy Turpin and Robinson took him too lightly, but this wasn't a reigning champion coming off the back of a European tour. Robinson was probably still rusty from taking such a long time out of the game, and similar comments were made about Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali when they had their time out of professional bouts. However, he was on a hungry comeback trail and had just made short work of Joe Rindone inside of six rounds. I think a big point to consider here is Robinson's inability to work out Jones's style. In theory, he should have taken him out with a power punch. Swarmers are defined by their defensive skills and hard chins, both of which Jones had in abundance, but he was also a different type of swarmer. He didn't crowd like the most famous exemplars of this style, wasn't actively engaged in a lot of clinching and did not feed huge volumes of punches. Instead he was a rare type of swarmer who was more selective with his punches and Robinson found it difficult to catch him on the outside. Sadly, although Jones's career saw him defeat three Hall of Famers, including Joey Giardello and Kid Gavilan, he never got a shot at title. He fought six world champions in a total of 10 fights, giving none of them an easy time of it. Giardello and Gavilan would beat him twice in rematches but he would never see Robinson in the ring again. https://clubbchimera.com/services/
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